Carlos Huertas, a surprising race winner in his first season, returns to Dale Coyne Racing for a second season in the Verizon IndyCar series. His teammate, initially for the first four races, will be Francesco Dracone.

Huertas won the first race of the 2014 Houston doubleheader, and advanced a cumulative 37 places from his starting positions in his 18 starts. He finished the championship 20th of the 21 full time drivers, but is looking forward to a second season with testing miles behind him and experience of the circuits, which he did not have in 2014.

"Last year was tough because some events I had never been to the place before and sometimes it was a two-day event of practice and then qualifying so it's impossible to do miracles, especially on the ovals," said the 23-year-old Colombian in a Verizon IndyCar Series press release. "I think I drove really well. I finished a lot of races, I was consistent and for a first year without any testing before the first race I think it was pretty good. I won a race in my rookie year and not a lot of other people have done that so that was pretty good, but I think I had some other good performances that I didn't get the result because of some things that happened - like a penalty at Long Beach and a messed up pit stop at the Indy road course.”

Huertas was also enthusiastic about testing this week. "We did a test a few weeks ago at Sebring where we tried out a lot of stuff that was productive and I really enjoyed my time in the car," he said. "Coming to this test (at Barber) I know this place, how the series works and how the team works so that is a positive."

Team owner Dale Coyne added, "Carlos surprised everyone last year with his performance. The effort the team has made over the winter, as shown by our Sebring test with Carlos, gives us confidence for the upcoming season."

Huertas' teammate for the first four races of the season will be Francesco Dracone, whose only previous IndyCar experience was two races with Conquest Racing in 2010, at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma. The 31-year-old Italian has, however, driven in 106 single seater races, and since 2011 has driven in AutoGP, a European single seater series using the former A1GP cars.

"I've been seeking this opportunity since the very day after Conquest (Racing)," Dracone said, going on to refer to his test with Dale Coyne Racing at Sebring in December 2013. "I tried last year but they had a great driver in Justin Wilson. This winter we talked again (with Dale Coyne) and it seems feasible to run at least four races. It's great being here picking up the pace again with the Indy car at this new circuit for me. It's just exciting."

The Verizon IndyCar Series begins at St Petersburg, Florida, on March 27-29.