Dale Coyne Racing ? 25 Year Journey To Victory Lane
- Updated: July 8, 2009
Justin Wilson winning last weekend at Watkins Glen is the feel good story thus far in 2009. Since 1984, Wilson’s car owner had been working in the bottom half of the grid with drivers such as Ross Bentley, Paul Jasper, Dennis Vitolo, Charles Nearburg and Alex Yoong to name a few. Why? Because of the economics of open wheel racing he had to.
Coyne ran his first race at Mid-Ohio in 1984 in an well used Eagle chassis after missing the Portland and Road America races due to lack of speed. It was that old 1981 Eagle chassis with updated bodywork which typified Coyne’s resourcefulness starting on his 25-year journey to victory lane. The self-made Coyne started his racing career in 1975 and worked his way up the SCCA ranks. Raised in Minooka, IL, Coyne received a degree in horticulture and started a successful landscaping business.
The Plainfield, Illinois resident eventually purchased an ex-Michael Andretti Kraco March and installed a stock-block Chevy. The colorful car was a fan favorite at CART track across the U.S. As the high pitched Cosworths and Ilmors would race by and then a pause and then Coyne’s rumbling Chevy would motor by. That’s called living the dream.
In 1989 Coyne stepped out of the cockpit to concentrate on running the team, thus would start the needed cycle of funded drivers to help underwrite the team. The enigmatic Guido Dacco would start the parade yielding to the skydiving Dean Hall in 1990. In 1991 Randy Lewis and his AMP monies funded the ride and led to one of the more maddening situations in Indy 500 history. After A.J. Foyt made his comeback qualifying run after his Road America injuries, the next qualifier was Lewis. On the first lap of his qualifying attempt, Lewis slammed into the first turn wall, in which one pit wag said that was the most photographed accident in Speedway history, since all the photogs were still there after Foyt’s run. Lewis had a stipulation that he got the back-up car if he needed it. Thus, a young and talented Paul Tracy was out of a ride. The rookie Tracy could drive circles around Lewis, however, Coyne needed Lewis’ money even to offer Tracy a ride, thus the conundrum. A week later in Milwaukee, Team Penske signed the young Canadian to a testing contract.
Coyne’s team continued through the 1990’s, even got a podium in 1996 with Roberto Moreno at Michigan. NFL Hall of Famer, Walter Payton joined on as a partner in 1994, and continued on into 1999 until passing away far too young from a rare liver disease in 1999. The 2000 season saw young Alex Barron have some nice runs for Coyne at Surfer’s Paradise, Australia and Fontana until the team encountered problems.
For the last ten years the team has had a run of talented drivers such as, Barron, Memo Gidley, Oriol Servia and Cristiano da Matta. It was during this time the Coyne team continued to grow and started to produce some flashes of success. In fact, the podium result of third was matched in ’04 when Servia accomplished the feat at Laguna Seca. Servia would also score the team’s first top-ten finish in the points that same year. However, other times saw funded drivers such as Michael Krumm, Joel Camathias, Gualter Salles and Andre Lotherer limp around at the rear of the field.
Limited success continued as Coyne ran the CART/Champ Car circuit through its entirety. In 2007, Bruno Junqueira (driving without a retainer) posted three consecutive podium finishes in the European Champ Car races in Zolder, Belgium (second place); Assen, Holland and in Australia at Surfer’s Paradise.
2008 saw reunification and many speculated if Dale Coyne Racing would answer the bell. Perhaps it was help from Tony George and his TEAM monetary sharing program, Coyne was in Homestead in 2008 with Brazilians, Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes driving the No. 18 and No. 19 entries.
After the ’08 season Junquieira was not brought back and Moraes taking his funds to KV Racing. Once again there was some speculation to whether Coyne would compete in ’09. When the Series showed up in St. Petersburg, it was the talented Englishman, Justin Wilson behind the wheel. Coyne stepped up and brought accomplished engineer Bill Pappas aboard, and results came right away as the team qualified outside the front row and nearly won, finishing third.
The Coyne team came to Watkins Glen with everyone’s attention on Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi. However it was the Coyne team and Wilson which captured the pole position, the team’s first. Wilson passed Ryan Briscoe on the third lap, and never looked back. A late full-course caution flag flew, however the 6′ 4″ Brit was not going to let anyone by. Wilson had a great restart and surged to his first victory of the ’09 IndyCar Series season and his second win overall. Wilson gave team owner Dale Coyne his first victory in open-wheel racing well deserved after 25 years in the business. Wilson dominated that final restart, stating, “They (Firestone ‘reds’ soft-compound tires) were fantastic. A little bit more grip and a little bit more confidence,” he said. “It was a nice feeling to have those underneath me. I knew that Ryan didn’t have them and I did. And as soon as that yellow came out, we didn’t need to save fuel again, we could run flat out to the end. Also, the option tires seemed to be coming in a little bit quicker. It heats up faster, so I was able to open up a nice gap and make my life a lot easier the last five laps.” Wilson outran Team Penske driver, Ryan Briscoe for the win.
“We worked hard to put all the right pieces together for the team and today was the first step in achieving those goals,” exclaimed team owner Dale Coyne. “I want to thank and remember everyone who touched this team throughout the years to achieve this goal. We are looking forward to a very bright future.”
“The Z-Line Designs/Sixth Avenue Electronics car was really fun to drive today, and the whole Dale Coyne Racing team did a great job,” exclaimed Wilson. “I had a smile from ear-to-ear on the final lap and I’m so happy to give Dale his first victory. I can’t thank them and Z-Line Designs enough for their support this year. This is definitely the most important victory of my career.”
Coyne added, “You have a passion for this, and you love it, and you keep fighting and going forward,” Coyne said. “When we have lean years or bad years and don’t have a sponsor, it just makes you try harder, and I think that’s paid off.”
Well done Dale, a 25 year journey to victory lane, it’s been a long time coming.
Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.
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