Fresh off of placing 5th in the 2022 Indy Lights Series, Danish racer Benjamin Pedersen will compete for AJ Foyt Racing in IndyCar in 2023
After an Indy Lights career resulting in one victory, 11 podiums, and placements of fourth and fifth in the previous two championship campaigns, Dane competitor Benjamin Pedersen will move up the ladder and compete in the NTT IndyCar Series for 2023.
In an agreement that will span for multiple seasons, the team plans to develop the 23-year-old as a long-term face of the franchise.
Said Larry Foyt, Team President of AJ Foyt Racing:
“We are really looking forward to having Benjamin as part of the team…His enthusiasm is infectious, and he is 100% committed to INDYCAR, AJ Foyt Racing, and doing the best he can to win races. It’s been great to have him embedded with the team this past season, and everyone is excited to hit the ground running when testing begins. It is also great to have a multi-year program in place, which will help him and the team grow together.”
https://twitter.com/AJFoytRacing/status/1575138606708031495
Pedersen’s career began competing in the Formula 4 United States Championship. Over the course of three seasons, he captured five victories and 11 podiums with a best placement of 4th in the championship standings. With the exception of his 2020 campaigns in British Formula 3 and the Euroformula Open Championships, the Dane had competed his entire professional career for Global Racing Group. Though the move to a new team may be daunting, the Dane is full of enthusiasm and excitement.
“I’m super excited to get going with the team…I’ve spent a lot of time this season with AJ Foyt Racing learning the ins and outs of making the jump to INDYCAR and it’s been really nice to do that in conjunction with my Indy Lights season. INDYCAR has been my target goal since I started open wheel racing in 2016. The racing, atmosphere, fans, events, tracks, etc. are all awesome…
When I had my debut IndyCar test a few months ago, it was a very successful day topping the time charts and I found it very natural to transition into the IndyCar..The biggest differences were the brakes, dampers, tires, and aero. You have a much higher sensation of grip compared to the Indy Lights car and I actually felt the IndyCar was a bit easier to drive in many regards. The carbon brakes are the biggest difference, and they allow you to brake so late and hard, and when combined with all the other things mentioned above, it’s nearly impossible to lock the brakes on the initial brake phase due to how much grip there is. It’s just a really enjoyable car to drive that really rewards attacking the brakes and also asking a lot of the tire laterally (side to side).”
Pederson joins a powerhouse roster in 2023’s NTT IndyCar Series. 12 different nationalities represented across ten franchises in the battle for the two biggest prizes in American 0pen-wheel racing:
The Borg-Warner Trophy and the Astor Cup.
The 2023 IndyCar season starts with The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 5th, 2023 on NBC.
