Madison, IL (August 26, 2017) – It wasn’t an easy race for the Dale Coyne Racing drivers on Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park but Sebastien Bourdais came home with a satisfying top 10 finish in his first race back since May while Ed Jones finished 13th.
Jones and Bourdais were, respectively starting 12th and 19th. However, with an early spin by a competitor and the race starting under yellow, Bourdais found himself in 13th place when the green flag waved on the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
While Jones gained a couple of positions at the beginning of the race, Bourdais lost a couple. With Bourdais then pitting for fuel during the second caution of the race, it allowed him to stay out longer than others and take the lead of the race on Lap 61, for five laps, before making his second stop.
Jones and Bourdais would end up following each other following the pit stop with Bourdais now 12th ahead of Jones.
As the race went on, Jones would climb his way back into the top 10 while Bourdais once again wound up at the back of the field following a lap 113 restart.
However, following the final round of stops on lap 206, Bourdais got by Jones in the pits and later made his way into the top 10 on the lap 213 restart while Jones would end up 13th.
Both drivers remained in their respective positions as they took the checkered flag.
Jones and Bourdais will be back in action next weekend for the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen from September 1st to 3rd.
What they had to say:
Sebastien Bourdais – #18 Unifin Honda
“It wasn’t an easy race. We knew the car wasn’t perfect and I had some really complicated restarts. I don’t know what was going on but I got loose three times and I almost stuffed it and so I went to the back of the pack. The guys did a really good job in the pits and got us back in contention there at the end. I finally had a good restart and a couple of wobbles in front of me and I benefitted from it. I’m just really happy with my top 10. It’s a good way to salvage something this weekend.”
Ed Jones – #19 Boy Scouts of America Honda
“It was a tough race. We had a lot of downforce on the car. Earlier on in the race we were alright but as the race went on the pace of the car wasn’t quick enough to move forward so it was a bit frustrating. I did have some good battles early on. It’s just a shame that I didn’t have the speed at the end. It’s a great event. Everything, the way that the organization has done it, is right. It was great to see all these fans come out and support us.”
dalecoyneracing.com 