Garcia testing for third SPM car at Sonoma

Former Indy Lights driver Juan Pablo Garcia could make his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in a third Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry at Sonoma Raceway. After completing the first phase of his rookie test on Monday at Watkins Glen with SPM, the 29-year-old Mexican is expected to run through the second phase during the full series test on Thursday, Sept. 14. Provided he's approved by IndyCar, Garcia would return Friday morning to partake in the rest of the season finale.

"Nothing's been formally announced, and he hasn't raced competitively in a few years, so we put him in the car for two hours on Monday," SPM co-owner Sam Schmidt told RACER. "He did reasonably well, practiced pit stops, and did enough to go to phase two which is the Thursday test at Sonoma, and if he meets those parameters, he'll be in a third car."

Garcia made his Mazda Road To Indy debut in 2009 at Sonoma with the HVM Indy Lights team and concluded his MRTI training in 2014 with SPM, where he finished sixth in the championship. His test with SPM was his second in an Indy car; his first came in 2015 driving Sebastien Bourdais' KV Racing entry at Palm Beach International Raceway.