Lexington, OH (July 30, 2017) – The race didn’t quite go the way the Dale Coyne Racing team would’ve liked on Sunday at the Honda Indy 200. Esteban Gutierrez, who was showing great pace, finished 20th due to front wing damage early on and Ed Jones placed 21st, after losing precious time with an issue on a pit stop.
Gutierrez suffered damage to his front wing in the opening lap after contact with Charlie Kimball. The driver of the #18 Unifin car continued with the damaged front wing but by lap nine the handling was too bad and he had to dive into pit lane for a new wing. The stop initially placed him 21st, one lap down from the rest of the field.
In the meantime, Jones also pitted on lap nine per their strategy and while the rookie was able to eventually make his way as high as 12th before his second stop, his race would take a turn for the worse in the second half of the 90-lap race.
On Jones’ third pit stop on lap 58, an issue getting the right rear tire on cost him precious time and sent him to the back of the field behind his teammate. Unfortunately for the rookie, he would later spin in Turn 9, but was still able to continue and take the checkered in 21st.
Also during the second half of the race, Gutierrez registered the fourth fastest lap of the race on lap 63 and while he managed to climb back up to 18th, a pit stop for fuel only on lap 76 sent him back to 20th.
The Dale Coyne Racing team will be back on track in three weeks for the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
What they had to say:
Esteban Gutierrez – #18 Unifin Honda
“It was a bit eventful but I think we can be happy about the progress we made in terms of pace. The first pit stop impacted the outcome of our race. It was not good timing, there was a bit of miscommunication on my part but we were able to continue the race, and that was the important thing. We were showing very strong pace overall. I think that’s the positive we can take out of this race. We lost the chance to finish in the Top 10, which I was aiming for. It was still quite fun, especially on the restart at the front. Now we have to look forward to the next two races, two ovals. Hopefully we’ll be making some progress again.”
Ed Jones – #19 Boy Scouts of America Honda
“Overall, it was a difficult weekend. The race didn’t go our way, the car was a little hard to drive, then we had an issue on a pit stop which sent me to the back of the field, and then I had the spin that sent me two laps down. It was a bit of a weekend to forget, to be honest.”
dalecoyneracing.com 