Dale Coyne Racing has confirmed Toby Sowery will make his IndyCar Series debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 5-7.
The 27-year-old Briton will drive the Honda-powered No. 51 entry for DCR, which is also partnered with Rick Ware Racing.
Sowery, who received his first taste of IndyCar machinery in a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year at Sebring International Raceway, is also currently racing with CrowdStrike Racing by APR in the LMP2 category of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Additionally, he is competing in GT World Challenge with Century Motorsport.
“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, team owner),” 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!”
While Sowery’s background also includes racing LMP2s in the Asian Le Mans Series this past year, the majority of his background consists of single seaters.
A veteran of 35 Indy NXT starts from 2019-23, Sowery finished third in his only full-time season (2019) with one win and seven podiums. With the series on hiatus in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, he returned to the series for a partial season in 2021, finishing on the podium three times.
After being crowned Champion of the inaugural Radical World Finals in 2022, Sowery returned to IndyCar’s developmental series in 2023 for three races and managed to take a podium result at Barber Motorsports Park.
The early part of Sowery’s career also includes finishing third in the 2016 British F3 championship with five wins, 10 podiums and two poles in 23 races. He also won the MSV Formula 3 cup Championship (2014) as well as the MRF Series Championship (2014-15).
A two-time BRDC McLaren Autosport Finalist (2015, 2016), Sowery’s maiden IndyCar start at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn natural terrain road course will also mark the official race debut of the hybrid unit, which is planned to run for the remainder of the season.
“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” 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.”
