Tag: Toby Sowery

Six Radical alumni to start Rolex 24 At Daytona

George Kurtz (above) commenced his racing career behind the wheel of Radical SR3’s at Spring Mountain Motor Club and Resort, just outside of Las Vegas. This led to numerous seasons in the Radical Cup North America series, championship runner-up in …

George Kurtz (above) commenced his racing career behind the wheel of Radical SR3’s at Spring Mountain Motor Club and Resort, just outside of Las Vegas. This led to numerous seasons in the Radical Cup North America series, championship runner-up in the Pro 1500 class in 2013 and multiple race wins as recent as 2020, before his focus shifted to SRO, IMSA and Le Mans competition. Since, Kurtz finished on the podium three times at Daytona, most recently with two second place results in LMP2 in 2023 and 2024.

Kurtz’s co-driver in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entry is Toby Sowery (above). He was part of that podium effort last year, and he too has Radical pedigree. The IndyCar diver was winner of the Pro 1500 class at the 2022 Radical World Finals presented by Hankook at Spring Mountain. The Crowdstrike Racing by APR entry will start ninth in the LMP2 class.

David Heinemeier Hansson is another to have started his journey at the country club in Radicals. His first ever experience behind the wheel was a Radical SR3 at Autobahn Country Club. After learning his craft, he was hooked. His first Le Mans came in 2012, with an LMP2 podium in 2013 and a GTE-Am win in 2015. DHH is no stranger to Daytona or prototypes, having competed for Tequila Patron ESM in the HPD ARX-04b in 2015, and this year he’ll be driving the in the No. 18, Era Motorsport entry and will roll off the grid 11th in the LMP2 category.

Jon Field (above) is returning to IMSA competition after nearly 15 years away. The 2002 ALMS LMP675 champion recently rekindled his love for motorsport with One Motorsports and Radical’s SR10 machines. Field is the reigning Radical Cup North America Platinum class champion, having also won the title in 2023.

His teammate in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 (below), Bijoy Garg (above), is another Radical Cup alumni — a Pro 1340 race winner in 2023. Garg is also a reigning Le Mans champion having won LMP2 with United Autosport last year. Garg, Field and the rest of the Inter Europol Competition team will start tenth in Saturday’s twice-around-the-clock race.

PJ Hyett in the No. 99 AO Racing prototype (below) is another with Radical on the resume. Hyett was the winner of Radical Cup’s races four and five at Barber Motorsports Park in 2024 with Team Stradale, and another driver to have been bitten by the bug at Autobahn Country Club outside Chicago. Hyett starts sixth in LMP2.

In addition to the six Rolex 24 starters, 2024 Radical Cup Pro 1340 champion Suellio Almeida also made his debut in the Michelin Pilot Challenge. The sim racer, who became a real-world champion in his rookie Radical season driving for Graham Rahal Performance, co-piloted the No. 9 Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb Agajanian Hyundai TCR entry (below), starting sixth and finishing fourth in the TCR class.

With so many starters having roots with the British brand, Radical’s mantra of #wemakeracers is alive and well. The cars are the preeminent choice of the world’s top motor racing country clubs, while the Radical Cup North America series is one of 19 Radical series across the globe catering to drivers from novice to veteran, who are looking to make the next step in their careers. The 2025 Radical Cup North America championship features six rounds including three alongside IndyCar, with the opening round at Sebring, Feb 27-Mar 2. For more information visit radicalcupnorthamerica.com.

Photos by RTD Media/IMSA

Coyne, RLL teams complete 2024’s final testing laps at Laguna

The final laps of IndyCar action have been turned for 2024 with a two-car test featuring Dale Coyne Racing’s Toby Sowery and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Louis Foster at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Wednesday. It marked the last …

The final laps of IndyCar action have been turned for 2024 with a two-car test featuring Dale Coyne Racing’s Toby Sowery and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Louis Foster at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Wednesday. It marked the last on-track outing for the NTT IndyCar Series before the new year arrives.

