Ed Carpenter Racing has moved quickly to replace Conor Daly, announcing IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay will take the vacant seat.
On Thursday, the team sensationally dropped Daly halfway through the season, citing performance reasons.
Hunter-Reay, an IndyCar fan favourite, won the 2012 season and the 2014 Indianapolis 500.
Stan Sport is the only place to watch the 2023 IndyCar Series, featuring Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon. All the action streaming ad free, live and on demand
'Captain America' bowed out of full-time IndyCar competition at the end of 2021 after a 12-year spell with Andretti Autosport.
Having stepped away from the sport after nearly two decades of racing, Hunter-Reay returned this year for a one-off cameo in this year's Indianapolis 500.
With Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, he finished 11th. Now, he's set to contest the remaining 10 rounds of the 2023 season with Ed Carpenter Racing.
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The mayday call from the team comes as it looks to improve its results. Team lead Rinus VeeKay languishes in 15th while Daly is 20th.
"I was surprised when I got the call from Ed," said Hunter-Reay.
"He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realise its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help.
"This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It's a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world.
"Certainly, part of my motivation in saying 'yes' to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber.
"I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives."
Carpenter doubled down on the team's need to raise its game, giving Daly another swipe on the way.
"We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader," said Carpenter.
"I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team. We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on pole following that test.
"I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team."
Hunter-Reay's signing is something of a surprise given rumours of Linus Lundqvist getting the seat. The Swedish driver tested with Ed Carpenter Racing on Friday.
The IndyCar Series resumes at Road America on June 19.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Ed Carpenter Racing has moved quickly to replace Conor Daly, announcing IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay will take the vacant seat.
On Thursday, the team sensationally dropped Daly halfway through the season, citing performance reasons.
Hunter-Reay, an IndyCar fan favourite, won the 2012 season and the 2014 Indianapolis 500.
Stan Sport is the only place to watch the 2023 IndyCar Series, featuring Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon. All the action streaming ad free, live and on demand
'Captain America' bowed out of full-time IndyCar competition at the end of 2021 after a 12-year spell with Andretti Autosport.
Having stepped away from the sport after nearly two decades of racing, Hunter-Reay returned this year for a one-off cameo in this year's Indianapolis 500.
With Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, he finished 11th. Now, he's set to contest the remaining 10 rounds of the 2023 season with Ed Carpenter Racing.
READ MORE: Blues rocked, Maroons sweating as gun hospitalised
READ MORE: Mystery surrounds title contender's surprise car swap
READ MORE: Star's never-before-seen feat in NBA Finals win
The mayday call from the team comes as it looks to improve its results. Team lead Rinus VeeKay languishes in 15th while Daly is 20th.
"I was surprised when I got the call from Ed," said Hunter-Reay.
"He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realise its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help.
"This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It's a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world.
"Certainly, part of my motivation in saying 'yes' to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber.
"I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives."
Carpenter doubled down on the team's need to raise its game, giving Daly another swipe on the way.
"We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader," said Carpenter.
"I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team. We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on pole following that test.
"I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team."
Hunter-Reay's signing is something of a surprise given rumours of Linus Lundqvist getting the seat. The Swedish driver tested with Ed Carpenter Racing on Friday.
The IndyCar Series resumes at Road America on June 19.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
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