-Norman to start 26th in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut –
Lexington, OH (July 3, 2021) – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR driver Romain Grosjean qualified 18th in his #51 Nurtec ODT entry for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Course while his teammate Ryan Norman placed himself 26th on the starting grid for his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut.
Both drivers went out in Group 2 in Round 1 of qualifying and while Grosjean sat in the Top 6 for most of the 10-minute session and was on a fast lap that could have put in him the Top Six, another trip to the Fast 12 wasn’t in the cards for the rookie. His fastest lap of 1:06.86 was only good enough for ninth in his group.
Fellow rookie Norman, improved with every lap this weekend and qualifying was no different. The Ohio-native registered a fastest lap time of 1:07.50, but wasn’t able to move up the charts and he had to settle with 13th in his group.
Romain Grosjean – 18th
“Qualifying with our #51 Nurtec ODT Honda didn’t go our way today. It’s a long race tomorrow and the car is fast so we’ll just have to fight our way to the front.”
Ryan Norman – 26th
“It’s great to be here at Mid-Ohio driving an Indy car for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR. While we would’ve liked to start a bit further up the grid, it’s been a great experience being on track with all these amazing drivers. I’ve learned a lot so far. One area that is completely new to me is driving with the alternate Red Firestone tires. They have a such great amount of grip that it takes a certain amount of trust in the tires to push as hard as you can, so that might have cost us a bit today, but it’s part of the learning curve. We have good long-term pace so I’m looking forward to having a clean race tomorrow, and we’ll try to race our way to the front in our #52 KOINU INU / EVO Honda.”
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will go green Sunday, July 4 at 12:05pm ET and will be broadcast live on NBC starting at Noon ET.
dalecoyneracing.com 