Among the pair of Britons, Foster, the reigning Indy NXT champion, set the unofficial best time at 1m10.198s in the No. 45 RLL Honda, doing so on his 85th of 89 laps. Sowery was the most active, making up for a gremlin-filled November test at The Thermal Club where vehicular issues kept the NXT race winner in the paddock for most of the visit.

At Laguna Seca, Sowery completed 130 laps of the 2.2-mile road course, with his best of 1m10.409s coming on the 104th tour.

“There was obviously a lot of things that we didn’t get to test for at Thermal, so this test was about completing everything that we had lined up there, and looking at the lap count, we made up for that,” Sowery told RACER. “It was a strong test for us, and we didn’t go there specifically chasing pace. As you know, you can quite often end up chasing your tail when it comes to that, and the track was a mile off of what it should be in terms of race weekend pace. So we ticked a lot of boxes, spent a lot of time in the car, did a lot of laps, but everything productive and I think we learned quite a lot with the things that we threw at the car.”

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Sowery made three starts for Coyne across Mid-Ohio, Toronto and Portland, with a best finish of 13th, which equaled the top result for DCR in 2024. The 28-year-old hopes to find enough funding to return with Coyne in a full-time capacity.

“Opportunities don’t come about too often in IndyCar, so any opportunity that we get is one that we’re going to take, so when Dale reached out to test for him, obviously we couldn’t say no,” Sowery said. “It’s taking every opportunity that we get. And obviously the relationship between myself and the team is very strong and growing at a good solid rate. There’s two sides to the sport: There’s the driving, and then there’s the business side.

“There’s still a lot of work in progress behind the scenes to make it a full-time gig, and I’m thankful for the opportunity that Dale gave us to start the career journey for myself in IndyCar. These tests are very valuable for both the teams that get the opportunities and the drivers with lesser amounts of seat time. So it’s been fantastic for me, no pressure, and we’re continuing to work on making this a regular thing.”

Late pileup at Toronto left many with nowhere to go but up

Race cars aren’t designed to fly, but it’s happened two times in a span of seven days for the same team in the NTT IndyCar Series. Spread across four cars in the first ordeal and six in the second, all of the NTT IndyCar Series’ advanced safety …

Race cars aren’t designed to fly, but it’s happened two times in a span of seven days for the same team in the NTT IndyCar Series. Spread across four cars in the first ordeal and six in the second, all of the NTT IndyCar Series’ advanced safety systems attached to the spec Dallara DW12 chassis withstood the multiple hits and protected their drivers.

On the final lap of race two at Iowa Speedway, it was A.J. Foyt Racing’s Sting Ray Robb running over the back of an out-of-fuel Alexander Rossi, which fired Robb’s No. 41 Chevy skyward and into a barrel roll before sliding to a stop upside down. Rossi, Ed Carpenter, and Kyle Kirkwood were also taken out in the crash, and by Monday, Robb—who was airlifted to a local hospital for further evaluation—was released and cleared on Tuesday to complete this weekend in Toronto.

The scary incident in Canada was started by Pato O’Ward, who spun his car and backed it into the Turn 1 barrier on the left. Close behind and with nowhere to take avoiding action, Marcus Ericsson hit the side of O’Ward’s car and went hard into the wall with the nose and left-front suspension.

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With the sloped nose of his car facing oncoming traffic, O’Ward watched as three drivers in rapid succession drove over his front wings, nose, and the front of his Dallara chassis, starting with Pietro Fittipaldi, who was briefly airborne before crashing to the ground. Next was Ferrucci, at a higher rate of speed, who launched from O’Ward’s car, turned 90 degrees and ran across the fencing before completing the inversion and landing top down.

O’Ward’s teammate Nolan Siegel was the last to strike the No. 5, which turned the nose of the car and pointed it toward Turn 2 as Siegel bounced to the right and hit the righthand wall. Toby Sowery tried to stop, but he lightly struck the rear of Siegel’s car.

