ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. (AP) - A little more than two hours after the first practice session of the IndyCar season, Dale Coyne Racing finally confirmed its driver lineup.
Better late than never.
Justin Wilson will be back for his second season, but his car will switch to No. 19. The Englishman will have sponsorship from Boy Scouts of America and Sonny’s Bar-B-Q. Team owner Coyne owns a substantial number of the Sonny’s franchises.
“I’m very excited to be back with Dale Coyne Racing in 2013,” said Wilson, who won last year at Texas with the team and had five top-10 finishes.
Wilson indicated he’s signed a long-term agreement.
“We had a great season last year highlighted by our first win at an oval track in Texas. The entire team is back, so I am expecting good things to happen,” he said.
Coyne also announced that Brazilian driver Ana Beatriz has signed to drive the No. 18 at Sunday’s season-opener at St. Petersburg, Brazil and Indianapolis, and “other selected races” with sponsorship from Ipiranga.
“This is a great opportunity with Dale Coyne Racing and hopefully we can turn it into more than a few races for the season,” said Beatriz. “We are working on more races for 2013 and hopefully we should know something very soon.”
Beatriz ran Brazil and Indy last season for Andretti Autosport, with a best finish of 20th in Brazil.
It’s the second time Beatriz and Wilson have been teammates. They were both at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2011.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.