IndyCar: Coyne confirms Huertas return

Months of uncertainty surrounding Carlos Huertas' future in the Verizon IndyCar Series came to an end Monday with the announcement by Dale Coyne Racing that the Colombian will return to the cockpit of its No. 18 Honda-powered car for a second consecutive season.

Huertas participated in his rookie IndyCar season in 2014, scoring a dramatic win – the fourth for Dale Coyne Racing – in round one of June's double-header.

Previous to his Verizon IndyCar career, Huertas raced in top development series in Europe earning wins in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and British Formula 3 series. Adding to Huertas' confidence from last season's successes, Huertas posted the fastest unofficial IndyCar test time at Sebring this offseason, according to the team.

"Carlos surprised everyone last year with his performance. The effort the team has made over the winter, as shown by our Sebring test with Carlos, gives us confidence for the upcoming season," said team owner Dale Coyne.

"I am very happy to be back with the team this year. I expect to have a better year than last year because I obviously have the experience of a full season and winning a race last year. That helped a lot for my confidence for this year," Huertas said. "The guys did such a great job last year with the car and race strategy that I'm sure we will have a successful year."

After IndyCar's open test this week at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, Dale Coyne Racing and Carlos Huertas will continue to test the new Honda HPD aero kit equipped cars March 23-24 at NOLA Motorsports Park before the Verizon IndyCar season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg on March 29.