Dale Coyne Racing Streets of Toronto Qualifying Report
Toronto, ON, Canada (Saturday, July 20, 2024) – Dale Coyne Racing’s Hunter McElrea (#18 Courtesy Corporation Honda) and Toby Sowery (#51 Global Karting League / Vuzix Honda) took part in qualifying on Saturday for tomorrow’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, after a promising practice session earlier in the day.
Sowery, who is taking part in his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, will be starting 21st while McElrea will start 25th in his Series debut.
Toby Sowery, #51 Global Karting League / Vuzix, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
Starting: 21st
• Sowery took to the track in Group 1, Round 1 of qualifying.
• He kept improving his time with every lap and registered his fastest one around the tight 11-turn, 1.786-mile street course on his seventh and penultimate lap.
• His time of 1:01.3367 placed him 11th in his group and 21st on the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
Post Qualifying Quote
“I’m happy to get my first NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying under my belt, after missing the opportunity to do so at Mid-Ohio. I feel super comfortable with the car and we’re consistently chipping away and taking the steps in the right direction. It’s a high risk, high punishment track so it’s a balancing act but I feel like every time we go out, we’re improving as a team and as a driver. I’m super happy with that. A couple more tenths and we’d be mixing it up with the top boys. We’re always wanting more, always pushing for more but considering the lack of time and the efforts going in, it’s a good progression. It should be exciting for tomorrow. We started at the back at Mid-Ohio, and we moved forward and again that’s the goal for tomorrow. With a good strategy and keeping it clean we’ll see how we end up.”
Hunter McElrea, #18 Courtesy Corporation, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Starting: 25th
• McElrea was taking part in his first ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying session.
• After ending the morning practice session in 16th place, the rookie was hopeful when he headed out to qualify in Group 1, Round 1.
• Unfortunately for McElrea, a mistake on his first lap sent him into the tire barrier in Turn 8 and that put an end to his qualifying effort.
• The mistake put him 13th in his group and 25th on the starting grid for tomorrow’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race.
Post Qualifying Quote
“My debut IndyCar weekend has been an awesome experience so far. I’m loving it. We’ve been super strong all weekend, with 16th in practice this morning and maybe even looking to potentially transfer to segment 2 in qualifying. The car was really good, we were excited and looking forward to it. A stupid mistake from me unfortunately cost us, and we didn’t get to do a lap. We’ll be starting from the back tomorrow but I’m hopeful as we have good speed. Thanks so much to the Dale Coyne Racing crew, sorry for my mistake but tomorrow we’ll push forward. It will be my first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race tomorrow so I’m excited to get something done.”
Next up: The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, July 21, 2024, broadcast live on Peacock from 1pm ET.
