The July 4 weekend will be special for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan co-owners Jimmy Vasser and James “Sulli” Sullivan and not because they’re joining many Americans in celebrating Independence Day.
The longtime NTT INDYCAR SERIES entrants will field cars in INDYCAR and IMSA events at two of the country’s best-known tracks, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway.
At Indianapolis – where the on-track activity will kick off today with practice (11:30 a.m. ET – NBC Sports Gold/) and NTT P1 Award qualifying (4:30 pm – NBCSN) – the pair will enter Santino Ferrucci’s No. 18 Honda, which will feature the colors of Mouser and Molex, marking the third consecutive season of partnership between Dale Coyne with Vasser Sullivan and the electronics companies.
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Mouser first sponsored INDYCAR racing in 2011 as an inventive way to communicate its performance-driven business model and promote the newest technologies.
The Mouser and Molex-sponsored car won the Indianapolis 500 in 2013, as well as the 2017 and 2018 series-opening races at St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2018 and 2019, Mouser and Molex were the primary sponsors of the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan car driven by Sebastien Bourdais at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Toronto.
“Mouser Electronics and Molex Connectors have collaborated with Jimmy (Vasser) and me for eight years,” Sullivan said. “They are much more than sponsors … they are partners that have made our teams better. We are now together again in these exceptional times and are blessed to have them take on the primary role for the GMR Grand Prix. We all look forward to providing the folks watching at home with exciting live racing and a strong performance by the Mouser-Molex machine.”
In addition to their INDYCAR roles, Vasser and Sullivan will join another personality from the INDYCAR paddock for the second half of their Saturday doubleheader. NBC Sports’ Townsend Bell, who calls NTT INDYCAR SERIES action alongside Leigh Diffey and Paul Tracy all season, also serves as the lead driver for one of AIM Vasser Sullivan’s two GT Daytona entries.
Bell, along with other team officials, will depart Indianapolis Motor Speedway following the GMR Grand Prix and travel 973 miles south to Daytona for the sports car race.
“I am pulling off something I’ve never tried before, which is commentating and racing on the same day in two different locations, “ Bell said. “I’m not sure if anybody has ever done that type of double, but we’re going to give it our best shot.”