Dalton Kellett Explained

Dalton Kellett (born August 19, 1993) is a Canadian former racing driver from Stouffville, Ontario. He last competed in the IndyCar Series, driving for A. J. Foyt Racing.^[1]

Racing career

Early years

Kellett started his racing career in snowmobile racing at the age of three, moving up to go-kart racing after a hiatus while convincing his parents to let him race.^[2] After karting, Kellett competed in the Ontario Formula Ford Championship in 2011 where he finished third.

Road to Indy

In 2012 he competed in the U.S. F2000 National Championship for Pabst Racing Services and finished 11th in the 2012 U.S. F2000 Winterfest and 14th in the 2012 U.S. F2000 National Championship season, and returned to Pabst to race in U.S. F2000 in 2013.

Kellett made his Pro Mazda Championship debut in July 2013 for Team Pelfrey at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, finishing 10th and 8th in two races. In the following months, Kellett and Pabst announced that they would join the Indy Lights series for the series' race at Baltimore and contest the 2014 season in the series together.^[3] Kellett crashed out on the second lap of the Baltimore race, but still became the first driver to race in all three Road to Indy divisions during the same season.^[4] On November 14 he announced that he would race in the Pro Mazda Championship with Team Pelfrey in 2014.^[5] Kellett finished 10th in the championship with one podium finish at Houston, and returned to the series in 2015 with Andretti Autosport.^[6] He again finished 10th in the championship with one podium finish, this time a second place at Iowa Speedway.

On September 22, 2015, Kellett announced that he would stay with Andretti Autosport to compete in the Indy Lights series in 2016, becoming the first driver to confirm plans for the series for the 2016 season.^[7] On September 8, 2016, the team confirmed Kellett's return for the 2017 season.^[8] He also returned to Andretti in 2018, winning the Freedom 100 pole.^[9]

After spending three years with Andretti in Indy Lights, Kellett moved to Juncos Racing for the 2019 season and also made some WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starts in the LMP2 class with PRI/Mathiasen Motorsports. Kellett drove the sports car races to practice live pit stops before a hopeful IndyCar Series ride in 2020.

IndyCar Series

On February 4, 2020, A. J. Foyt Racing announced that Kellett would race for the team, mostly on road and street courses in the 2020 season.^[10] The Canadian scored a best finish of 20th at both Road America races and ended up 26th in the standings.

Kellett's ride expanded to full-time for 2021.^[11] He improved his best finish to 12th at World Wide Technology Raceway on his way to 23rd in points.

A.J. Foyt Racing re-upped Kellett for another season in 2022, partnering him with 2021 Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood. Kellett's best finish was 17th at Texas Motor Speedway and he finished the championship in 25th place, last among full-time drivers.

On October 12, 2022, Kellett announced he would not be returning to the team for the 2023 season.

Education

Kellett graduated from Queen's University at Kingston with a degree in engineering physics.^[12] "His passion for academics and STEM has been coupled with racing" and "he has teamed up with STEM organizations to use racing to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and thinkers."^[13]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2011	Formula Ford Ontario Championship F1600-A	Brian Graham Racing Team Grote	10	0	0	0	7	792	3rd
2012	Cooper Tires Winterfest	Pabst Racing Services	6	0	0	0	0	56	11th
	U.S. F2000 National Championship		14	0	0	0	0	78	14th
2013	U.S. F2000 National Championship	Pabst Racing Services	14	0	0	0	0	102	16th
	Pro Mazda Championship	Team Pelfrey	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
	Indy Lights	Pabst Racing	1	0	0	0	0	20	19th
	Formula Tour 1600	N/A	?	?	?	?	?	47	30th
2014	Pro Mazda Championship	Team Pelfrey	13	0	0	0	1	160	10th
	Pro Mazda Winterfest		4	0	0	0	0	50	9th
2015	Pro Mazda Championship	Andretti Autosport	15	0	0	0	1	187	10th
	Pro Mazda Winterfest		5	0	0	0	1	98	3rd
2016	Indy Lights	Andretti Autosport	18	0	0	0	1	193	10th
2017	Indy Lights	Andretti Autosport	16	0	0	1	2	198	12th
2018	Indy Lights	Andretti Autosport	17	0	1	0	2	299	7th
2019	Indy Lights	Juncos Racing	18	0	0	0	1	275	7th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2	PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports	3	2	0	0	2	105	5th
2020	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	8	0	0	0	0	67	26th
2021	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	16	0	0	0	0	148	23rd
2022	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	17	0	0	0	0	133	25th

^† As Kellett was an unregistered driver, he was ineligible to score points.
^* Season still in progress.

