IZOD, Cunningham back with SSM for finale

Sam Schmidt Motorsports announced Sept. 28 that Wade Cunningham will return to the cockpit of the #77 IZOD/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry for the Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka 100, the season finale of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The trio of IZOD, Cunningham, and Sam Schmidt Motorsports had a successful debut in May where the New Zealander scored his third Firestone Freedom 100 win at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"We're excited to have IZOD on board with us for the season finale, and I have to thank them for affording us the opportunity to put Wade in the car," team owner, Sam Schmidt, said. "This was a strong combination of sponsor and driver in May, and we're confident that we can produce a similar performance this weekend in Miami."

Cunningham, who hasn't competed in Firestone Indy Lights since his Indianapolis win, is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel. Cunningham's best finish at Homestead was a fourth as a rookie in 2005.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to get into a competitive car with the Sam Schmidt team," Cunningham said. "They've been a good bunch to work with, and I know anytime I step into one of their cars, I've got a good shot to win. I also have to thank IZOD for getting involved in the program. We had a good run in Indy, and I hope we can deliver for them again in Homestead and head into the off-season with some good momentum to try and build a program to step up into IndyCar in some capacity with the partners we've been working with."