Photo: Travis Hinkle
Indy Lights race-winner Benjamin Pedersen has landed a multi-year deal to race in IndyCar with AJ Foyt Racing, starting from 2023.
The 23-year-old Danish-American has spent the past two years in Indy Lights in a car co-run by Global Racing Group and HMD Motorsports. He came fourth in 2021 standings, with six podiums, and fifth in 2022 with five podiums.
His first and only pole position and victory came at Portland this year, and he spent the season also shadowing the Foyt team during IndyCar track sessions. It has not been confirmed which of Foyt’s cars he will drive, nor if it is a full-time seat.
“I’m super-excited to get going with the team,” Pedersen said. “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, et cetera are all awesome.
“The Indy Lights series and car serves as the ultimate transition into IndyCar. From a series perspective, Indy Lights goes to the IndyCar events, so we share the same weekend format, points, rules, race director, et cetera. This makes the transition very natural to IndyCar, as all of these things will stay the same.
“From a car perspective, I can say first-hand that the Indy Lights car is a great car to transition from since it really rewards pushing to a high limit and almost overdriving a bit on the peak of the tire.”
Before Indy Lights, Pedersen was a race-winner in United States Formula 4, Formula Regional Americas and BRDC British Formula 3.
“We are really looking forward to having Benjamin as part of the team,” said Foyt team president Larry Foyt. “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 multiyear program in place, which will help him and the team grow together.”
Pedersen’s maiden IndyCar test was with Juncos Hollinger Racing this June, and he is the first rookie to be announced for the series next year.
Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist looks unlikely to land a full-time IndyCar seat, and is still pursuing a 2023 drive.