By Josh Farmer
Tristan Vautier has been selected to drive for Dale Coyne Racing for this weekends Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Vautier was chosen to drive the No. 18 Sonny’s BBQ Honda as Esteban Gutierrez, who drove for the team at Detroit, is not yet approved to race on an oval. Sebastien Bourdais, the team’s primary driver, was injured during qualifying for the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.
“We chose Tristan to fill the 18 seat at Texas because of his previous experience at Texas Motor Speedway,” said Dale Coyne, team owner. “We think he can help the team and Ed (Jones) who has never raced or even tested there. Tristan has remained close with the team and he’s always done a good job for us. I expect much of the same going into this race weekend.”
The 2012 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires champion drove for DCR in 2015 for 11 races, including TMS. He churned out some strong results including a fourth at Detroit and a sixth at Mid-Ohio.
He competes in the Blancpain GT championship in Europe and in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back in an Indy car and race for Dale again,” said Vautier. “But before talking about me stepping in, let’s all keep sending our thoughts to Seb for a quick recovery. I was happy to see him at the track at Indy on race day. I have big shoes to fill!
