SEBRING, Fla. -- Justin Wilson chuckled at the juxtaposition.

At the head of pit lane at Sebring International Raceway was the Michael Shank Racing team he’ll compete for in the 12 Hours of Sebring next month setting up for a test that he’ll participate in Feb. 20-21. Near pit out, Wilson guided the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car to its marks during his first outing of the IndyCar Series preseason.

“Maybe I’ll run down there with my helmet on and say, ‘OK, let’s go,’ ’’Wilson said during a midday break.

Wilson also was in the car Feb. 17, working on boost controls and assorted items with the new Honda twin turbo engine.

“I don’t know how it stacks up with a Chevy; we’ll know more when we get to qualifying and the race,” said Wilson, who said he’s fully recovered from pelvic fractures suffered in the 2013 season-ending race in October. “Right now, it feels pretty good.”

There’s been a transition at Dale Coyne Racing, with engineers Bill Pappas and John Dick moving to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Michael Cannon, most recently with Andretti Autosport, slides into the role as Wilson’s race engineer.

“We’re clicking through some changes on how I’m used to running the car and how Michael is used to running his cars and what each change makes so we’re on the same page,” said Wilson, who finished sixth in the series championship last season. “We seem to understand each other right now, and the real test will be in the heat of the battle in qualifying and there’s 5 seconds to make the call. Everything feels logical and right with what we’re trying to achieve.

"All in all, I'm really happy with the direction of the team. Dale is very motivated to go out there and have a competitive team. It is very exciting.”

Coyne sees Wilson, who enters his fourth season with the team, and Cannon already meshing.

“I think the whole engineering side is ahead of where we’ve ever been,” Coyne said. “We’re bringing our shock program in house, too. We’ve had a lot of changes, but the new program is coming together nicely.”

Coyne also noted that a driver for the No. 18 car would be named before the Open Test on March 17-18 at Barber Motorsports Park. Tests for both entries are scheduled for March 3 at Sebring and March 10 at Barber.

Whether it’s one driver for the entire season or multiple competitors “is a question of how we put it together,” he said. The season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is March 30.

Any hint?

“It is a driver that has not yet been announced, let me put it that way,” Coyne said.