Paretta Autosport announced on Tuesday that they have entered into a technical partnership with Ed Carpenter Racing with Simona De Silvestro driving the No.16 KiwiCo Chevrolet competing in Road America, Mid-Ohio and at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.
Speaking about the news, Team Principal Beth Paretta said:
I am thrilled to announce that we will be back competing in the NTT INDYCAR Series in 2022. We had a great first year working with Roger Penske and Team Penske in 2021 as part of the Race for Equality and Change initiative and since then I have been working on building the right structure and opportunity to continue to grow our team. This new technical alliance with Ed Carpenter Racing is exciting for us and will allow us to continue to grow and compete in multiple races this season. Additionally, I am proud to continue our association with Chevrolet who has valued, supported, and championed our efforts for diversity and inclusion from the beginning. This alignment has helped us amplify our message in a meaningful way and we can’t wait to get back on track with them. Finally, we are pleased to welcome KiwiCo to our team and the NTT INDYCAR Series. This partnership will allow us to connect our effort on track to kids and parents at home which is a critical ingredient of our mission. We invite our fans to visit us at the track to see the KiwiCo crates up-close and see how we will continue to make learning fun!
The news comes off the back of the team’s successful Indianapolis 500 appearance last season with team members returning this season.
Katie Soo, Chief Marketing Officer of KiwiCo said:
We’re excited to partner with Paretta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. There are so many exciting career opportunities within a race team. We want to open kids’ eyes to those possibilities and get them excited about the science and technology that goes into engineering every single IndyCar – everything from learning how wheels grip the track, the physics of aerodynamics and so much more
President and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corporation Mark Miles said:
“Last year, Paretta Autosport was a wonderful addition to the Indianapolis 500 and also a key partner in Penske Entertainment’s Race for Equality & Change. “From the training of their crew members to battling through perseverance in qualifying, Beth’s team not only inspired long-time personnel in our paddock but helped inspire diversity and inclusion in our sport. It is exciting to see this team build on the terrific work of 2021. I cannot wait to see them return to the race track this summer while continuing to influence the next generation of female racers.”
Ed Carpenter, team owner of Ed Carpenter Racing said:
“ECR is very excited to be a part of the growth of Paretta Autosport. We watched closely what they accomplished at last year’s Indy 500 and look forward to helping their progression toward the goal of being a full season entrant. I have a lot of respect for Beth and Simona, and look forward to success with them later this season.”
Simona De Silvestro, driver of the No.16 KiwiCo Chevrolet commented saying:
I’m incredibly grateful to Beth that she keeps having the trust in me and to be able to get one step more into our journey that we’ve started together last year at the Indy 500. I’m excited to get this opportunity and am really looking forward to going to the places we’re going to. These are tracks that, in the past, I’ve been quite strong at, so for me it really gives me a lot of confidence. To be able to get back into an INDYCAR at those places … I have a huge smile on my face and I’m really looking forward to it. Associating with Ed Carpenter Racing is going to be great. I think in them we have a great team as well and it’s an association that is really important for us to grow into the future and hopefully a lot more things will happen together. I think it’s going to be amazing and I can’t wait. I’ve been training hard again to get back behind the wheel of an INDYCAR, so I’m really looking forward to it. I want to thank Beth for making it happen. She can be so proud of what she’s doing with the team and the program is going in the right direction and growing. For me to be able to be part of it and us doing it together, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m super excited!
Paretta Autosport will compete at Road America in June, Mid-Ohio in July and Nashville in August.