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James Davison did a superb job racing in the Indianapolis 500 as the substitute for the injured Sebastien Bourdais before crashing with 17 laps remaining while running in the top five.
Despite starting last, Davison made the most of a fast Dale Coyne Racing car engineered by Craig Hampson and savvy strategy by team boss Coyne.
He led two laps and looked set to achieve his goal of a top 10 finish before tangling with IndyCar Series veterans Oriol Servia and Tony Kanaan on Lap 184 of 200.
Kanaan went on to finish fifth, while Davison was classified 20th.
“It was up and down,” Davison told Speedcafe.com.
“I had to learn some things due to the limited practice I got but I led the Indianapolis 500 from starting last.
“I knew that I had a slim chance to win even though we were lacking a little bit of top speed with the road course parts situation.
“If we could have got track position at the right time, we were in a position to win it because I had passed Sato when I crashed.
“One of those give and take things but I gave it my best shot and I didn’t want to finish seventh.
“I gave the GEICO car the best run that I could and I’m just really proud of the whole team.”
Racing with Kanaan and Servia, Davison found himself in a three-wide situation that compromised his entry into Turn 1.
Davison and Servia made contact and spun into the outside wall, while Will Power and James Hinchcliffe collided while trying to veer low to avoid the accident.
Josef Newgarden spun out of the race in the same incident.
“I got swallowed up on one of those restarts by being in the wrong hole, but just went for it with about 15 laps to go,” Davison said.
“I got a run on (Tony) Kanaan and (Oriol) Servia and two into one don’t go.
“It’s one of those deals where maybe I could have given him a little more room or he should have lifted.
“Overall it was good and I went wheel-to-wheel with the top guys today and learned some things.
“Equally as proud of the strong run we had, I’m disappointed to have it end, but that’s the Indy 500.
“You’ve got to go for it if you want to win it, because it’s not going to come to you.
“You’re racing some of the best drivers in the world in very equal equipment – you’re not just going to drive by these established stars.”
Davison believes he did enough to earn additional races in the #18 Coyne car, starting with the doubleheader weekend coming up in Detroit.
“The GEICO guys came up to me super-pumped so we’re going to see,” Davison reported.
“We’ve got to see what the other sponsors think, but I’m sure they are pleased.
“Just need to wait and see, because when the car ends up in the fence, it’s not the best.
“That’s IndyCar racing – you have these accidents, and it’s unfortunate and costly for the teams.
“Obviously I’m super bummed, but we’ll be back, bigger and better.
The Detroit Grand Prix will be held from June 2-4.
