HEROIC EFFORT BY CREW FOLLOWING PRACTICE CRASH

Sebastien Bourdais Qualifying Summary:
A heroic effort by the Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan crew, and a major assist from teammates of the No. 19 and No. 39 cars, allowed Sebastien Bourdais to overcome a huge crash in morning practice and qualify the No. 18 Gorilla Automotive Products car a solid fourth for tomorrow’s Portland Grand Prix at Portland International Raceway.

With just minutes remaining in the morning practice, Bourdais turned the fastest lap of the session. Shortly thereafter he entered the Turn 10-11 complex when suddenly he spun and slammed into the wall causing major damage to the rear of the car. The crew immediately flew into action and teammates from the other two Dale Coyne Racing cars jumped in to help. The extensive damage was repaired in under three hours allowing Bourdais to compete in the qualifying session. He went out in Group 2 in the first round of qualifying and despite not knowing the condition of the car advanced into the second round by placing fourth in Round 1. In Round 2 he logged the third quickest lap to advance to the Firestone Fast Six (the final round) where he notched the fourth fastest lap.

Sebastien Bourdais Qualifying Quote:

“The Gorilla Automotive Products Honda No. 18 crew did an amazing job. Honestly, I am still not entirely sure what happened, but I probably just missed the apex by about a foot and got myself in the dirt and that was that. The line was that narrow. When I got out of the car I didn’t think we had a chance to get back out for qualifying, but the entire team, all three crews with Dale Coyne Racing and Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan just pulled together. Man, it was pretty impressive. The car was just about as good as it was this morning, so it was pretty amazing. My hats off to those guys. Hopefully we can get a good result out this for the crew and our sponsors.”

Fast Facts:

• Bourdais has qualified in the top five six times and top10 nine times with one pole in 15 qualifying sessions this season (the grid at last weekend’s race at Gateway Motorsports Park was set by points due to inclement weather).
• In addition to today’s fourth place qualifying spot, Bourdais captured the pole at Phoenix, qualified third for the INDYCAR Grand Prix and at Barber, fifth for the Indianapolis 500 and at Texas, sixth at Road America, eighth at Pocono and ninth at Long Beach.
• In six qualifying attempts at PIR, Bourdais has now qualified in the top five all six times with a pole in 2004.
• In five previous races at PIR, Bourdais has finished on the podium four times with two wins 2004 and 2007.
• This is the fifth time Bourdais has reach the second round of road/street course qualifying and the fourth time he has made the Firestone Fast Six.
• Bourdais is 10^th in the championship standings with 334 points on the strength of six top-10 finishes (four in the top-five). Bourdais has a win at St. Petersburg, a fourth place finish in the INDYCAR GP and Pocono, a fifth at Barber (sixth at Mid-Ohio and eighth at Texas).
• Bourdais is contesting his 13th Verizon IndyCar Series season, third with Dale Coyne Racing and first with Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan.
• The 2018 Portland Grand Prix will be Bourdais’ 187^th Verizon IndyCar Series start and sixth at Portland International Raceway.
• In 186 career IndyCar starts, Bourdais has won 37 races (sixth all-time) and captured 34 pole positions (seventh all-time).
• Bourdais is the only driver to win four consecutive IndyCar championships (2004 – 2007).
• Bourdais, 39, is a native of Le Mans, France but resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Broadcast Times:

Round 16 of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series, will be the Grand Prix of Portland, August 31 – September 2, at Portland International Raceway in Portland, OR.. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN at 2:3 0 p.m. ET.  It is also available on radio: XM 209 and IMS IndyCar Radio as well as online: IndyCar.com and Verizon IndyCar 15 app.

Sebastien Bourdais Race Summary:
Sebastien Bourdais, behind the wheel of the No. 18 Team SealMaster – Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan car, came from 15^th place on the starting grid to finish 11^th in the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA. Bourdais, who was one of the few drivers that did not test here earlier in the month due to inclement weather, struggled in practice and qualifying. However, in the race the team made a change after the first pit stop that allowed Bourdais to “race.” The 13-year IndyCar veteran used all his skill and knowledge to manage his tires and run the longest stints of any driver. Bourdais was in the lower third of the field for much of the race, however during the last stint in particular, while other drivers were battling tire and handling issues, Bourdais was not only in control, but used the opportunity to make several late passes to work his way back to just outside the top-10.

Sebastien Bourdais Race Quote:

“The SealMaster Honda team pretty much got the best result we could have today. It has been a really tough weekend. We didn’t test here and when we unloaded we had to make a bunch of changes. I wouldn’t say we threw the kitchen sink at it because there was a lot of though and analysis that went into the changes we made. However, there were big swings trying to figure out how we could get the car in the zone. When you do that you start the race with an unknown and we got it wrong at first. Maybe we were too sensitive to the conditions. It only took two turns of front wing and that brought the car back to life. My race really started after the first pit stop. After that I was racy. It was a good recovery once we got those two turns of front wing out. I am really proud of the guys. They dug deep. I wish it had been a better result. We will keep trying and come back stronger next year.

Fast Facts:

• Bourdais earned 19 points today and is now 10^th in the championship standings with 254 points on the strength of four.top-10 finishes (three in the top-five) including a win at St. Petersburg, a fourth place finish in the INDYCAR GP and a fifth at Barber Motorsports Park (eighth in Texas).
• In five races at Iowa, Bourdais has finished in the top-10 twice placing eighth in 2016 and ninth in 2015).
• Bourdais is contesting his 13th Verizon IndyCar Series season, third with Dale Coyne Racing and first with Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan.
• The 2018 Iowa Corn 300 was Bourdais’ 182^nd Verizon IndyCar Series start, 38^th on an oval and fifth at Iowa Speedway.
• In 182 career IndyCar starts, Bourdais has won 37 races (sixth all-time) and captured 34 pole positions (seventh all-time).
• Of Bourdais’ 38 career oval starts, 30 have come in the last six years (29 in last five years).
• Bourdais has made 31 IndyCar oval starts (includes 2005 Indy 500) with a best qualifying effort of first (pole) at Phoenix in 2018. Phoenix was his first pole since Mid-Ohio in 2014 and first on an oval since 2006 when he captured the pole at Milwaukee (previous high was fourth at Fontana in 2013). His best finish is a victory at Milwaukee in 2015. It was his first oval win since 2006 also at Milwaukee.
• Bourdais made seven oval starts in Champ Car earning four victories: Lausitz, 2003; Las Vegas in 2004 and 2005; Milwaukee 2006 and capturing three poles: Lausitz, 2003; Las Vegas 2005 and Milwaukee in 2006.
• Bourdais is the only driver to win four consecutive IndyCar championships (2004 – 2007).
• Bourdais, 39, is a native of Le Mans, France but resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Next Race and Broadcast Times:
Round 12 of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series, will be the Honda Indy Toronto, July 15, on the temporary street circuit at Toronto, Canada. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN at 3:00 p.m. ET.  It is also available on radio: XM 209 and IMS IndyCar Radio as well as online: IndyCar.com and Verizon IndyCar 15 app.