Ryan Briscoe's decision to go sportscar racing with Penske Racing paid off when he was finally confirmed as Sam Hornish Jr's replacement in the operation's Indy Racing League line-up.

Despite much speculation that the Australian was in pole position to partner Helio Castroneves when Hornish headed for NASCAR, Penske officials only confirmed the deal on Monday [12 November]. The 26-year old will pilot the #6 Dallara-Honda, which will again be sponsored by Philip Morris USA. Hornish announced that he would drive Penske's Mobil 1 Dodge in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Saturday.

"I am very excited to race for Team Penske, it's a dream come true," Briscoe admitted, "I really want to thank Roger [Penske] and Tim [Cindric] for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. Racing for Penske's ALMS programme in 2007 has been a highlight in my career, but open-wheel racing is where my heart lies, and I can't wait to race full-time in the IndyCar Series for one of the best teams in open-wheel history."

The 2008 season will mark only Briscoe's second full season in the IndyCar Series, although he has 20 career starts after accepting one-off rides here and there in the last few years. Yet to win, the Australian took his lone pole position at Infineon Raceway in 2005, before suffering a massive accident at Chicagoland that sidelined him for many months as he recovered from his injuries.

He returned to contest four races with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2006, before making his first contact with Penske's IRL team after joining the one-off Luczo Dragon entry for this year's Indianapolis 500. Luczo Dragon leased its car from Penske Racing and Briscoe went on to finish fifth from seventh on the grid.

Unable to land a regular IRL ride for 2007, however, Briscoe joined Penske's ALMS squad, sharing the #6 DHL Porsche RS Spyder with veteran Sascha Maassen, taking three victories en route to finishing second in the championship to team-mates Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard.

"Ryan has been a great addition to our organisation," team owner Penske confirmed, "He did a terrific job at Indianapolis this year, and delivered for us in our ALMS programme. Obviously, he has big shoes to fill, with Sam moving over to our NASCAR team, but he has shown us that he has the talent to win in the IndyCar Series."