LARRY FOYT, team president of AJ Foyt Racing, has been at the helm since being named president in 2014, but in reality, he has been in charge of the day-to-day running of the team since well before that year. There have been some highlights--Takuma Sato's victory at Long Beach in 2013 and Santino Ferrucci's third place finish in the 2023 Indianapolis 500--but he will be the first to admit that there have been some very tough times in between. This year as the team returns to the top-10 in the NTT INDYCAR Series (having started out the season ninth in points after St. Petersburg), Foyt is pleased with the team's progress. We asked him a few questions...
Over halfway through the season, how would you assess it so far?
LF: "It's been a very positive season thus far. While we haven't had any podiums or victories to solidify the overall feeling, our week-to-week competitiveness on all the different types of circuits INDYCAR offers has been a great step forward for the team."
Foyt jokes with Ferrucci at Iowa.
What goals have you met?
LF: "Understanding the competitiveness of Indy car racing currently, we still felt Santino and the 14 group could finish the season in the top 10 in the Championship. We have just moved into that spot, so it is still a possibility and one we are striving towards. As well, we thought it possible for the 41 group and Sting Ray to put that entry back inside the INDYCAR Leaders Circle (where they currently are). They are fighting hard for this and it looks like it will come down to the last few races."
What goals are you still working on?
LF: "With the Indy 500 behind us, I'd say our championship points efforts for both cars are the main focus."
What has been a highlight for you this season?
LF: "I'd say the number of top-10's for Santino and car 14. It's been a great step forward for the team."
There have been some tough days, would you say this past Sunday was the toughest so far?
LF: "Sunday was tough, but short ovals are always challenging, and the smallest bobble can cost you a great deal. We certainly didn't need the big crash at the end, but most importantly, everyone was okay, and we can rebuild cars. Indy was still I'd say the toughest day of this year. We put so much effort into that event and for 80% of the race we were very much in control of our plan. One bad stint late in the race ruined it, but we will keep working at making it better for next year. "
Larry with his dad A.J. en route to the third place place finish at Indy last year. This year they started sixth and finished eighth.
With the added testing and compressed schedule due to the Olympics break, how are you managing to keep the team from getting burned out?
LF: "They have been amazing this season. Even after the big crash last weekend, everyone jumped right in and got to work. Always focusing forward. We are going to take a week off after Toronto to decompress and recharge for the final five-race stretch."
What would you consider a successful season?
LF: "If we can end the season with a car in the top-10 and both cars in the Leaders Circle, I would say it's a big success."
SANTINO FERRUCCI provided the on-track entertainment at Iowa Speedway last weekend with a series of daring passes on the high banked oval to post his season-best finish of sixth Saturday night in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet and vault into the top-10 in the NTT INDYCAR Series standings Sunday afternoon after finishing 11th.
How much fun did you have this past weekend at Iowa speedway?
SF: "I would say it was a lot of fun. It was a very satisfying weekend. Good for everybody involved."
Were you surprised that you could take advantage of the outside lane when others couldn't? Or didn't?
SF: "No, I'd say that's pretty normal. "
When it's tricky like that how do you gauge it? Did you have any close calls?
SF: "Yeah, I saved a few spins. That's more just from trying to understand the car balance and then trying to push limits and then making adjustments based on that experience."
Does that type of weekend give you more confidence going into Toronto?
SF: "I would say having a good short oval weekend is just a confidence booster for the championship. I'd think Toronto you're basing off of how good we did in Detroit, which we qualified in the top 10 and finished inside the top 10 as well. So, from that perspective, I'm very confident about Toronto. As far as Iowa goes, it gives you confidence because there's four more short oval races before the season's over."
What is the key to qualifying well at Toronto?
SF: "I'm not entirely sure. We struggled so much there last year that we were just kind of out of sync with things. I think this year just having clean track is going to be so important and you're relying on the pit stand for all that stuff."
Of the three streets circuits you've driven this year, you have two top-10s. What is it about the street circuits that appeals to you?
SF: "I think what is important is being consistent, staying out of trouble, running all the practice laps and getting a good balance on the car. Trying to minimize our mistakes. I think all of that's really important."
How does Toronto fit into those other street courses? Is it easier or more difficult than the others?
SF: "Long Beach is the easiest Detroit is challenging for the physical aspect because of how bumpy it is, Saint Pete and Toronto are kind of hand in hand. They're very, very similar in that aspect, they're both technically challenging. Toronto is low grip and it marbles really bad like Saint Pete, so you can't really go offline ever."
Is it bumpy?
SF: "Very, very bumpy. It's where the bumps are specifically that make it very difficult."
Where are the most difficult turns?
SF: "In front of the pit area, that whole complex from the last corner Turn 8 through 9-10-11 and then into Turn 1. Everything is in a rhythm, so if you miss one, you miss all of it. And it's a big part of the track."
Do you have any favorite restaurants in the city?
SF: "I enjoy Toronto very much and enjoy going out in the city and experiencing its food and stuff. There's a steak place downtown that I like- Barberian's. I try to go there."
