Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Indy Lights Champion Ed Jones Lands Coyne’s Second Seat

By Brittany Frederick

Ed Jones sits in his Indy Lights car. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar
Ed Jones sits in his Indy Lights car. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar /
facebooktwitterreddit

2016 Indy Lights champion Ed Jones will replace Conor Daly at Dale Coyne Racing, joining Sebastien Bourdais as DCR’s second full-time IndyCar driver.

Dale Coyne Racing will still have a rookie driver in the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season – it just won’t be the same one. Ed Jones has been announced to move up from Indy Lights and collaborate with Sebastien Bourdais to give DCR a full-time two-car effort next year.

Jones takes the wheel of the No. 18 DCR Honda from Conor Daly, who signed a deal to take over one of the two cars at A.J. Foyt Enterprises last week.

The Dubai-born 21-year-old comes to IndyCar after two seasons in Indy Lights with Carlin. He is fresh off capturing the 2016 Indy Lights championship in a season with two wins and six other podium finishes across 18 races.

The year before, Jones finished third overall with three victories and four other podium results in 16 races.

More from IndyCar

“IndyCar has been my goal ever since I left Europe to come and race in America, and it’s crazy to think I’ll be joining the grid just two years after moving stateside,” Jones said in Coyne’s official statement.

“Together with my management team and sponsors, I’ve worked so hard for this opportunity and I fully intend to grab it by the scruff of the neck and make the most of it.”

The pairing of Jones and Bourdais gives Dale Coyne Racing two full-time drivers for the first time since the 2014 season, when Justin Wilson drove alongside rookie Carlos Huertas.

It also creates one of the more intriguing lineups in 2017. Bourdais surprised many people – including his own team – when he elected to leave KVSH Racing to return to Coyne, and Jones is in the familiar position of being a highly touted rookie who now has to prove he’s worthy of the promotion.

It’s hard to imagine that there’s much more Jones could do in Indy Lights, having been a title contender both years and winning the championship this season. The best he could do would be what he’s already achieved in 2016. So it makes perfect sense for him to jump up to IndyCar, and he has a good teammate to learn from in Bourdais.

Let’s just hope that he gets a fair shake. Some rookies soar off the bat (Scott Dixon), some need years to develop (Josef Newgarden), and others never quite get there (Jack Hawksworth). There’s no idea which category Jones will fall into.

And then there’s the thought that if Coyne wanted to bring up young talent, one wonders why they didn’t stick with Daly, who certainly acquitted himself well enough and will only be in his second season next year.

Next: James Hinchcliffe Makes 'Dancing With The Stars' Finals

But perhaps this is one of those cases where everything works out in the end. Daly still has a full-time ride, just with another team, and Ed Jones gets a well-earned shot while IndyCar keeps growing plenty of young talent. The bigger question is if Jones and Bourdais will be able to push Dale Coyne Racing into contending during the 2017 IndyCar season.

What do you think of Dale Coyne Racing’s IndyCar lineup for the 2017 season?