COYNE - Pole Day Notes

 
 
Lucky 13 Start for Claman De Melo at Indy 500
 
Indianapolis, IN (May 20, 2018) – Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo impressed on Sunday during the second day of qualifying for the Indy 500 which determined the starting positions for the 33-car field by qualifying 13th. Conor Daly, in the team’s entry with Thom Burns Racing, rounded out the field in 33rd. Below are the Qualifying Reports for both drivers.

Zachary Claman De Melo - #19 Paysafe
Position: 13th
Claman De Melo was the eighth driver to take to the track on Sunday to set his spot on the starting grid for positions 10 to 33. The 20-year-old immediately jumped to 10th on his first lap of 227.549mph. He maintained his speed in the 227s on his second lap and fell just below that speed on his third and fourth lap to maintain a four-lap average of 226.999mph. Claman De Melo remained 10th for the longest time with only three drivers, Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan and fellow rookie Matheus Leist, beating him out of the 16 drivers remaining after him. Claman De Melo will be starting 13th, a lucky number for the Canadian. His grandmother got freed from the Holocaust on Friday the 13th and the (concentration camp tattoo) numbers on her arm all added up to 13. It’s been a lucky number for him all of his life.
Lap 1 – 227.549 mph
Lap 2 – 227.179 mph
Lap 3 – 226.787 mph
Lap 4 – 226.485 mph
Average of 226.999 mph
In his own words:
“I’m really excited for the race in the #19 Paysafe car. I struggled a little bit with the no tow speed and we really picked it up today and made some big improvements. It’s great to see how well we’re working together. It’s extremely encouraging as a rookie to do what we’ve done this weekend. Especially with our struggles earlier this week and yesterday in the first day of qualifying. It shows what a relentless team we are. We worked really hard, we stayed at the track late most nights and we got a good qualifying car. I’m super happy to end up where we are as a rookie. I believe in my ability in the race more so than qualifying, that’s something that I need to work on, so to start so far forward makes my life easier as a driver. It’s been surreal to be here as rookie. I’m a bit at a loss for words. The fans, driving around this place, being with the team, everything is amazing. I have a great engineer, a great group of experienced mechanics at Dale Coyne Racing.”

Conor Daly - #17 U.S. Air Force
Position: 33rd
American Conor Daly didn’t have the day he wanted during the second day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. After the drama of nearly being bumped on Sunday, Daly was hoping to move up the field, but it wasn’t meant to be for the driver of the #17 U.S. Air Force car who once again struggled to find speed. Daly will be starting from the 33rd and final position.
Lap 1 – 224.921 mph
Lap 2 – 224.504 mph
Lap 3 – 224.211 mph
Lap 4 – 224.081 mph
Average of 224.429 mph
In his own words:
“No dramas today but we’re fighting for miles an hour. All I can do is put my foot down and do the best we can for our incredible partners at the U.S. Air Force. It’s incredible to be here with them and at this point, I’m just thankful to be in the field. I’d like to be a lot quicker, but we’ll see what we can do in practice tomorrow to improve our race car.”
 
 
 

Tom Beeler

Tom has been a contributor to RIS since 1992. He was invited to join the staff as a full-time reporter/editor in 1995, and has covered IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, Grand-Am, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to his RIS work, Tom has been a contributor for General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and the ACO.

Read More on Indy Car press releases
Volume 2018, Issue 5, Posted 8:06 PM, 05.20.2018