The IndyCar series is one step closer to filling the traditional 33-car field for the Indianapolis 500, after an announcement Thursday that James Davison will return for a sixth run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. It’s the 31st announced team-driver combo for the Aug. 23 race and will be Davison’s fourth appearance at IMS with Dale Coyne Racing, alongside a slew of partners that helped make the last-minute program possible.
After finishing 12th a year ago — his best finish in five runs at the 500 during his IndyCar career — Davison’s entry in the No. 51 Honda is officially made up as Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing/Byrd/Belardi. As David Byrd told IndyStar on Thursday, it’s the culmination of a dream imagined back in December, before the pandemic struck, that only truly had looked possible last Friday after Byrd spoke with team owner Dale Coyne— whom Byrd and Davison partnered with a year ago.