Bourdais and Kellett Join AJ Foyt Racing

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer

AJ Foyt Racing announced Tuesday its remaining driver lineup for the No. 14 Chevrolet as Sebastien Bourdais and Dalton Kellett will run the road and street course races.

Last Thursday, the team announced that Tony Kanaan will run all five oval races as 2020 will mark his final NTT IndyCar Series campaign.

Bourdais will start off the year competing the first three races, beginning with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a track he’s won twice (2017-18). From there, he’ll run the next two races at Barber Motorsports Park and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The four-time Indy car champion won’t be back in the No. 14 Chevrolet until the Grand Prix of Portland in September as Bourdais’ main racing discipline will be IMSA, driving for JDC MotorSports’ No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac in the DPi category.

Despite a limited schedule, Bourdais is grateful to have an opportunity of racing a Foyt car as he’s driven for some of the top-tier owners in American open wheel racing’s rich history.

“I am such a lucky man,” Bourdais said. “Starting my IndyCar career driving for Paul Newman and Carl Haas, and now I get to drive for A.J. Foyt! I am both honored and thankful for the opportunity Larry and his team have provided me with. Staying in the NTT IndyCar series seemed like a long shot back in November. My teammates and I will be working very hard to deliver the results this organization deserves, and I can’t wait for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to come.”

Kellett will run the other eight races with his INDYCAR debut set to take place at Circuit of the Americas in April.

As far as the 104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge is concerned, Kellett will be running a third Foyt car, making his race count total to 9 of 17 races.

Kellett, who’s spent the last four straight seasons in Indy Lights with six third-place finishes to his name, is not only an honor, but a dream come true as he sees 2020 being a learning curve.

“I am honored to compete in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series with AJ Foyt Racing,” Kellett said. “This opportunity is truly a dream come true for me, dating back to my days looking up to the drivers in INDYCAR back as a young go-karter. The pedigree and achievements of AJ Foyt Racing are historic in our sport, and I can’t wait to contribute to their ongoing success.

“This season, there will be plenty to learn including the exciting challenge of adapting to an all new car for me. Luckily, I am fortunate to be partnered with three series veterans in Kanaan, Kimball, and Bourdais. I’m looking forward to working with them and learning from their combined experience to grow as a driver. Thank you to the team and my partners for this opportunity. It will be an honor to represent K-Line Insulators USA at this level of the sport.”

Larry Foyt, President of AJ Foyt Racing, said this season will mark as a season of rebuilding after the last few seasons has been a tremendous struggle that the team needed a fresh restart.

“There will be many familiar faces in the Foyt garages this season, but there will be some new faces as well,” Foyt said. “Coming off a season we were disappointed with, changes were inevitable. I believe adding a multi-time champion like Sebastien Bourdais to our team will help us as we regroup and work to regain a competitive position.

“Being able to retain Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan is another source of excitement and will serve to push our oval program to a place where we can fight for victories. Dalton Kellett is a young driver who is intelligent and motivated, and with the experience around him, we feel he has the potential to show great things. Altogether, the 14 car has an intriguing lineup, and I’m excited to see how it plays out.”

Along with full-time driver Charlie Kimball, who’ll drive the No. 4 Chevrolet, Bourdais and Kellett will participate in next week’s Spring Training at COTA.