CLEARWATER, Fla. – Team Pelfrey is pleased to announce that promising Canadian racer Dalton Kellett will continue his climb up the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder by joining the Florida-based team for a concerted attack on the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
Kellett, 20, from Stouffville, Ont., Canada, has made consistent progress over the past two seasons in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. He also enjoyed a solid Pro Mazda debut with Team Pelfrey at his home event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July and even tested the waters in Indy Lights with a one-off drive at Baltimore in September.
In addition to his racing career, the personable Kellett will continue his studies at Queen’s University in Kingston. Ont., where he is majoring in engineering physics.
“Everyone is very excited about the opportunity to work with Dalton for the upcoming season,” said team director Nigel Tuckey. “We enjoyed running him at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this year and were impressed to see the huge progress he made in the Pro Mazda car from the beginning of the weekend to the end while working closely with the team. After that performance it was a ‘no brainer’ to do everything we could to put a program together for Dalton in 2014. We are looking forward to continuing to develop his potential throughout the season.”
Kellett began his racing career at age 14 in karting, earning Rookie of the Year honors at the Toronto Kart Club and finishing fifth in the Honda Junior category. After placing second in both Honda Junior and Rotax Junior in 2009, he earned an opportunity to gain his first taste in cars with an F2000 test organized by Andersen Racing but continued to focus on karting in 2010 when he finished second at the ASN Canada FIA Karting National Championships in the Honda Senior class. He was second again in the 2011 Rotax DD2 and Senior Max categories of the Western Canadian Championships and was ranked comfortably among the top 10 in the super-competitive Rotax Senior category in Canada by ekartingnews.com. Kellett dovetailed that campaign with a parallel program in cars, finishing third in the Ontario Formula Ford Championship, before stepping up to USF2000 in 2012. Kellett developed into a consistent top-10 runner as the 2013 season progressed, including best finishes of sixth at Mid-Ohio in August and seventh on the streets of Toronto in July.
“Though the 2014 season will mark my third year competing in the Mazda Road to Indy, it will be my first with Team Pelfrey as well as my rookie season in Pro Mazda,” said Kellett. “Having competed for two seasons in the USF2000 National Championship, I am prepared for a successful graduation into Pro Mazda. Team Pelfrey has an excellent track record, and combining that with hard work and dedication, together we will be able to achieve our goals.”
ABOUT TEAM PELFREY:
Dale Pelfrey’s race team, based in the St. Petersburg, Fla., area, is built upon the same principles he used 35 years ago when establishing his business career – hire the best, acquire the best and expect the best in order to achieve the most. After fielding cars in the IZOD IndyCar Series from 1998 until 2000, Team Pelfrey was reformed in 2011, winning on its Pro Mazda debut and going on to earn the Team Championship as well as second and third in the drivers’ title-chase with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Andries. Team Pelfrey went one better in 2012, guiding Jack Hawksworth to the Drivers’ Championship and earning a second successive Team Championship. www.team-pelfrey.com.