James HinchcliffeJames Hinchcliffe has secured a racing seat with Newman/Haas Racing for the remainder of the 2011 season, the team announced on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old had tested with the team several times during the winter but missed the opening round of the championship because of a lack of funding. The Indy Lights front runner will make his IndyCar racing debut in the next round of the series at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend. Canadian Hinchcliffe will be sponsored by Eric Sprott and Sprott Inc., an independent asset manager based in Toronto.

"Finally making my IndyCar debut really is a dream come true and the end of a 15-year journey getting me to this point," said Hinchcliffe. "Having the support from a prominent Canadian company as I start this next step in my career is extra special. I can't thank Eric Sprott and Sprott Inc. enough for their commitment and I'm sure we can do Canadian sport proud!"

Carl Haas added: "We are pleased to add James to our team. He impressed us with how quickly he acclimated himself to the demands of driving an Indy car last December and showed he is more than talented enough to compete at this level since then.

"In our previous 28 seasons, only three rookies have driven for the team and those were Nigel (Mansell), Sebastien (Bourdais) and Graham (Rahal), and all made their mark. Canada has produced many great drivers and we are looking forward to partnering with Sprott Inc., to help James make his own mark."