home
Justin
News
Features
News Item:| back |
Top ten finish for Justin at Chicagoland Speedway
29-August-2009
Justin and Dale Coyne Racing enjoyed their strongest oval performance of the year at Chicagoland Speedway as the #18 Z-Line Designs – Office Max car finished 10th in Saturday night’s PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300. A thrilling 10-lap conclusion to the race saw the first ten places covered by less than half a second as polesitter Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske) took victory by 0.0077s from Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.
Starting from 15th, Justin made good early progress to move up to 11th by the time of his first pit-stop on Lap 46. He made two further pit-stops under yellow on Laps 95 and 113 and made further progress as the second half of the race unfolded, running a comfortable 9th by the time of his third and final stop on Lap 160.
After a final yellow on Lap 184, to remove the stricken Penske of Helio Castroneves, the race went green on Lap 191, bringing the fans to their feet for a nailbiting 10 lap blast to the finish. Lying 8th at the restart, Justin moved forward into 7th place with five laps to go, and was still in 8th on Lap 199. But with a swarm of 10 cars spanning less than half a second and jockeying for position, it was pot luck who would cross the line in what order at the finish. For Justin and the entire Z-Line Designs – Office Max team, their 10th place result, ahead of veteran oval specialists such as Andretti Green Racing, was hugely satisfying.
“It was a great weekend,” said Justin. “The car was handling really well and it was obvious that we’d made a lot of progress. It was fantastic to be up there competing near the front and being part of the race. We’ve been saying all season that we’ll just get stronger and stronger and we’ve done exactly that. The great thing is that I know there’s more to come. I’m really looking forward to the last two races."
The result moves Justin back up to 10th in the driver standings as the series heads into its final two events at Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi (19 September) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (10 October).
< previous item next item >
Justin and Dale Coyne Racing enjoyed their strongest oval performance of the year at Chicagoland Speedway as the #18 Z-Line Designs – Office Max car finished 10th in Saturday night’s PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300. A thrilling 10-lap conclusion to the race saw the first ten places covered by less than half a second as polesitter Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske) took victory by 0.0077s from Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.
Starting from 15th, Justin made good early progress to move up to 11th by the time of his first pit-stop on Lap 46. He made two further pit-stops under yellow on Laps 95 and 113 and made further progress as the second half of the race unfolded, running a comfortable 9th by the time of his third and final stop on Lap 160.
After a final yellow on Lap 184, to remove the stricken Penske of Helio Castroneves, the race went green on Lap 191, bringing the fans to their feet for a nailbiting 10 lap blast to the finish. Lying 8th at the restart, Justin moved forward into 7th place with five laps to go, and was still in 8th on Lap 199. But with a swarm of 10 cars spanning less than half a second and jockeying for position, it was pot luck who would cross the line in what order at the finish. For Justin and the entire Z-Line Designs – Office Max team, their 10th place result, ahead of veteran oval specialists such as Andretti Green Racing, was hugely satisfying.
“It was a great weekend,” said Justin. “The car was handling really well and it was obvious that we’d made a lot of progress. It was fantastic to be up there competing near the front and being part of the race. We’ve been saying all season that we’ll just get stronger and stronger and we’ve done exactly that. The great thing is that I know there’s more to come. I’m really looking forward to the last two races."
The result moves Justin back up to 10th in the driver standings as the series heads into its final two events at Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi (19 September) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (10 October).
< previous item next item >
