Written by Dan Jones, Edited by Archie O'Reilly
Toby Sowery will make his IndyCar debut at the series' next round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, as he Briton becomes the sixth driver to pilot the #51 car at some point this season.
Sowery has experience in the IndyCar ladder, racing in Indy Lights, and Indy NXT, despite funding difficulties throughout his career. He took one win in 2019 en-route to finishing third in the championship, but he missed the closing rounds in 2021, finishing ninth. In 2023, he competed on a partial basis, he took a podium at Barber in one of three races.
2024 has seen Sowery compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for CrowdStrike Racing by APR, in the LMP2 class. Sowery lines up alongside George Kurtz and Colin Braun, who drove the #51 entry on the Streets of St. Petersburg and the $1 Million Challenge at the Thermal Club. The team finished second in class at Daytona, and lay 5th in the standings
He has also competed in the GT World Challenge Europe in 2024, alongside Formula E Champion, Jake Dennis and Darren Leung for Century Motorsport.
Sowery intended to make the step up to IndyCar way back in 2022, hence missing the end of a disappointing 2021 Indy Lights season, but nothing materialised on this front. He however has tested an IndyCar with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in June last year at Sebring International Raceway ahead of rumours that he would pilot the car later on in the season.
"Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is an exciting challenge for anyone, and I’m extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity by Dale (Coyne),” Sowery said. "This race adds to an already incredible season for me filled with two amazing programs in IMSA and Fanatec GT World Challenge. Dale Coyne has been fundamental to INDYCAR in giving drivers opportunities to prove themselves, and I am eager for this challenge. It’ll be a difficult step to make having only one day in the car over a year ago, as well as adapting to the hybrid system, but I’m up for it."
Sowery becomes the sixth driver to race in the unpredictable #51 entry in 2024. As mentioned, Braun opened the season in the car, when he was announced at the same time as Nolan Siegel. Siegel raced for the team in the #18 car at the $1 Million Challenge, and switched to the #51 for the Streets of Long Beach. He was set to return to the team in Toronto after failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, but has since made the switch to Arrow McLaren.
Luca Ghiotto raced for the team at Barber Motorsports Park, and an additional round at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. He then returned for the rounds at Road America and Laguna Seca. Ghiotto, however, has a clash with his commitments in the European Le Mans Series, as they head to Imola, leaving him unavailable this weekend.
Katherine Legge stepped in at the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and is expected to return to the team for the remaining six oval events in 2024, after conducting a hybrid test at the Milwaukee Mile a few weeks ago. Tristan Vautier stepped in the following week on the Streets of Detroit, seven years after his last IndyCar appearance.
“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” Team Owner Dale Coyne said. “He’s shown that he can quickly adapt to whatever car he is driving and has a successful track record to prove it. We realize coming into the weekend at Mid-Ohio with no prior testing of the car in its hybrid form might be a steep learning curve, but we’re confident he will get up to speed quickly, and we look forward to seeing what he can do.”
Sowery's debut will only be challenged by the introduction of the hybrid at Mid-Ohio, which makes it's much-anticipated debut at the event. With no testing in the hybrid, Sowery will have plenty of learning to do throughout the course of the weekend, as Coyne field an all-British line-up at Mid-Ohio, with Toby Sowery making his IndyCar debut.
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