American open–wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
2012	nowrap	Pabst Racing Services	SEB	SEB	STP	STP	LOR	MDO	MDO	ROA	ROA	ROA	BAL	BAL	VIR	VIR	14th	78
2013	nowrap	Pabst Racing Services	SEB	SEB	STP	STP	LOR	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	MDO	LAG	LAG	HOU	HOU	16th	102

Pro Mazda Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2013	nowrap	Team Pelfrey	AUS	AUS	STP	STP	IND	IOW	TOR	TOR	MOS	MOS	MOH	MOH	TRO	TRO	HOU	HOU		NC	0*
2014	nowrap	Team Pelfrey	STP	STP	BAR	BAR	IMS	IMS	LOR	HOU	HOU	MOH	MOH	MIL	SON	SON				10th	160
2015	nowrap	Andretti Autosport	STP	STP	LOU	LOU	BAR	BAR	IMS	IMS	IMS	LOR	TOR	TOR	IOW	MOH	MOH	LAG	LAG	10th	187

Kellett was an unregistered driver for the 2013 Pro Mazda season.

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
2013	nowrap	Pabst Racing	STP	ALA	LBH	INDY	MIL	IOW	POC	TOR	MDO	BAL	HOU	FON							19th	20
2016	nowrap	Andretti Autosport	STP	STP	PHX	ALA	ALA	IMS	IMS	INDY	RDA	RDA	IOW	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	WGL	LAG	LAG	10th	193
2017	nowrap	Andretti Autosport	STP	STP	ALA	ALA	IMS	IMS	INDY	ROA	ROA	IOW	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	GMP	WGL			12th	198
2018	nowrap	Andretti Autosport	STP	STP	ALA	ALA	IMS	IMS	INDY	ROA	ROA	IOW	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	GTW	POR	POR		7th	299
2019	nowrap	Juncos Racing	STP	STP	COA	COA	IMS	IMS	INDY	RDA	RDA	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	GTW	POR	POR	LAG	LAG	7th	275

IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points	Ref
2020	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara DW12	14	Chevrolet	TXS	IMS	ROA	ROA	IOW	IOW				MDO	MDO							26th	67	[14]
	41							INDY	GTW	GTW			IMS	IMS	STP
2021	4	ALA	STP	TXS	TXS	IMS	INDY	DET	DET	ROA	MDO	NSH	IMS	GTW	POR	LAG	LBH		23rd	148	[15]
2022		STP	TXS	LBH	ALA	IMS	INDY	DET	ROA	MDO	TOR	IOW	IOW	IMS	NSH	GTW	POR	LAG	25th	133	[16]

* Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2020	Dallara	Chevrolet	24	align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;"	31	nowrap	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2021	Dallara	Chevrolet	30	align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;"	23	nowrap	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2022	Dallara	Chevrolet	29	align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;"	27	nowrap	A. J. Foyt Enterprises

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tomlinson . Joy . Sebastien Bourdais, Dalton Kellett Running Part Time for AJ Foyt . Frontstretch . February 4, 2020 . February 4, 2020.
2. Web site: Gluck . Jeff . How I Got Here: Zach Veach and Dalton Kellett . JeffGluck.com . April 19, 2020 . August 9, 2018.
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20220331080303/http://indylights2014.com/2013/pabst-racing-adds-indy-lights-team-and-prepares-for-two-car-lights-effort-in-2014/ Pabst Racing Adds Indy Lights Team And Prepares for Two-Car Lights Effort in 2014
4. Web site: DiZinno . Tony . Andretti's testing someone, in Dalton Kellett for Pro Mazda . Motorsports Talk . NBC Sports . April 19, 2020 . October 6, 2014.
5. http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13152&sid=923032f96919df362b1a5df4efb9a838 Kellett Joins Team Pelfrey for 2014 Campaign
6. Web site: DiZinno . Tony . MRTI: Gutierrez, Kellett confirmed for Pro Mazda 2015 seasons . Motorsports Talk . NBC Sports . April 19, 2020 . November 18, 2014.
7. Khorounzhiy, Valentin. Andretti promotes Kellett to Indy Lights, Motorsport.com, September 22, 2015, retrieved 2015-09-22
8. Dalton Kellett Returns to Andretti Roster for 2017 . . May 7, 2020 . September 8, 2016.
9. Web site: Dalton Kellett Wins the 2018 Freedom 100 Pole . UPI . May 7, 2020.
10. Web site: Sebastien Bourdais, rookie Dalton Kellett to join Tony Kanaan in A.J. Foyt Racing's No. 14 car in 2020 . Brown . Nathan . February 4, 2020. Indystar.com. Gannett Company. March 6, 2020.
11. Web site: Kellett lands full-time Foyt seat for 2021. Racer. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc.. December 15, 2020.
12. Web site: Pruett . Marshall . Kellett closing on IndyCar opportunity . Racer . April 19, 2020 . December 12, 2019.
13. Web site: Kellett . Dalton . Dalton Kellett About . daltonkellett.com . 29 May 2022 . en.
14. Web site: Dalton Kellett – 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
15. Web site: Dalton Kellett – 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
16. Web site: Dalton Kellett – 2022 NTT IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.