INDIANAPOLIS – A.J. Foyt Racing’s NTT IndyCar Series effort has expanded will expand to three cars this year as the ROKiT Group has agreed to increase its involvement.
Tatiana Calderón has been hired to drive the No. 11 ROKiT Chevrolet. The 28-year-old driver from Colombia becomes the first female driver to compete for the team owned by the legendary A.J. Foyt, the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.
Foyt turned 87 on Saturday.
Calderón will driver on the street and road courses on the schedule. No driver has been announced for the No. 11 entry on the ovals.
“I’m thrilled and very thankful to Jonathan Kendrick, ROKiT and A.J. Foyt Racing for the opportunity to race in the NTT IndyCar Series,” Calderón said. “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.”
Additionally, rookie driver Kyle Kirkwood will be sponsored by ROKiT in the No. 14 Chevrolet. Dalton Kellett will drive the No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA Chevrolet.
“I’m thrilled with the continuation and expansion of the ROKiT A.J. Foyt Racing Team,” team president Larry Foyt said. “We welcome Tatiana Calderón in car number 11 joining Kyle Kirkwood in car 14, both in the very cool ROKiT liveries. Tatiana showed a lot of potential in her test at Mid-Ohio. With Dalton Kellett in the No. 4 K-Line Insulators Chevrolet, I think our three-car team is in for an exciting season.”
Calderón will test with Kirkwood in Sebring, Fla. this week. Kellett is planning to attend in an advisory role.
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.
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.
“One of our fundamental principles in the overall marketing of the ROKiT brand worldwide is our support and promotion of women in motorsport and, as part of that principle, we’ve supported Tatiana for a long time now,” Kendrick said. “We recognized her talent and charisma early on, which we’ve seen grow and develop, so we’re very excited to be expanding our partnership with Larry and the AJ Foyt Racing Team by having Tatiana drive the No. 11 ROKiT Chevrolet alongside Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 14 ROKiT Chevrolet this season. We know Tatiana is already a role model to many young female drivers around the world and we think the huge exposure of the NTT IndyCar Series will serve only to increase her reach even further to become an inspiration to many more women to get involved in motorsports.”
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 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.
Born in Bogota, Colombia and currently living in Madrid, 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 this year.