HUNTER McElrea has made a surprising return to the IndyCar scene, driving an Ed Carpenter Racing machine in testing at Sebring Raceway.
With the field split in two, McElrea impressed in Tuesday morning running, setting the sixth fastest time.
This season, ECR is expected to field former Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen for the full season, with team owner Carpenter slated to make his 23rd attempt at the 500 as a one-off entry.
At the test, Will Power also continued his acclimation to his new home at Andretti Global, joined on track by other antipodeans, namely Marcus Armstrong, Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin.
For McElrea, son of Australian Porsche team owner Andy McElrea, the drive follows a one-off IndyCar start, which came for Dale Coyne Racing at Toronto in 2024.
Prior to that race, McElrea spent two seasons in Indy NXT for Andretti Autosport, earning four wins after winning races in earlier Road to Indy feeder categories, including Indy Pro 2000 and US F2000.
Before heading to North America, McElrea won the 2018 Australian Formula Ford Series for Sonic Motor Racing Services.
In recent years, the US-born, New Zealand native who spent much time living on the Gold Coast, has been a mainstay in the LMP2 class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
In 2024 and 2025, he raced with TDS Racing, bringing home class wins at Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans from both campaigns.
This year, he kicked off his racing season with United Autosports at the Daytona 24 Hours.
The IndyCar season opens at St. Petersburg on March 1.
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