Claman De Melo Hoping for Better Oval Luck in Iowa

Newton, IA (July 6, 2018) – Zachary Claman De Melo will once again be taking on an oval at which he has no prior Indy car experience at this weekend when he and his Dale Coyne Racing team head to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 300. However, that lack of experience hasn’t stopped him from putting in some strong performances aboard his #19 Paysafe car in his first two IndyCar oval events. The rookie looks to do the same in Iowa but with a better outcome.

Claman De Melo made his IndyCar oval debut at Indianapolis earlier this year and was on his way to a possible top-10 when a fuel strategy gamble didn’t pay off, then in Texas he was taken out of the race through no fault of his own when making a pass for sixth place after a strong run to the front of the field.

With a 19th place finish at Indy and a 17th at Texas, the driver of the #19 Paysafe car is hoping that the third time’s a charm and that the bad luck he’s been facing is now behind him as he enters what is his last scheduled oval race this season.

While Claman De Melo’s IndyCar oval starts were both on superspeedways, this will be his first race on a short oval with the Iowa Speedway track measuring in at 7/8-mile (0.875). The Canadian driver has prior experience at Iowa Speedway in Indy Lights, with his best result coming last season when he finished sixth after starting second.

“I raced at Iowa in the Indy Lights Series the last couple of years so I’m familiar with the track,” said Claman De Melo. “It’s certainly an interesting oval with it being so short. I’m not sure what to expect as I have not driven an Indy car there yet but I’m confident my #19 Paysafe Dale Coyne Racing team will once again give me a good car this weekend and we can bounce back from our difficult weekend at Road America two weeks ago.”

Claman De Melo will get a one-hour practice session on Saturday, July 7 at 10:15am local time (11:15am ET) before heading into qualifying later that day at 2:30pm local time. He’ll then get a final one-hour practice at 5:45pm local time. Both practice sessions will be streamed live on racecontrol.indycar.com with qualifying being broadcast live on NBCSN.

The Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway will go green on Sunday, July 8 at 1:40pm local time and will be broadcast live on NBCSN from 1:00pm local time (2:00pm ET) on Sunday, July 8. The race can also be followed live on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network, including SIRIUS/XM 209/214.