Herta poised for return with Coyne

The team is looking to place Herta, a two-time winner in CART, in the car recently vacated by Takuya Kurosawa, who needed surgery on his back after a crash. According to team boss Dale Coyne, the deal is "99 percent" complete.

"Dale approached me at Mid-Ohio and he was on his way to (sponsor) Sports Today to see what they thought," confirmed Herta, according to Speedvision. "I should know something by the end of the week. It seems like it makes a lot of sense. It's a chance to get some miles, and I know Coyne is committed to improving his team and maybe we can do that together."

Gualter Salles is currently driving the car, having taken over at Mid-Ohio. He will continue for Elkhart Lake, after which Herta will take over. Herta is regarded as a specialist at Laguna Seca, the circuit where both of his wins came.

"It's an opportunity to go out there and get sharp for winter testing, as well as working to make this team better," Herta said. "I didn't want to go out there, especially with the newest testing restrictions, and spend the first six sessions next year getting me back up to speed.

"Plus, just being out of the car for another two months wasn't what I wanted to do," he continued. "You saw at the beginning of the year with Dario (Franchitti) how much he said his driving had suffered from being out for six weeks."

Herta will take over the Lola-Ford, ironically alongside Tarso Marques in the Panasonic Swift. Herta was originally pencilled in to race the series' sole Swift for the Forsythe Championship Racing team, but the team pulled its entry in a dispute over franchises. Swift consequently applied works status to Coyne, and provided Marques, who had been testing the car, as its driver.