Dale Coyne Racing Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Race Report
Salinas, California (Sunday, June 23, 2024) – Dale Coyne Racing had a good start to the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey with both its cars running a good race pace. However, Luca Ghiotto’s (#51 GAV Air Technology Honda) race came to an early end when he went off track on Lap 35. His teammate Jack Harvey (#18 INVST Honda) saw his race end due to an engine issue with 13 laps remaining.
Jack Harvey, #18 INVST, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Started: 26th
Finished: 25th
• Harvey had a strong start to the 95-lap race, gaining a couple of positions at the start to move into 24th.
• By Lap 6 he was up to 22nd, where he remained for most of his first stint.
• The driver of the #18 INVST car headed to pit lane on Lap 23 for fuel and to switch to the alternate Firestone tire.
• Harvey then took advantage of a full course caution to pit once again on Lap 37 for fuel and tires.
• He made it as high as 16th during his second stint and headed to pit lane for his final stop on Lap 66.
• The DCR driver was on his way to a strong finish, but an engine issue put an end to his race right after completing Lap 82.
Post Race Quote
“There’s not much to say about that really when you have smoke coming out the back of the car that’s never a good sign. It was actually the first time in a race I’ve ever had an engine fail, which I think with the number of races I’ve done it’s a pretty good stat. I know Honda are always shipping out as reliable engines as possible. It’s not a common thing that’s happened to me before which I think is a positive thing but obviously it’s frustrating today because I think where we were going to end up would have been pretty solid all things considered. Outside of qualifying, our pace for the rest of the weekend has been decent. I’m disappointed for everyone on the team that we couldn’t just finish it off today. If you’re going to get to Lap 82 in a 95-lap race, it would be pretty nice to just finish it so that’s a bummer but those things happen. We’ll get to Mid-Ohio with a fresh motor so hopefully we can do better there.”
Luca Ghiotto, #51 GAV Air Technology, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
Started: 27th
Finished: 27th
• Ghiotto gained a couple of positions at the start of the race.
• He entered pit lane for fuel and a set of alternate Firestone tires on Lap 22.
• The driver of the #51 car was putting in laps as quick as the leaders and was running strong when he lost control of the car on entry to Turn 4.
• Having gone offline and consequently off track, Ghiotto’s day ended when his car hit the tire barrier, causing race ending damage.
• Ghiotto ended the day with the 13th fastest lap of the race.
Post Race Quote
“It’s really disappointing because the car was fast today. I lost it on entry to Turn 4 and went offline, I was trying to get the car back on track but at those high speeds and in the sand there I couldn’t control the car. It wasn’t a huge shunt, but it caused quite a bit of damage to the car and ended our race too early. I’m sorry to the team. We had a good car today and I was hoping to get to the checkered flag.”
Next up: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 7, 2024
