Cunningham picks 4 races over Indy 500

Sam Schmidt is anticipating that former Firestone Indy Lights champion Wade Cunningham will make his Izod IndyCar Series debut this season with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

Assuming final details are worked out, Cunningham will compete in four races.

"I'd call it 'locked and loaded,' " Schmidt said Thursday of the deal. "We're pretty close."

Cunningham would run the doubleheader at Texas Motor Speedway (June 11) along with the race at Kentucky Speedway (Oct. 2) and the yet-to-be-confirmed race at Las Vegas (Oct. 16).

Schmidt said Cunningham, on the advice of fellow New Zealander Steve Horne, chose to run those four races rather than only the Indianapolis 500.

"That's putting all your eggs in one basket," Schmidt said of choosing the 500. "I think that was an intelligent decision." Indy Star