As had been widely suggested to team boss Marty Roth, Jay Howard will return to the cockpit of the Canadian's #24 entry for this weekend's Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen, having been benched for the past five races.
The 2006 Indy Pro Series champion last competed at Kansas in April, but was sidelined when Roth Racing decided that he was unlikely to make the field for the Indianapolis 500 in May. Replacement John Andretti has been behind the wheel on the #24, running alongside team boss Roth, for the four races since the Brickyard, and Howard is naturally looking forward to racing again.
“To say I'm happy to get back in the car is an understatement,” the Briton admitted, “It's hard to describe feelings when I'm on the sidelines watching. More than anything, I'm looking at this point forward and not looking at what happened over the last five races. I'm just going to go out and do what I do best and try to get a good result for the team.”
Having competed in the opening four rounds of the year for Roth, Howard has a best finish of 13th - from both Kansas and Motegi - but was close to a better result on the streets of St Petersburg when he succumbed to late-race problems. Veteran Andretti has shown more consistent promise in the car since Indianapolis, but still only has a highest placing of eleventh, from Iowa Speedway two weeks ago.
With six of the nine remaining races on either road or street courses, Howard's European experience is likely to keep him in the frame for the #24, although rumours at Richmond over the weekend suggested that the Roth team badly needed funding to keep the ride on track.
“We're glad to welcome Jay back for the next race at Watkins Glen,” team president Margaret Roth said, “He has a wealth of road racing experience and was well on his way to a top ten in St Pete before a late-race incident, so we look forward to a good weekend from him at The Glen.”
