One remaining piece of the puzzle for the 2022 season was solved today when AJ Foyt Racing announced that JR Hildebrand will drive the No. 11 Chevrolet on ovals. The veteran driver rejoins the team after driving for them in the Indianapolis 500 last year. Hildebrand will try to improve upon that 15th place finish as he makes his 12th attempt to race in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Rookie Tatiana Calderon is driving the car on the 12 road and street courses, in what is a third full-time entry for the team. With Dalton Kellett and rookie sensation Kyle Kirkwood in the other two cars, Hildebrand provides a much-needed veteran presence for the team. His vast oval experience will be vital to their success going forward, beginning next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
“I’m excited to have this opportunity to get back in the car, do a little more racing, and work with the A.J. Foyt Racing squad again,” said Hildebrand. “Although the results may not have looked special on paper, I was really impressed by what we accomplished last year at the 500 and look forward to attacking these other ovals on the IndyCar schedule alongside Kyle and Dalton.”
In addition to the Indy 500, Hildebrand will run at Texas, Iowa (doubleheader) and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
“We had a great experience working with J.R. last year, and there is no doubt he is very competitive at Indianapolis,” said team president Larry Foyt. “He is still very motivated to drive Indy cars and is a setup-savvy, technical driver who will be a strong addition to our oval races this year.”
The American nearly made history in his first Indy 500 outing. Driving for Panther Racing, Hildebrand was leading on the final lap of the race when he made a mistake in the final turn. If he had not tried to go around the lapped car of Charlie Kimball on that final lap, his career would be completely different. Still, the part-time driver has no regrets about what happened.
Hildebrand…
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