TGR Staff - 01/17/2022
AJ Foyt Racing announced its expanded partnership with ROKiT Group for the 2022 season, which will field two Chevrolets in the NTT INDYCAR Series. Tatiana Calderón has been hired to drive the No. 11 ROKiT Chevrolet. Expanding AJ Foyt Racing to a three-car team with Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 14 ROKiT Chevrolet and veteran Dalton Kellett in the No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA Chevrolet.
The 28-year-old Colombian native becomes the first female driver signed to the legendary team and will be driving the street and road courses. No driver has been signed for the oval tracks to date.
I’m thrilled and very thankful to Jonathan Kendrick, ROKiT, and AJ Foyt Racing for the opportunity to race in the NTT INDYCAR Series! Ever since I started my single-seater career in the United States eleven years ago, INDYCAR has been a reference for me and it’s a dream come true to be on the grid this year! I can’t wait to get to St. Petersburg for the first race of the season! I’m well aware of the challenge ahead, but this is the chance of a lifetime and I’m keen on making the most of it.
Tatiana Calderón
Kendrick, the Co-founder and Chairman of the ROKiT Group of Companies, has supported Calderón's career since 2020 when she competed in the World Endurance Championship and Super Formula Japan. Calderón spent the last two seasons competing in Super Formula in Japan for Threebond Drago Corse and for Richard Mille Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
She has also been a test driver for the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team for the past four years. Her extensive resume includes stints in Formula 2, Renault Series Formula V8 3.5 where she was the first female on the podium in Bahrein in 2017, GP3, European Formula 3, and the British Formula 3 Series, where she was the first female to score a podium.
Calderón tested the No. 14 ROKiT Chevrolet at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio last July which prompted talks of competing for the team in 2022. Calderón and Kirkwood, the 2021 Indy Lights Series champion, will make their INDYCAR Series debut in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27th which will be broadcast on NBC starting at 12 noon ET. Kirkwood and Kellett will compete in all of the races while Calderón will run in 12 of the 17 races on the schedule.
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