The AMR Safety Team prioritized the inverted No. 14 Foyt Chevy and Ferrucci, who told the team over the radio that he was OK, climbed from the car. Ericsson was able to drive away and get as far as Turn 3 before the damage to his car forced him to stop. Among the rest, only Sowery was able to continue and complete the race and recovered to finish 15th.

“The cars are so safe, to have a scary accident like that — just to walk away — [I’m] fine,” said Ferrucci, who was credited with 20th. “No, I never saw Pato. When I came through there, I never saw Pietro clip him and nothing [from] the spotters. There was no yellow, no nothing, so I didn’t know to check up. Just super unfortunate.”

Fittipaldi echoed Ferrucci’s view of the situation.

“There was nowhere to go,” he said.

Sowery to close out 2024’s road and street races in Coyne’s No. 51

Dale Coyne Racing will complete the road and street courses left on the schedule with Toby Sowery in the No. 51 Honda. With Katherine Legge tipped to compete in the four remaining oval races on the calendar, the British duo should complete Coyne’s …

Dale Coyne Racing will complete the road and street courses left on the schedule with Toby Sowery in the No. 51 Honda. With Katherine Legge tipped to compete in the four remaining oval races on the calendar, the British duo should complete Coyne’s lineup in the car.

Sowery is paired with NTT IndyCar Series newcomer Hunter McElrea, who will debut in the No. 18 Coyne Honda for this weekend’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto event in Canada. Sowery will return in August at the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland, which will give the 29-year-old a total of three IndyCar races with the team after impressing Coyne at Mid-Ohio with a smart debut drive to 13th.

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“It’s amazing to be back with Dale Coyne Racing,” Sowery said. “Having such a strong debut has certainly set our hopes and expectations fairly high. Now that I’ve got a weekend under my belt, I feel I’ve got foundations to build on and that’s definitely the goal. I’ve not been to Toronto or Portland in a very long time, but I really enjoyed those events and atmosphere previously. Portland is also where I got my Indy NXT win, so it will be great to go back there. I can’t wait to finish off the road courses in the No. 51 for DCR.”

After Mid-Ohio, Coyne wanted to get Sowery back in the car as soon as possible.

“Toby really impressed during his weekend with us at Mid-Ohio and we’re excited to have him back for another couple of races this year,” Coyne said. “Not only was Toby a pleasure to work with, but he was up to speed immediately after not having driven one of these cars in over a year. We can’t wait to see what he’ll do on the streets of Toronto this weekend.”

Sowery shines on IndyCar debut at Mid-Ohio

Days before he took part in his first NTT IndyCar Series race, Toby Sowery didn’t know what to expect from the experience. Signed for a single race with Dale Coyne Racing in the No. 51 Honda, the race-winning Indy NXT veteran hoped to have a clean …

Days before he took part in his first NTT IndyCar Series race, Toby Sowery didn’t know what to expect from the experience. Signed for a single race with Dale Coyne Racing in the No. 51 Honda, the race-winning Indy NXT veteran hoped to have a clean run but couldn’t predict where he’d finish.

Starting 24th, the Briton made multiple passes in the opening laps, stuck to a two-stop strategy that most of the field used, and was rewarded with a strong performance to claim 13th, which ranks as the best of the season for DCR’s No. 51 entry.

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“Super proud with that result,” Sowery told RACER. “To be honest, I didn’t know how we’d stack up in the race, just purely from a qualifying position standpoint. I knew it kind where we should have started. The Dale Coyne team made some really good steps with the car over the weekend, so I was excited for qualifying, and I think today proves that we’re competitive. Today has been a very, very good day.”

Sowery was the biggest mover of the race along with Santino Ferrucci as the two improved 11 positions across the 80-lap race. Given another chance to drive, Sowery is confident there’s a lot more for him to show next to DCR’s Jack Harvey, who dealt with an ailment on the way to placing 26th.

