Another of the holes in the grid that was pending announcement in the IndyCar Series has been made on this first day of December. After playing his second season in the category, and the first full-time, the Canadian Dalton kellett will continue at the wheel of the second car of AJ Foyt Racing with the number # 41, in search of an improvement of their economic fortunes that resembles a little to the financial numbers that guarantee their continuity in the competition.
The 28-year-old pilot, who has a degree in physical engineering from Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario), will once again have the invaluable presence of the K-Line family company on the sides of the car. After sharing garages in 2021 with four-time champion Sébastien Bourdais, who will compete this coming year at the IMSA as a prototype driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, his new partner is the American. Kyle kirkwood, the most brilliant promise of American motorsport after triumphing in all the junior competitions in the country with a very high percentage of victories.
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“We’re looking forward to continuing the momentum of 2021. We had promising times and some encouraging results, and we need to keep that track in 2022,” says a Kellett whose best result was 12th place in a Gateway oval date in which only 14 cars finished. That was the only one of his 24 races in which he has finished above 18th, and he only finished in the top 20 in six of the 16 events in 2021. Thus, his first time in the Indianapolis 500. it settled with a final 23rd position after starting in position 30. At the same time, his only top 20 on the grid was 19th at Nashville (best starting position of his career) brought about by the necessities of a rugged classification.
Kellett has been the slowest driver on the grid on several occasions, even being outmatched by a Jimmie Johnson who had never competed in single-seater track racing. With just 148 points in total, he finished the year in 23rd position, 110 points behind Bourdais’ 16th place. His was the worst of the 24 cars on time, scoring 20 points less than Carlin’s car shared by Max Chilton and Conor Daly despite missing an event. A track record consistent with his previous career in the lower categories, with eight seasons without victories and four years of Indy Lights in which he barely added six podiums with the best teams in the tournament on very small grids.
With confirmation from Foyt, IndyCar’s full-time grid already has very few openings without official confirmation. Dale Coyne Racing has yet to announce the occupants of its two cars, which expect Takuma Sato and rookie David Malukas, while Ed Carpenter Racing is looking for a driver on a budget to compete in circuit races in his second car, after losing its main sponsor. In turn, Jimmie Johnson maintains the intrigue about the extension of his possible oval program with Ganassi, while Juncos and Carlin have not yet made a union official which is already formal in practice. It was taken for granted that joining forces could provide a two-car team, but this point seems to be in question.