Following an impressive IndyCar oval debut in the Indianapolis 500, Zachary Claman DeMelo is set to drive for Dale Coyne Racing at Texas Motor Speedway.
IndyCar rookie Zachary Claman DeMelo is set to return to the cockpit of the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas next Saturday after a successful IndyCar oval debut in the Indianapolis 500.
Claman DeMelo started the 102nd running of the Indy 500 in 13th place after improving his speed from 26th fastest to 13th fastest from the first qualifying session to the second qualifying session for the biggest race of the IndyCar season and of his IndyCar career thus far.
The 20-year-old Canadian went on an alternate pit strategy early on in the race, and that strategy allowed him to lead seven of the race’s 200 laps around the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana, a total that trailed the laps led totals of only five other drivers in the field, including race winner Will Power.
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While Claman DeMelo, who had never led any laps in any of his previous five IndyCar races, ended up running in the top three with only 20 laps to go, this strategy did not ultimately pay off, as he had to pit for fuel from 10th place with three laps to go and was forced to settle for a 19th place finish one lap off the lead.
Claman DeMelo was not initially supposed to drive in the Indy 500, but he did so after Pietro Fittipaldi, who was supposed to drive the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in the race, broke both of his legs in a crash at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium during a World Endurance Championship race.
While Claman DeMelo is no longer scheduled to drive the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in this weekend’s Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan, as Santino Ferrucci was named his replacement as a result of the fact that Claman DeMelo replaced Fittipaldi in the Indy 500, Claman DeMelo is now set to replace Fittipaldi in the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway next Saturday.
Claman DeMelo confirmed that he would be driving at Texas Motor Speedway in next Saturday’s race in an Instagram post, although there has been no official word from Dale Coyne Racing yet regarding Claman DeMelo driving in that race.
Here is Claman DeMelo’s Instagram post regarding the DXC Technology 600 at Texas.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjVQBZ9gfhE/?hl=en&taken-by=zachcd13
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Tune in to the DXC Technology 600 on Saturday, June 9 to watch Zachary Claman DeMelo make his second career start in an IndyCar oval race. That race is set to be broadcast live from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on NBC Sports Network starting at 8:00 p.m. ET on that date.