Vautier to qualify, Davison to race

Tristan Vautier

Tristan Vautier will drive the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in qualifications May 16-17 for the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in lieu of JD Davison, who is competing in a sports car race in Canada. Vautier then will depart for Silverstone, where he'll compete in the Blancpain Endurance GT Series event on Race Day at Indianapolis.

"It is an interesting tradeoff," said Vautier, the 2011 Star Mazda and 2012 Indy Lights champion who went on to earn Verizon IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Vautier systematically progressed through his refresher program on the 2.5-mile oval May 14 and worked through the team's program for the six-hour session in preparation for qualifications. Davison, who will compete in his second consecutive Indy 500, recorded the fourth-fastest lap time (228.043 mph; 39.4663 seconds) in practice May 13.

Davison, 28, is the 34th driver confirmed for the 33-car starting grid. In 2014, he advanced 12 positions relative to his qualifying spot to finish 16th in a KV Racing Technology-prepared car.

"I have to thank James and Dale (Coyne) for trusting me for this job," Vautier said. "It's good to see the cars have been competitive so far. Obviously, we're not going to get out there trying to break records but work toward the qualifying. It's an interesting task to be in an Indy car and qualifying it for another driver, but I'm approaching it like I would any other race.

"So far, with the new aero kits, the cars have not been so different to drive from last year, but as we trim out I think that's where you'll see a bigger difference."

Carlos Huertas in the No. 18 Honda and Pippa Mann in the No. 63 Honda are Dale Coyne Racing stablemates for the 500 Mile Race. Davison, an Indy Lights race winner, made starts at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Sonoma Raceway for Dale Coyne Racing late in the 2013 Verizon IndyCar Series season. This year, he's driven a Nissan in the Pirelli World Challenge, co-driving to victory in the MOMO Grand Prix at Barber on April 25, and an Aston Martin in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

"James knew that he wanted to do the '500' and was putting together the program but knew that he had this conflict so he looked for someone to replace him and I was available," Vautier added. "Of course I said 'yes.' Dale was happy with the plan so here we go."

Vautier is co-driving a Ferrari 458 Italia for Akka ASP in the Blancpain Endurance GT Series, which kicked off the season in mid-April at Monza.

"It's a good place to stay sharp as a driver, and I'm trying to get back in an Indy car for a few one-offs in the second half of the season. I have things in the works so we'll see what happens."

INDYCAR