Perera joins Foyt for Chicagoland

The Frenchman, who started the season with Conquest Racing, will race a second car alongside Foyt's regular driver Darren Manning.

"I thought Franck did a good job in the couple of IndyCar races he ran earlier and he's been impressive in the Indy Lights Series this year," said team owner AJ Foyt. "I want to see how he gels with our team."

Perera lost his Conquest drive after Long Beach due to a lack of sponsorship, but had impressed in the early IndyCar rounds - out-qualifying all the other 'transition' drivers at the Homestead season-opener. He has subsequently raced in the Indy Lights feeder series, taking his first win at Sonoma.

"I would like to thank AJ Foyt and ABC Supply for giving me the chance to get back into an Indy 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 confirmed that Perera's Chicagoland appearance should be regarded as an audition for a full-time drive 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," said Larry Foyt. "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."