Toby Sowery’s long-held dream of becoming an IndyCar driver is about to be realized, courtesy of Dale Coyne Racing in its No. 51 Honda at the July 5-7 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
The race-winning Indy NXT driver from England tested for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year and was among the drivers considered for the seat that went to Pietro Fittipaldi, and despite the setback, the soon-to-be 29-year-old kept searching for ways to break into IndyCar and found the chance with DCR.
“Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series is an exciting challenge for anyone and I’m extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity by Dale,” Sowery said. “This race adds to an already incredible season for me, filled with two amazing programs in IMSA and 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!”
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Sowery will become the sixth driver to drive the No. 51 entry in nine events this season.
“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” Coyne said of the driver with 10 NXT podiums. “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.”