“There’s a lot of improvements on my end, and with the pit stops I can do,” he said. “Because I think if we were clean on them, we could have potentially been in front of Ferrucci who was 10th, but I’m really happy with the team. They’ve done a fantastic job all weekend. They’ve been super welcoming and helpful in guiding me. And you know, Jack’s been amazing as well. It’s a shame he’s had his neck problems this weekend.”

If there were any question before Mid-Ohio as to whether Sowery belongs in IndyCar, the answer was provided in the affirmative on Sunday.

“I had a good little ding-dong with (Romain) Grosjean before he slid off,” he said. “Had a good little battle with David (Malukas). The start it was, it was good on my end; we went forward. It was hectic at times, but I was calm. I’ve always felt like I could mix it up in this paddock, and I got to prove to myself that It’s not a wish, but a bit of more of reality. And fingers crossed everyone else sees it that way too.”

Sowery’s IndyCar debut was years In the making

It’s OK if most IndyCar fans don’t know who Toby Sowery happens to be or why, at the age of 29, he’s making his debut in the series this weekend at Mid-Ohio. And there’s no guarantee the open-wheeler from Cambridgeshire, England, will get a second …

It’s OK if most IndyCar fans don’t know who Toby Sowery happens to be or why, at the age of 29, he’s making his debut in the series this weekend at Mid-Ohio.

And there’s no guarantee the open-wheeler from Cambridgeshire, England, will get a second chance to race in the NTT IndyCar Series after he’s done with Dale Coyne Racing’s No. 51 Honda on Sunday. But if you’re a fan of underdogs, or just have an affinity for scrappy people who refuse to give up on their dreams, Sowery is someone who might be worth following.

He took his first turn from Europe to the American racing ladder — known then as the Road to Indy — in 2017 with a couple of impressive outings in USF2000, returned for a few more in 2018 in the series we call USF Pro 2000 today and scored a double podium, and made the full-time commitment to reaching IndyCar in 2019 when he joined the precursor to HMD Motorsports.

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Sowery took seven podiums from 18 races and finished third in the Indy NXT championship behind champion Oliver Askew and runner-up Rinus VeeKay in a team that was exceptional, but wasn’t on the same level of Andretti Global (Askew) or Juncos Hollinger Racing (VeeKay).

The story went in a familiar direction afterwards as a lack of funding took the Briton out of the series in 2020, and while he put together a partial season of NXT in 2021, and did three races in 2023 which produced a podium,

While working on IndyCar opportunities, Sowery has shown well in other realms like IMSA LMP2 with Crowdstrike. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Sowery’s hopes of getting to IndyCar ground to a halt. Even so, he raised enough funding to do his first IndyCar test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and hoped to get the nod for the No. 30 Honda seat that eventually went to Pietro Fittipaldi, and from there, he picked up paying rides in global LMP2 and GT racing as a pro positioned alongside pro-am drivers.

And thanks to the tough season for Coyne and the steady rotation of drivers through the No. 51 entry, the chance for Sowery to break into IndyCar with grateful support of some backers has given him one shot, at least, of realizing his dream.

“A lot of the motivation is if you quit, you’re never going to get there,” Sowery told RACER. “We’ve been working towards IndyCar for a very long time. And looking back, I think COVID actually put more of a dent in my career than I perhaps gave credit for; it really blocked our momentum. We lost the momentum coming off 2019 and it’s been very up and down for me, doing some part of [NXT] seasons, and then obviously the test with Rahal. It’s been a difficult couple of years in terms of direction and progression and momentum in my career, but after the start of this season, it’s been very, very different for me.”

Hired to race in sports cars, Sowery has re-established his name — albeit mostly outside of the U.S. — which only helped in negotiations with DCR.

