The Firestone Indy Lights Championship field will be bolstered by new and returning drivers for the Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka 100 this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. O2 Racing Technology announced that Daniel Herrington will pilot its No. 36 Quamtel/DataJack entry in the season finale, while up-and-coming USAC driver Henry Clarke will join Davey Hamilton Racing for the event.
"I've known Daniel for several years now, and it's always been a pleasure working with him," Olson said. "We've got a lot of laps at Homestead, and with Daniel driving and Dave McMillan engineering, our expectations are high for a great result heading into the off-season. Daniel's smart, mature, and talented, and we're super-excited about the opportunity to work together as we both begin working on our 2011 programs."
Herrington, a 23-year-old native of Winston-Salem, N.C., earned his first win at Chicagoland Speedway in 2009 and is eager for the opportunity to once more show his talents thanks to an opportunity from a former teammate in Firestone Indy Lights, O2 Racing Technology team owner, Mark Olson.
"After watching from the sidelines for most of the year, I was very excited to hear about the opportunity with O2 for the season finale," Herrington said. "I have known both Mark and the engineer Dave McMillan for a number of years, with Dave bringing me my first Indy Lights podium in 2007. I am excited to work with them again."
The race will be the home race for O2's sponsor Quamtel, which is based in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Meanwhile, Clarke will join Davey Hamilton Racing for the Homestead race after successfully completing his rookie test at Kentucky Speedway last week.
"He did a really good job," said Kevin Blanch, IZOD IndyCar Series technical director, who oversaw Clarke's rookie test. "He's an Impressive young driver and doing the right thing trying to get race experience before trying to race in Firestone Indy Lights full time. I think he'll be an asset to the series when he gets there."
Clarke, the 2009 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, claimed his first USAC national sprint car victory at Toledo in July. He currently ranks in the top 10 in both USAC National Sprint Car and National Midget points. The 21-year-old native of Villa Park, Calif., relocated to Indiana in May to race for Keith Kunz Motorsports in the USAC series.