Wilson drives owner to first IndyCar win at the Glen
Coyne earns first victory in 558th start as owner, driver
WATKINS GLEN — During the waning laps of Sunday's Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, Roger Penske stood tall in his pit box, his familiar white hair and neat red-and-black Penske Racing uniform the very picture of power in the IndyCar Series, as has been the case for decades.
In an adjacent pit box was Dale Coyne, his hair more than a little mussed and wearing a rumpled red-and-gray dress shirt. The shirt had a small Dale Coyne Racing logo embroidered just above the pocket, but television viewers probably couldn't even see it as he did a rare, late-race interview looking very much the role of the underdog.
Moments later, Coyne was a champion — for the first time in his career, for the first time in 558 starts, for the first time in 25 years.
The owner and jubilant crew of Dale Coyne Racing ran across pit lane and celebrated at the wall as Justin Wilson whizzed under the checkered flag at Watkins Glen International to earn a tremendous win, whether you measured the time by the scoring monitor (nearly five seconds ahead of Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe) or by the two-and-a-half decades of Coyne's career.
"You have a passion for this, and you love it, and you keep fighting and going forward," said Coyne, a smile filling his face. "When we have lean years or bad years and don't have a sponsor, and it just makes you try harder, and I think that's paid off."
The victory by the proverbial little guy was the first of its kind in the IndyCar Series in a long time — it was the first win this season by a team other than Penske or Target Chip Ganassi Racing, which boast the series' top four cars: Briscoe and Helio Castroneves of Penske and Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti of Ganassi.
The last time a team other than Penske or Ganassi won an IndyCar race was when Wilson won for the only other time in his IndyCar career — at Belle Isle Park in Detroit in August 2008. Wilson recorded that win for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing before joining Coyne's single-car team this year. The victory sent the No. 18 team from 15th place to 10th in the points standings. "It's fantastic to get Dale's first win, and also Gail's [Coyne's wife]," said Wilson. "The two of them put a lot into this, their heart and soul. We all do. It means a lot to me.
"I got here early [this weekend], so we're down in [downtown] Watkins Glen walking around, and you see all those names on the pavement down there, the guys who have won here, and that's pretty cool. You're walking around, reading off the names. It's fantastic to get your name on the board of winning at Watkins Glen up there with some of the best."
Wilson started second, led 49 of 60 laps and blew away a talented field over the last few trips around the 3.37-mile, 11-turn road course high above the southern tip of Seneca Lake. A dramatic finish seemed to be in store when a caution flag flew on lap 52 due to a spin by Hideki Mutoh. Wilson led pole-sitter Briscoe, Dixon and Castroneves, a challenge Coyne described in his in-race interview as "David against two Goliaths."
If you stick to that analogy, this David won by slinging bigger and bigger stones. The 30-year-old Englishman blew away his star-studded pursuers by rocketing out to a huge lead over Briscoe on the restart with six laps to go, and his lead would only get bigger: 2.8 seconds, 3.7, 4.1, 4.5, 4.7 and finally 4.99.
Coyne, a 54-year-old resident of Plainfield, Ill., began his open-wheel racing career in 1984 as an owner-driver in CART and retired as a driver in 1988 to focus on running his team. He raced at the Glen in 1978 "in a Super Vee," an 1970s open-wheel racer produced by Volkswagen.
"It's all the things you do, you know," said Coyne. "The last few years we've tried to do a better job with what we've put together. ... This year, Justin became available. Some higher quality engineering staff became available. And the wife and I talked about it. It was a financial commitment to do it, but we did it and said 'We're going to make this thing work.'
"So we worked hard to pull all the pieces together, but that's because we have a passion for the sport. And that goes back to '78 in a trailer to today. So we're very happy to be here."
Wilson was aided in his final flourish by his team's use of the "red" tires — a faster set with a different compound that has better grip and heats up quicker than the standard "black" variety. While most other teams had gone through their allotment of three sets of "reds" for the weekend, Wilson had saved a set that he hadn't used during Saturday's qualifying.
Briscoe, who was using the standard tires, had to pay more attention to holding off the red tire ride of Dixon (who finished third), than he could to Wilson. Castroneves was fourth while Marco Andretti was fifth. Rookie Mike Conway bounced back from a Saturday practice crash to finish sixth.
Dixon took over the lead in the IndyCar points from Franchitti, who suffered a 15th-place finish after spinning out in the Inner Loop on lap 23. The top four in points are Dixon, Franchitti, Briscoe and Castroneves.
Coyne's bio in the IndyCar media guide calls him a tutor of drivers: "Coyne's ability to help and coach drivers has paid dividends to the drivers that have competed with his seasoned team."
"What's important and what I offer is listening to a driver and relating to the engineers what he's thinking," said Coyne.
"When [Wilson] relays something, he's too polite, [saying] 'Well, I think it's OK.' That means it's no good," Coyne said, laughing. "I would probably be more blunt, but he's too polite."
The feel-good story at the Glen closed out what had been a tumultuous week for the series. Longtime open-wheel leader Tony George was ousted as president and chief executive officer of the IndyCar Series, and series leaders met with team owners and the media this weekend at the Glen to ease concerns about the future of IndyCar.
"I think what is good about the sport is that a team with our resources and our budget can win a race," said Coyne. "A lot of teams from Grand Am, or wherever they might be from, I think they can come here, can get the pieces we need, the drivers we need and do the job. And I think that's very good for the sport. This sport is going forward for a long time.
"I can't thank my crew [enough], my team guys and everybody that's been with me. ... Of course, my wife Gail, who has stood by me through all this and big decisions and things we've done in the past few years. It's all rewarded today."
Review a live blog of of the race at the Sports, Ink blog.
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