By alley - Sep 29, 2016, 10:11 AM ET

INDYCAR: ECR confirms Newgarden exit

Josef Newgarden has informed Ed Carpenter Racing that he will be driving elsewhere for the 2017 IndyCar season.

"While it's disappointing that Josef will not be returning, it's also not a total surprise after all of the speculation the past few weeks," team owner Ed Carpenter said.

"I wish Josef the best in his future endeavors, but also remain focused on ECR's continued success. We are positioned well moving into 2017 and I have total confidence that we will continue to deliver the high level of performance we expect as a team."

The announcement paves the way for the expected confirmation that the highly-rated 25-year-old will move to Team Penske to replace Juan Pablo Montoya,

as reported by RACER.com two weeks ago

.

Newgarden earned three wins during his time with ECR, and finished a career-best fourth in the championship this year.

Carpenter will continue to race the team's No.20 entry at the six oval events next year, and is evaluating options for the team's new driver line-up.