Catchfence

Indianapolis, Indiana (May 29, 2011) – As most drivers will tell you, it’s an accomplishment in and of itself just to make the Indianapolis 500, but even more of an accomplishment to finish all 500 miles. Though timing denied the #19 Boy Scouts of America car and driver Alex Lloyd a repeat top-five finish in today’s 95th running of the Indianapolis 500, his ability to complete the race is something to be proud of.

After an exciting last-minute qualifying run placing the #19 Boy Scouts of America car in the 33-car field, Lloyd, who finished fourth in last years Indianapolis 500, was looking to repeat the magic of 2010, but lady luck wasn’t on his side this weekend and the 26-year old had to settle for a 19th place finish, after starting 30th.

Lloyd was in the pits when the second caution flag of the day flew, which cost the #19 Boy Scouts of America car to move one lap down on lap 62.

“We had the unfortunate conditions of untimely yellow flags today,” team owner Dale Coyne said. “The first one put us a lap down. We tried very hard to get the lap back, but the timing did not work in our favor.”

Strong 20 mile-an-hour wind gusts had the team engineers making adjustments on every pit stop to cope with the changing conditions of the afternoon. By the end of the race, the car was working well, but the team needed to save fuel and hope for one last yellow to get into the top ten. A pit stop with two laps remaining would relegate Lloyd to 19th.

“The car got more comfortable towards the end of the race,” Lloyd said, “We went off strategy at the end and that didn’t pay off for us. But ultimately we hung in there, got the best out of the day that we could and I’m proud of all the guys for not only digging deep to get us in the field after qualifying, but also digging deep in the race to achieve our maximum. I’m looking forward to going to Texas now looking for a repeat of the great weekend we had there last year.”

The IndyCar Series next heads to the Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone Twin 275s on Saturday, June 11. The race can be seen live on VERSUS 8 p.m. (CDT)

- Dale Coyne Racing, Press Release