“Working with the Crowdstrike group (in LMP2) and in the Fanatec (GT World Challenge Europe) series has given me a platform to have stability and race again, and allowed me to re-introduce myself, which is obviously led to an opportunity with Dale,” he said.

“Resilience is probably a good word for this. You know, we’re not quitters in my family, we never have been. I’ve got a great team surrounding me and there’s a lot of good people that we’ve got on board to help give me this opportunity.”

And so, Sowery will strap into the No. 51 Honda with no testing, no experience with the new hybrid powertrain, no pre-existing working relationship with his race engineer or crew, and no reason to believe he’ll be competitive in a car that has consistently qualified and finished towards the back of the 27-car field.

The best Sowery can hope for is to show well against his veteran teammate and countryman Jack Harvey and do his best to make team owners — including Coyne — recognize his talent. It’s a heady task, but Sowery isn’t afraid to face it.

“It’s about really, really enjoying the weekend and putting a performance in as well, because it’s something we’ve been working to for a long time,” he said. “IndyCar is a fantastic series. It’s arguably the most competitive in the world. So it’s going to be no small challenge for me. But again, at the same time, everything I’ve ever jumped in and raced in, I’ve had to make an impression because as a family, as an individual, we don’t have the money just to not worry about that and know that we’ve got other routes.

“Every time I jump in the car, I have to fight for my career and put a good enough impression out that people actually give me the opportunities further down the line.”

Sowery to make IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Mid-Ohio

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 …

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.”

Sowery to test RLL IndyCar

In Toby Sowery’s one and only full season of Indy NXT, he appeared on the podium seven times and won a race with the formerly unheralded HMD Motorsports team as he chased Rinus VeeKay and Oliver Askew to finish third in the 2019 standings. A return …

In Toby Sowery’s one and only full season of Indy NXT, he appeared on the podium seven times and won a race with the formerly unheralded HMD Motorsports team as he chased Rinus VeeKay and Oliver Askew to finish third in the 2019 standings.

A return in 2021 with Juncos Racing produced more podiums in an abbreviated season, and with the call to stand in for HMD’s Josh Pierson when Pierson’s away racing sports cars, Sowery shot to the podium once again at the recent Indy NXT by Firestone race at Barber Motorsports Park, taking third after being away from the series for almost two years.

Amid starts and stops due to limited budgets, the Briton has been impressive in every opportunity he’s been given, which makes his nomination by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing NTT IndyCar Series team to test for the team on June 8 at Sebring a fitting choice by the rebuilding organization.

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“It’s been a lot of hard work to get to the position we’re at,” Sowery told RACER. “But we’ve had a lot of good people putting in the effort behind the scenes, and we’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to test with RLL and they’ve been really good and welcoming. With the new investment and facility they’ve built, they’re striving to be back at the front of the grid, which they’re starting to show already.”

Sowery’s persistence has been a significant part of his story. Whenever it looks like the door has closed during his rise up the open-wheel ladder, the 26-year-old always manages to find a way to return and send reminders that he’s worthy of consideration for bigger and better opportunities.

The outreach from Bobby Rahal, who met with Sowery on a recent visit to the U.K., led to the latest chance to take another step forward in his career.

“Obviously, people can say it was a bit of a risk to [put him in Pierson’s seat] after not being in the car for so long, but I think Barber was an insight of managing to pull a relatively strong result out,” he said. “Everything I’m doing is aiming towards IndyCar in 2024. That’s ultimately the goal. And these are the steps in place with doing my first IndyCar test that we have to take. I’m just really excited about how everything is going ahead and can’t wait to get this test done.”

Sowery is set for five Indy NXT races with HMD Motorsports this year, and although his future is far from defined, RLL has made a strong impression on where he’d like to work in IndyCar. If all goes well at the test, the series could have another name to add to the growing list of talented free agents.

“If we can partner with RLL, I think they’re a very good team,” he said. “And obviously, with winning Rookie of the Year with Christian Lundgaard, it’s a very special place to be for a rookie driver.”

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