An all-female IndyCar team is scheduled to take the track in three races this season.
Beth Paretta, who leads the team as Team Principal, made the announcement Tuesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro will be the headline driver for the team and will pilot the No. 16 Chevrolet. The team will be working with Ed Carpenter Racing and will skip the Indianapolis 500.
“We had to figure out what would be the best fit for us and if Ed was running three cars at the 500, we didn’t really want to be the fourth car,” Paretta said. “The decision was, ‘OK, they’re going to do three cars for 500 and that allows us to do these three races later in the year.’ This is growth for my team. It’s getting our team to new places, it’s getting Simona to new places and as far as becoming a full-time team, this is a good investment for us.”
De Silvestro said that she’s “super motivated” for this season.
“We were really hoping to grow and now joining Ed Carpenter Racing I think is definitely the way to go,” de Silvestro said. “It’s amazing. The places we’re going to are tracks where I’ve been quite fast in the past, so I’m super motivated.”
As of right now, the group plans to race at Road America. De Silvestro, alongside A.J. Foyt Racing driver Tatiana Calderon, could be the first two female drivers to compete in the same IndyCar race since 2013.
Paretta did not say what other races they plan to compete in.