Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indy Nxt race-winner Toby Sowery will make a surprise return to the series with HMD Motorports for a part-time campaign.
Sowery has already missed the opening race in St. Petersburg, and will make his comeback in race two of the season at Barber Motorsports Park next month then will contest the double-header events in Detroit and Laguna Seca.
HMD already has nine full-time entries in the series, and has not commented on if Sowery will be in a 10th car or will be standing in for an existing member of the team’s line-up.
“I am incredibly excited to return to Indy Nxt with HMD Motorsports,” said Sowery. “The team helped me achieve my first American win back in 2019, and together we went on to take six podiums and third overall in the championship.
“It’s been fantastic to watch them grow and develop over the last three years, and I am honored to be back representing them on track. I was really impressed with the setup at St Petersburg, and I am eager to get to work with the entire team for these five races. I am confident we can return to our winning ways.”
Sowery debuted in Indy Nxt in 2019 in a car co-run by Team Pelfrey and BN Racing. The latter changed its name to HMD during the season.
A strong end to that campaign including Sowery’s maiden win put him third in the standings, and he was set to race for Belardi Auto Racing in 2020 prior to the season being cancelled and the team closing down during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Sowery was still able to contest a second season by joining Juncos Hollinger Racing for 2021, but he pulled out of the programme with three rounds to go – after taking just three podiums in 14 races – to switch his focus to finding an IndyCar seat.
However he could not make a move up to the top level of American single-seater racing, and instead spent most of 2022 out of the cockpit until landing a drive in the Radical World Finals which he went on to win.
Prior to Indy Nxt, Sowery was champion in the MSV Fomula 3 Cup and MRF Challenge, came third in BRDC British F3 and was then a Lamborghini junior in sportscars.
“Toby is a proven winner in both open-wheel and sportscar racing,” HMD’s general manager Mike Maurini said.
“It is great to see the support that he has from partners and his commitment to return to the top tiers of open-wheel racing in North America. We look forward to integrating him into our efforts and look forward to seeing what he can do in the short term.”