Zachary Claman DeMelo is still set to test for Dale Coyne Racing in an attempt to drive for the team in the 2018 IndyCar season.
Despite the initial test not taking place as scheduled, 19-year-old Zachary Claman DeMelo is still set to test drive the #19 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing at Sebring International Raceway in an attempt to land a ride with the team in the 2018 IndyCar season.
Claman DeMelo’s test was initially scheduled for Wednesday, January 10th. However, that test did not go down as planned as a result of the fact that a clearance issue arose having to do with his drug test.
No, the 19-year-old French-Canadian did not fail his drug test; the results were simply not received. As a result of this, he was not allowed to test drive the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda as planned just days after signing with driver manager Stefan Johansson.
Here is what Claman DeMelo told Racer.com about the situation.
"“I don’t know what happened; IndyCar says they never got my results from the lab, but now they should have them tomorrow, I was told. I’m clean – no worries there – but without the results, I wasn’t able to run. It’s a shame.”“Seb [Bourdais] is meant to be back here on the 24th, so we’re talking about me being there to test the 25th. And we’re continuing to talk with Dale in the meantime about racing for the team.”"
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Claman DeMelo is widely believed to be the likely candidate to land a ride in the #19 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2018 IndyCar season, but nothing has been confirmed yet. There is also a question of whether or not he would get a full-time ride with the team if he were to sign with them, as there is a chance that the team could go with part-time drivers in the car.
Claman DeMelo’s IndyCar experience is limited to just one race in the 2017 season. He drove the #13 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the season finale at Sonoma Raceway. He started the race in 21st place and finished in 17th. Also in 2017, he was a full-time Indy Lights driver for Carlin Motorsport. He finished the season, his second in the sport, in 5th place in the championship standings with one victory, which was his first career win at Road America.
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Will Zachary Claman DeMelo do enough to land a full-time ride with Dale Coyne Racing in the 2018 IndyCar season? If not, will he at least do enough to land a full-time ride with the team? With the season rapidly approaching in under two months, we should know the answers to those questions relatively soon.