Gutierrez completes full race distance in debut

Esteban Gutierrez

IndyCar newcomer Esteban Gutierrez put in a calculated drive for Dale Coyne Racing during Race 1 of the doubleheader weekend at the Detroit Grand Prix with a 19th place start and finish.

It was Gutierrez' first race aboard an Indy car.

Gutierrez was taking his maiden Indy car race as a learning experience to get up to speed behind the wheel of his #18 Unifin car and to get his first complete IndyCar race under his belt. The Mexican achieved his goal, making it as high as 14th before placing 19th, all while fighting with experienced drivers such as Oriol Servia and the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato.

"I'm very pleased and very grateful with the support I got from the team.

"It's been very important for me to get into a rhythm. Obviously, it was a very big challenge to throw ourselves into a weekend at Detroit.

"A very difficult track and not knowing the car. This race was basically to get the rhythm, to find the speed and to complete the 70 laps and that goal today was achieved.

"We're going to look for more for tomorrow's race but we're taking it step by step.

"It was a good day and a positive one because I could find more speed, more pace, I was more comfortable and more consistent. I feel very grateful with how everything went today."