Hunter McElrea is set to debut in the NTT IndyCar Series at this weekend’s race in Toronto with Dale Coyne Racing, the team announced July 16.
McElrea will be behind the wheel of the No. 18 after driving an IndyCar for the first time earlier this month.
The New Zealand native has experience in the IndyCar ranks driving for Pabst Racing in the Indy Pro 2000 Series and for Andretti Autosport in the Indy Lights and NXT Series between 2019 and 2023, when he finished no worse than fifth in the point standings.
During this stretch McElrea won 12 races, 15 poles and 2022 Rookie of the Year honors, finishing runner-up in points twice.
Currently, he drives in the IMSA SportsCar Championship Series LMP2 division. Through two races, he has one podium finish and sits seventh in overall points.
DCR’s two-car team revealed in March that the No. 18 would be driven by Jack Harvey in 14 of the 18 races this season, with Nolan Siegel driving the car in the other four events.
Since then, Siegel, the 2023 Indy NXT Rookie of the Year, has parted ways with the team in June, as he signed with Arrow McLaren to drive the vacated No. 6 for the remainder of the season and beyond.
Harvey and the No. 18 team have a best result of 13th at Alabama.
The race will be held July 21 at 1 p.m. ET and can be seen on Peacock.
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