IndyCar Driver Preview: EJ Viso

#5 E.J. Viso

• Team: Andretti Autosport
• Engine: Chevrolet
• Sponsors: PDVSA
• 2012: 20th place, 1 Top Five

2012 WRAP: The numbers say otherwise, but Viso improved by leaps and bounds in his fifth season of IndyCar competition a year ago. He produced some stellar early season qualifying efforts and probably should have finished on the podium in Milwaukee, where he led 27 laps and finished a season-best fifth. More importantly, a driver maligned early in his career for his high frequency of accidents retired only once from that last year, at Iowa.

2013 OUTLOOK: Viso enters 2013 with a new team, Andretti Autosport, with members of his first team at HVM Racing back in the fold as well. He’s reunited with his first IndyCar engineer in Michael Cannon, who’s turned many drivers into winners, and first team owner in Keith Wiggins, who combines in this Andretti effort. It’s a deep field but Viso could flourish in this atmosphere. At a minimum, he should score his second career podium if he keeps his nose clean.