Veteran IndyCar Series driver Jimmy Kite will step back to make his Indy Pro Series debut in this weekend's Chicagoland 100, having agreed to drive Team SWE's #43 entry in the series finale at the 1.5-mile Joliet facility on Sunday.
The five-time Indy 500 starter and team owner Steve Eppard have long been friends, having first met while Eppard's SWE prepared the gearboxes for various IndyCars that Kite drove in his 34 career starts. The two have been searching for the right opportunity to put the easy-going but fiercely competitive Kite into one of the SWE machines this season, but it has taken until the entry of a second car for the final race of the year for SWE to be able to offer him a seat.
Kite will race under the SWE banner this weekend, with the programme's primary driver, Jon Brownson, continuing in the #34 sister car.
"I guess I have put enough miles in the IndyCar that I have finally landed an Indy Pro Series ride!" Kite joked, "Seriously, when Steve asked me to drive the SWE car, I was really excited about the opportunity.
"I think it will be a great experience and a lot of fun. I have known Steve for years and we've had conversations about me driving his car and I am glad it finally came through. SWE puts a great car on the track and my goal is to win. I love racing, but I love winning even more. I think we can do that with SWE.
"The Pro Series car is one of the few open wheel cars I
haven't raced - that and an
F1 car, so maybe that will be next! I've never raced the number 43 either, so that is another first for the weekend that I can mark down.
![Jimmy Kite, PDM Racing Dallara-Chevrolet, Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2003. [IMS Photo Dan Helrigel]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/56761.jpg )
