Bourdais To Drive Foyt’s Fabled No. 14 for Last Three Races of 2020, All of 2021
September 15, 2020 | By Bruce Martin
Sebastien Bourdais is back in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as the four-time series champion will join AJ Foyt Racing beginning with the INDYCAR Harvest GP on Oct. 2-3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bourdais will compete in the final three races of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and will be the sole driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing for the full 2021 season.
“This is exciting news for all of us,” said Bourdais from Le Mans, France, where he is preparing for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. “We waited with anticipation for most of 2020 to put together a deal for 2021. I’m really happy that I’m running the last three races of the year – it is great for us to get an early start on next year. 2020 has been a very strange year so far, and I can’t wait to finally get behind the wheel of the AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet No. 14.”
When the 2020 season began, Bourdais was scheduled to share the driving duties of the No. 14 Chevrolet with 2013 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Tony Kanaan and rookie Dalton Kellett.
Bourdais was set to go at the season-opening race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, before that event was postponed because of COVID-19 on March 13.
Once the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race is completed, Bourdais will be back in the United States preparing for the INDYCAR Harvest GP doubleheader on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Bourdais won four consecutive Champ Car titles from 2004-07 and has 37 career victories.
“I think he’ll be an asset to the team by far,” said team owner A.J. Foyt, INDYCAR’s winningest driver with 67 victories. “We tested with him earlier this year and he knew exactly what he wanted, and today I think that’s very important in a race car driver. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Kellett was originally scheduled to compete in the INDYCAR Harvest GP driving the No. 14 but will move to the No. 41 K-Line Insulators Chevrolet, the number under which he made his debut in this year’s Indianapolis 500. The team also will field the No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet for Charlie Kimball, who is driving full time for Foyt this season.
“I'm happy to have this deal done and welcome Sebastien to AJ Foyt Racing,” said AJ Foyt Racing president Larry Foyt. “The short time we have been able to work together showed a great deal of promise, and it was a shame that his races with us were derailed by the pandemic. I'm glad we were able to add some of these races back on the schedule, as it will undoubtedly help us kick-start his full-time campaign for 2021. His resume speaks for itself, and there is no denying he is a great addition to our program.”
Race 1 of the INDYCAR Harvest GP doubleheader will be broadcast at 3:30 p.m. (ET) Friday, Oct. 2 on the USA Network, while Race 2 will be broadcast at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 on NBC.