Franck Perera Rejoins IndyCar with A J Foyt

Driver Shuffling Ahead of Indy Lights Finale at Chicagoland Speedway

From Indy Racing League Media Reports:

A.J. Foyt Racing will campaign a second car for rookie Franck Perera Sept. 7 at Chicagoland Speedway. Perera will drive the No. 41 ABC Supply Co./AJ Foyt Racing entry as a teammate to Darren Manning.

Perera opened the 2008 season with Conquest Racing and recorded finishes of 14th at Homestead-Miami and 20th at St. Petersburg before being replaced by Jaime Camara.

Perera joined the Firestone Indy Lights series in June at Iowa and recorded a victory and two pole positions in nine starts.

“I would like to thank A.J Foyt and ABC Supply for giving me the chance to get back into an IndyCar Series car this weekend in Chicago,” said Perera. “It’s a huge pleasure to work with a team like Foyt Racing with so much experience and such a big name in racing.”

Team Director Larry Foyt brought the French driver to his father’s attention as the team begins its scouting process for a driver for a possible second car in 2009.

“At the beginning of the year, I noticed that Franck was one of the quickest among the transition team drivers to adapt to the Indy cars,” Foyt said. “He fared well on the oval in Homestead and qualified well at St. Pete. We thought then that he was a talented driver, and as we’re looking to become a two-car team next year, we thought he might be a good asset to our program. We’ll see how we get along with him this weekend.”