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Andretti Autosport will add a fourth car to its stable and a 24th Verizon IndyCar Series entry for the remaining five races of the season as Justin Wilson returns in the No. 25 Honda.
Wilson, who drove the car in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in May, will reunite with Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Carlos Munoz – along with other competitors – this weekend for the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers (4 p.m. CT July 12 on NBCSN).
“It’s obviously great to be back with Andretti Autosport for the remainder of the season,” said Wilson, who will continue with Rob Edwards as his race strategist, Blair Perschbacher as his engineer and Jeff Grahn as his chief mechanic. “I’m really looking forward to making the most of these five races, and just trying to help the team and Honda as much as I can and try and be successful.”
Wilson has made nine starts at The Milwaukee Mile, with a best finish of second to Sebastien Bourdais in the 2006 race. He’s led 62 laps and secured five top-10 finishes.
Races at Iowa Speedway (July 18), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Aug. 2), Pocono Raceway (Aug. 23) and Sonoma Raceway (Aug. 30) also are on the calendar.
“It’s not going to be easy jumping in toward the end of the year; everyone’s worked out what they’re looking for from the car and the aero kits,” added Wilson, who also drove an Andretti Autosport entry in the FIA Formula E Championship round on June 6 in Moscow. “But I think it puts us in good shape for learning things and trying to progress and hopefully set something up towards next year.
“We’ll have to take it one step at a time, but the great thing with Indy car racing is any weekend anyone can win; you just have to make sure you do a good job and do everything as perfect as you can, and that will lead to good results.”
Wilson, who turns 37 on July 31, has seven victories and 93 top-10 finishes over his 170-race Indy car career that has included stints with Conquest Racing, RuSPORT, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Dale Coyne Racing.
“He did a really great job for us at the Indianapolis races and is a great addition to the team,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “The only downside of getting him back in the car is that we weren’t able to do it sooner.”
Also, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Pippa Mann and Tristan Vautier would drive its Nos. 18 and 19 Honda entries at Milwaukee and Iowa Speedway. Mann, who posted a career-best finish of 13th in the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway, will make her Verizon IndyCar Series debut at the short tracks.
Watch practice (5 p.m. CT July 11, 9:15 a.m. July 12) and qualifications (12:30 p.m. CT July 12) on RaceControl.indycar.com, augmented by real-time Timing & Scoring and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts. Timing & Scoring and the radio broadcast for the race also is on RaceControl.indycar.com at 4 p.m. (CT) July 12.