The AJ Foyt driver lineup in the NTT IndyCar Series looks quite a bit different this season, as the veteran Sebastien Bourdais has been swapped for two rookies. That change in experience has led to a changed the dynamic in the garage; one that could potentially lead to better results.
When Bourdais was with the team, he was seen as the veteran teacher on the team that would help the more inexperienced Kellett get everything set up properly.
But now the team is without an obvious mentor, and the two rookies Kyle Kirkwood and Tatiana Calderon have stepped into a position where everybody has to help each other to get the results they all seek.
Speaking to Motorsport Week ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Kirkwood described how that relationship is playing out so far.
“It’s nice because we’ve got three people here that are fresh to the sport, at least in IndyCar. Me and Tatiana are learning at the same pace, and we’re learning the way the team is. It’s a fun situation because we’re bouncing off each other to learn stuff.
“And then we have Dalton who’s got a couple years into this, but he’s more fresh to racing. So we’re all kind of learning together. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Kirkwood blitzed through the Road to Indy ladder, winning each championship along the way, and arguably has more racing experience than his non-rookie team-mate.
Kellett for his part is happy to have a different dynamic, and pointed out which areas each driver is able to help the team the most.
“Kyle is obviously super quick, and Tatiana is learning the car and getting there as well,” said Kellett. “We’re all going to be pushing each other.
“It’s going to be competitive in the Foyt camp. We’ll all be working together to push the whole team forward.
“There is definitely stuff that I have done in IndyCar that [Kirkwood] hasn’t done yet, as far as the red [tires] and all that, that I’m sure he’ll have questions about.
“It’s a different dynamic than it was with Seb [Bourdais] and I last year. Not as much like teacher and student. We’re more on equal playing field. I have no problem looking at his data and seeing where he is quicker and learning from that.”
The first practice session from St. Petersburg gets underway shortly at 3:40PM Eastern Time.
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