Strong Qualifying for DCR Rookies at Pocono Raceway
(August 19, 2017) – Dale Coyne Racing drivers Ed Jones and Esteban Gutierrez made their first appearance at Pocono Raceway today by impressively qualifying 11th and 13th respectively for Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 in a session that saw multiple incidents take place.
The Verizon IndyCar Series rookies only had 75 minutes of practice time to gain as much experience as possible around the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle’ before heading into qualifying, as neither of them had turned a wheel at the track before.
Gutierrez was the first of the Dale Coyne drivers to take to the track. The driver of the #18 Unifin Honda registered a two-lap average of 217.292mph which initially placed him sixth.
Jones, who was 16th in line to qualify, registered an average of 217.565 mph following his two laps around the track which placed 10th at the time.
Once all the drivers had made their qualifying attempt, Jones and Gutierrez ended up 11th and 13th.
The drivers will have a final 30-minute practice session tonight at 5pm ET.
The ABC Supply 500 will be broadcast live on NBCSN on Sunday, August 20 from 2pm ET.
What they have to say:
Esteban Gutierrez – #18 Unifin Honda
“This was my first qualifying on a superspeedway and after only a 75-minute practice so it’s been quite tricky to understand how to follow the grip level, it was also quite windy so it was quite challenging on that side. I did my best. We were a bit on the conservative side but still quite on the limit.”
Ed Jones – #19 Boy Scouts of America Honda
“I think qualifying around this track isn’t one of the biggest factors for the race as we’ve seen in the past. Going into the weekend our plan was always to run conservative in qualifying because there can be a lot of consequence for not a lot of gain in the long term of the race. As long as we’re here in a decent position to start we should be able to have a decent race car and able to race forward.”