Viso joins KV Racing for 2012 campaign

Venezuelan EJ Viso and KV Racing Technology announced an agreement on Monday that will put the 26 year-old back on the grid for his third season of IndyCar racing at KVRT and his fifth season overall.

“I am really happy to be back,” Viso said. “Last year was very successful even if the results don't necessarily reflect what we wanted. We worked very hard and we proved we were competitive. The progress we made over the last two years will be a key to our success in 2012.”

Viso will partner veteran Tony Kanaan at KVR, and in all likelihood will be joined by former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello in the team's third seat. An announcement of Barrichello's deal is expected on Thursday afternoon.

Viso has started 66 IndyCar events without a win, racking up two top 5 finishes over his career. His best finish was a third place result in Iowa during the 2010 season. He finished 18th in the championship points standings in the 2011 campaign.

Viso has already put in laps behind the wheel of the No. 5 Dallara DW12/Chevrolet he will pilot this year, racking up 143 tours of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California over the past weekend.

EJ Viso, KV Racing Technology-Lotus

Photo by: IndyCar Series

"We developed a lot of new things," he said. "Each session we ran we went faster and faster. By the end of the second day we put on a race setup and simulated a race and the result was impressive."

The team plans to test again, at Sebring International Raceway, next week.

The 2012 IndyCar season opens with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 25th.