Ferrucci Scores Another Fourth Place Finish at Gateway

With nearly 60 laps left in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, the ENEOS-sponsored Dale Coyne Racing team was looking for a strong finish, running first and second before their last pit stops. Santino Ferrucci in the #19 Cly-Del Manufacturing Dale Coyne Racing Honda ended up fourth after leading 97 laps, and Sebastien Bourdais in the #18 Team SealMaster Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan entry finished 19th after making contact with the wall.

With his best NTT IndyCar event of the season, Ferrucci once again matched his best finish with another fourth place after leading 97 of the 248-lap event. Starting sixth, he moved to fourth at the beginning, then took third following a restart on Lap 7.

Ferrucci held third throughout his first stint and took the lead shortly before entering pit lane on Lap 53. He battled with James Hinchcliffe for the lead several times over, holding strong until a Lap 188 pit stop. An untimely caution period on Lap 191 pushed Ferrucci down to sixth, and hard as he tried to reach the podium, he had to settle for his third fourth place finish of the season.

“I had so much fun leading this race,” Ferrucci said. “To run a pace, run your lines and not have to think about it and just enjoy it. We had a winning race car, and I was really trying hard to bring home some hardware for the boys. I’m happy we came home fourth and picked up more points in the Rookie of the Year standings, and moved into the Top 10 in the overall championship.”

Unfortunately, Sebastien Bourdais didn’t finish as strong as he started. After his best qualifying effort of the season, he never ran lower than fourth and even led at one point, moving into second place halfway through the race. On Lap 190, he made contact with the wall at the exit of turn four without warning, causing him to finish 19th.

“The SealMaster Honda was really on it tonight,” Bourdais said. “It was a perfect weekend and I just couldn’t bring home the finish. I feel bad for the team; they did such a good job.”

NEXT RACE

Round 16 of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series is the Grand Prix of Portland, August 30-September 1 at the 1.967-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway.