Ed Carpenter Racing has announced that Josef Newgarden will not be returning to the team for the 2017 IndyCar season.
This year marked his fifth full season racing in IndyCar, finishing a career-best fourth in the 2016 drivers' standings.
Newgarden has scored three race wins for the team over the last two seasons but it's been announced he will not return to ECR.
“While it’s disappointing that Josef will not be returning, it’s also not a total surprise after all of the speculation the past few weeks,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a statement.
“I wish Josef the best in his future endeavours, but also remain focused on ECR’s continued success.
“We are positioned well moving into 2017 and I have total confidence that we will continue to deliver the high level of performance we expect as a team.”
ECR says it is now evaluating its options for the team for next season’s driver line-up.
Newgarden was the team’s only full-time driver in 2016, with the team running Spencer Pigot seven times, J.R. Hildebrand twice and owner Carpenter five times.
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