Written by Archie O’Reilly
Toby Sowery has been announced as a reserve and development driver for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) IndyCar team for select events.
The 28-year-old British driver made his first three career IndyCar starts with Dale Coyne Racing in 2024. He was the third-place finisher as a rookie in Indy Lights in 2019 - his only complete season in the championship.
“The opportunity to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as a reserve and test driver allows me to expand and build on my IndyCar debut last year while contributing directly to the team’s continued growth and success,” Sowery said.
“I’ve been in talks with RLL for a couple of years now so getting to work closely with a team that’s been a cornerstone of IndyCar racing for over three decades is a huge privilege.
“I’m committed to pushing myself, learning from some of the best in the sport and becoming a driver who can truly make a difference. I’d like to thank the whole team at RLL for working hard to make this happen and both Bobby [Rahal] and Mike [Lanigan] for believing in me.”
Sowery will serve as an R&D development driver on Honda’s Driver-in-the-Loop simulator. His role will include assisting the team’s engineering department by trialling and providing feedback related to hybrid deployment strategies on the simulator and the team’s vehicle models.
Sowery’s relationship with RLL goes back as far as a maiden IndyCar test with the team in June 2023.
His IndyCar debut came at Mid-Ohio one year later, where he finished 13th on debut - the joint-best result managed by a struggling Dale Coyne Racing team in 2024. Later opportunities materialised in Toronto and Portland, where Sowery finished 15th and 17th.
He was unable to land a full-time seat for the 2025 season, but having gained a cumulative 19 positions across the three IndyCar races, Sowery’s performances caught the eye.
His exploits in sports car racing across LMP2 and GT3 classes, featuring a victory in the Asian Le Mans series and a runner-up finish in the Daytona 24 Hours in the LMP2 category, have also been valuable additions to his resume.
“We’re excited to have Toby join RLL,” said RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal. “He’s shown exceptional talent, resilience and maturity - not just in IndyCar but also with his recent endurance racing success.
“Winning a prestigious race like the Dubai 24 Hours highlights his adaptability and mental toughness - qualities we deeply value at RLL. Toby’s experience and versatility will undoubtedly strengthen our team as we aim for competitive excellence this season.”
Sowery joins RLL in a role that has previously been filled by former Formula 2 driver and Red Bull junior Juri Vips, which translated into three races in an additional entry across 2023 and 2024.
The addition of a fourth car for one-off race appearances for Sowery is now likely limited by IndyCar’s new charter system, which means teams are only allowed three chartered entries. Any non-chartered entries would have to fight the two PREMA Racing cars for the final two spots in a non-Indianapolis 500 field.
RLL this week also announced the return of Takuma Sato for the Indianapolis 500, where fielding a fourth entry is feasible given no entries are protected by the charter. The two-time Indy 500-winning Japanese veteran won the famed race with RLL in 2020.
Graham Rahal was the team’s best-placed driver from its three-car full-time lineup in the season-opening race in 2025, finishing in 12th place on the streets of St. Petersburg. Devlin DeFrancesco, returning after a year out, finished 22nd and rookie Louis Foster was caught up in an opening-lap crash after qualifying 16th.
IndyCar returns for a first points-paying race at the Thermal Club on the weekend of March 21-23.
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