New York (AFP) – British racer Jordan King, who failed to find a full-time 2019 IndyCar ride, announced a deal Wednesday to drive for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team in next year’s Indianapolis 500.
King, the 24-year-old son of British grocery store chain Sainsbury’s former chief executive Justin King, will be a teammate of Japan’s Takuma Sato, last year’s Indy 500 winner, and American Graham Rahal, who has six wins in 10 IndyCar campaigns.
The Englishman drove in IndyCar street and road courses for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2018, his best showing in 11 starts being 11th at Toronto.
But to be part of the chase for 33 spots in the Indy 500 field has King excited for next May.
“This race is one that I have been working towards and a race I have always dreamt of racing in as it’s the jewel in the crown of IndyCar,” King said.
“We went from not being able to find a full-time drive for the season to securing a seat at one of the biggest races in the world which is a huge relief to be able to get sorted. I hope I can repay their faith in me with a good result.”
King raced in Formula 2 last year after two seasons in GP2 with some Formula 1 test driver opportunities before jumping to IndyCar this year.
“Jordan certainly impressed me last year with his pace at a number of races,” team co-owner and former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal said.
“It was apparent that he has the potential to do well. While this will be his first oval race, I think that given the amount of track time, he will get up to speed and come to grips with the challenges of oval racing just as quickly.”
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