Guaranteed Rate Extends Its Partnership with Alex Palou
| Madison, IL (August 28, 2020) – Guaranteed Rate, one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States, is returning as primary sponsor on the Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh car driven by Alex Palou this weekend. The #55 Guaranteed Rate Honda will be back in action at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Bommarito Automotive Group doubleheader weekend on August 29 and 30 for Rounds 8 and 9 of the 2020 season. Guaranteed Rate made its first appearance on Palou’s car at last weekend’s Indianapolis 500. “Alex has come in and made a big splash in the sport. His confidence and drive to win has kept race fans on the edge of our seats throughout the season, and gives him the inside track toward Rookie of the Year honors,” said Guaranteed Rate Chief Marketing Officer Steve Moffat. “We’re excited to continue Guaranteed Rate’s partnership with Alex in this weekend’s double-header.” Palou completed every practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the top 10. He made it into the Fast Nine for qualifying, registered the fastest single lap (231.901mph) of the nine drivers in the Fast Nine qualifying session and posted the fastest trap speed of all drivers at 240.288mph. While his race ended after contact with the wall more than halfway through the 500-mile race, the rookie says he gained the experience and confidence to fight for wins on ovals. “I want to thank Guaranteed Rate for their continued support this weekend. Hopefully we can give them a win. I’m super excited about racing at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway). I now have much more experience on an oval with these last two weeks at Indianapolis where I felt really comfortable. Already in Iowa, I think we made a big step forward, but I think Indy was the big moment where it clicked, and I gained confidence and feel ready to fight for races on ovals. Despite the accident, looking back at Indy we had an amazing two weeks. Until that moment, I think we were in a good spot to fight for the win,” said Palou. “Going to Gateway, if we look at the race last year, the team did an amazing job. They were close to accomplishing a 1-2 finish, so hopefully we can try and do the same this year with Santino.” Palou enters the weekend at the 1.25-mile oval with a best oval starting position of seventh (Iowa Race 2, Indianapolis 500) and a best oval finish of 11th (Iowa Race 1) in only four oval starts. Overall this season, the rookie has a best finish of third (Road America Race 1) as well as a best starting position of third (Road America Race 2). Palou currently leads the Rookie of the Year standings by one point. “We’re extremely pleased that Guaranteed Rate has extended its sponsorship of Palou’s car for this weekend,” expressed Team Owner Dale Coyne. “Alex has shown great potential and I’m confident we can have a strong weekend at Gateway and make Guaranteed Rate proud.” The Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh driver will get 90 minutes of practice time on Friday starting at 3:30pm local time. The starting grid for each race will be set in Saturday’s qualifying session (11am local time). Each driver will get two qualifying laps with Lap 1 setting the grid for Saturday’s Race 1 and Lap 2 the grid for Sunday’s Race 2. Both races will go green at 2:45pm local time (3:45pm ET) and will be broadcast live on NBCSN. About Guaranteed Rate Guaranteed Rate is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the Company has more than 5,000 employees in nearly 350 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances and funded more than $30 billion in loans in 2019 alone. The Company has cemented itself as Positively Different by introducing innovative technology, such as the world’s first Digital Mortgage, by offering low rates and by delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2019; Top Lender 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Chicago Agent magazine; Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years; and Best Online Mortgage Lender, Best Mortgage Lender for VA loans and Best Conventional Mortgage Lender by NerdWallet in 2019. Visit rate.com for more information. About Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh was formed at the end of 2019 as a partnership between Dale Coyne Racing and Kazumichi Goh, the founder of Team Goh. The two teams first collaborated in the early 1990s and reconnected nearly 20 years later to run Spaniard Alex Palou in the NTT IndyCar Series. Dale Coyne Racing has participated in every season of the North American open-wheel series since 1984. Dale Coyne, a Midwestern entrepreneur who designed and built Route 66 Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL, is known for taking on young drivers and mentoring them in the early stages of their careers. The team has claimed multiple victories, most notably, winning back-back races at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the past few years. Team Goh also has a storied history in racing. The team won the 1996 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship and became one of the prestigious Privateer teams to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2004 with Seiji Ara, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. |