Jim Ayello

jim.ayello@indystar.com

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Something special is brewing at Dale Coyne Racing -- whether Sebastien Bourdais wants to acknowledge it or not.

After backing up his worst-to-first finish at the season-opening race in St. Petersburg (Fla.) with a second-place turn Sunday at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Bourdais was asked if he considers his No. 18 Honda team a threat to claim the Verizon IndyCar Series championship.

Bourdais played coy.

“I don't know that we're a contender but we'll find out,” the four-time Champ Car series champion and current points leader said. “We'll have stayed up there for two races so that's not too bad.”

Not too bad? Heading into the April 23 race at Barber (Ala.) Motorsports Park, the 38-year-old Frenchman's pair of podium finishes have him 20-plus points ahead of Sunday’s champion James Hinchcliffe and the defending series champion Simon Pagenaud.

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And remember, that’s after some rough qualifying efforts. Bourdais failed to complete a qualifying lap at St. Petersburg and was sent to the back of the pack. On Sunday, he started 12th.

That leads one to wonder: What will happen when Bourdais starts enjoying better Saturdays?

We might soon find out. Bourdais is not only historically good at qualifying, he’s one of the best of ever. With 33 poles in his career, he’s tied for seventh all-time with Dario Franchitti.

And Bourdais isn’t the only one finding success with Dale Coyne. Ed Jones, the only rookie in the series, has somewhat quietly delivered back-to-back top 10s. After finishing 10th at St. Petersburg, the 2016 Indy Lights champion jumped to sixth Sunday and sits in seventh in the points standings making Coyne one of just two teams sporting two drivers in the top seven (the other is Team Penske with Pagenaud in third, Josef Newgarden fifth and Helio Castroneves sixth).

“I'm super happy for the whole team,” Bourdais said Sunday. “Super happy for Ed because he's a really good kid. There's nothing I can say that's negative about him. He's very open. He's straightforward, pleasant to work with, just a good kid. He's quick, like I said, reliable, doesn't make mistakes. I'm happy for him."

Bourdais, as he did after St. Petersburg, credited Coyne's personal investment into his team this past offseason, including bringing on some integral players behind the scenes in engineers Craig Hampson and Olivier Boisson.

“Dale has made a significant contribution to his own progress," Bourdais said. "He's stepped up his game. He spent a lot of money. You know, if he can get rewarded for his commitment to the series, it's awesome."

The 22-year-old Jones added that Coyne's investment has taken "the team to another level this year and the proof is the first two races. We made big jumps this weekend from St. Pete and I can't wait to get to Barber to make even more."

Could it be that Coyne's team is ready to make the leap into the IndyCar elite? Bourdais is careful not to get ahead of himself, but he knows the possibility is there.

“We're a smaller group," Bourdais said. "We're all trying to build something. Hopefully we can repeat and create some upsets as often as possible.”

If they keep producing finishes like they have in the first two races, he won't be able to call them upsets much longer.

Follow Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jamesayello; and on Instagram: @jimayello.