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J.R. Hildebrand to race Indianapolis 500 as oval driver for A.J. Foyt Racing

J.R. Hildebrand was named the oval driver for A.J. Foyt Racing on Friday and will make his season debut next week at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hildebrand will share the No. 11 Chevrolet with Tatiana Calderon, the Colombian driver hired to race the street and road courses this year. Calderon, the only woman in the IndyCar field, has no oval experience.

Hildebrand has 66 career IndyCar starts, including 11 straight starts in the Indianapolis 500. He nearly won the race as a rookie in 2011 but crashed as the leader entering the final turn and was passed by Dan Wheldon for the win.