Ferrucci Fast Facts: Age 26 (as of May 31, 2024)...Born in Woodbury, CT...Lives in Dallas, Texas...Married Renay Moore in January, 2024...Began racing karts at age 5, moved to cars in 2013...Competed in Formula 2000, British Formula 3, GP3 finishing third at Spa Francorchamps as a rookie, was development driver for Haas F1 team for three years (2016-2018), moved to Formula 2 in 2018...made his INDYCAR debut in Detroit in 2018...moved to NTT INDYCAR Series fulltime in 2019 finishing 13th in standings for Dale Coyne and won Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing seventh...13th in standings again with fourth place finish in the 500...drove part-time in 2021-22 but maintained top-10 streak in Indy 500 with finishes of sixth (RLL Racing) and 10th (Dreyer Reinbold Racing)...Scored career-best finish to date with his 3rd place finish in the 2023 Indianapolis 500 to continue his string of consecutive top-10 finishes in the 500...Competed part-time in NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021-22.
STING RAY ROBB took a wild ride through the air on the final lap of the Hy-Vee One Step 250 at Iowa Speedway Sunday afternoon after scoring his season best finish of 15th the night before in the Hy-Vee Homefront 250. On Tuesday, Robb was cleared to drive the No. 41 Goodheart.vet / Pray.com Chevrolet in Toronto this weekend. Following are edited excerpts from the INDYCAR Zoom conference he participated in Tuesday afternoon.
On how he feels:
"Considering the impact and the magnitude of that event,I feel very, very grateful to be where I'm at
today. I don't know if anyone follows me on social media here, but 'Isaiah 41' was the devotional that I posted Sunday morning before getting in the car. The verse said (basically) 'Fear not, for I'm with you.' And I think that was a timely verse for the day because as I went flying through the air, I was actually not that afraid. I was waiting for the piercing of some debris or something and it just didn't come. So huge shoutout to the AMR safety team and INDYCAR Medical. They were on top of the car before I was even stopped. Very, very grateful for all their support and just the post-event things that we've been going through to make sure that I'm alright. We're cleared for Toronto, which is awesome."
On racing at Toronto after this accident:
"We've been building this momentum the last few races and have been progressively getting better in the racing scenarios. Getting back in the car for Toronto, I think is the best thing for me just because when you get kicked off the saddle that hard, you want to jump back on as soon as you can -- just to get back in the swing of things and keep that momentum going. I'm very excited that I get to do that this weekend."
On the accident:
"(While) pushing there the last few laps I could see that Rossi was slowing. I didn't know to what extent and I looked at him going into Turn one there just to see where he was located. And about three quarters of the way through the turn, I could see the closing rate and it was just very, very big. I mean, the closing rate was just so massive, and it's kind of like the worst-case scenario when you're exiting the turn with that speed with that closing rate. And not knowing what the other driver's thinking or experiencing, I wish I could have hit a reset button like it was on a simulator and started over again. But I'm sure he'd be thinking the same thing now. So I'm very grateful that we're everyone involved is okay. I mean, there was four cars that were pretty much total net accident. So the fact that we're all safe and sound and ready to go for Toronto is pretty impressive."
On his injuries:
"I did a quick self-check. And I had the wind knocked out of me because the belts did their job. Everything worked as it was supposed to. I didn't have any cuts or anything abnormal. I have some bruises on my hips from the lap belts working as they should have. And I was expecting to do a lot worse but when they brought me up out of the car and pulled me out, I got lightheaded --like when you sit out of bed too quickly in the morning. Sometimes you'd get lightheaded and see stars a little bit, it was like that, but just super severe. And I passed out for I don't know how long but it was pretty quick. And when I came to, I told them I'm not doing too well. "Yeah, we know.," they said. But they immediately laid me down on the stretcher. And that was just a precaution to make sure that it's not just dehydration or turning, left for 248 laps and getting dizzy from that. So once I was down on the stretcher, I felt great. I was seeing clearly, they hooked me up to an IV and immediately I could feel the energy coming back and I was ready to go. So the life-flight out was just to get a CT scan to make sure everything was going ok there and it wasn't just the adrenaline of the moment that I wasn't having pain from. Honestly, the worst injury I got was on my finger. I touched the halo getting out of the car. And it turns out when you take titanium and scrape it across the ground for a few 100 feet, it gets hot so don't recommend that. Lesson learned."
Prior to the race weekend, the Goodheart crew participated in the $50,000 Pit Stop Challenge but lost to eventual victors Will Power and Team Penske. Here is Robb taking off.
On the AMR Safety Team:
"Literally as soon as I came to a rest there was someone ducking under the halo to say, "Hey dude, are you good? What's hurting? Can you breathe?" I'm going to be honest, the adrenaline was going up points so I probably didn't handle that situation as good as I'd like to. I was a little upset. I was like, of course I'm hurt. Why did you not just see what happened to me? Can you breathe? Yes, I can breathe but it's not very good. I'm hanging upside down in an Indy car. So when they flipped me back over and I had I think there were 10-plus members of the crew just standing around supporting me when I passed out. I could feel two guys alone in my arms. Two guys behind me people on my legs. I mean they were fully in support of me and I was fully reliant on them in that moment. They did everything they could to make me safe and it shows."
On the mental aspect after going through an accident:
"I think we underestimate the mental side of racing a lot of times because as athletes we want to just turn into robots and switch on to the next game and just forget what we went through, but it's not that easy sometimes. Honestly, I'm doing very well. I had a conversation right before the race weekend talking about how my faith takes away the fear of dying in an accident or something like that. But you don't ever think about getting hurt. And so I think the fear that I didn't feel that I should have felt was very surprising. I think that just comes from having that foundation of faith that I stand on and what I rely on during my daily life and so that's kind of what I've been leaning on as I recover from this. I find gratitude in the fact that I am as good as I am as far as health goes and that mentally I have a chance to recover very quickly heading to Toronto. And you know, I have a great group around me and they support me well. Having them in my life after an accident like that has been very important."
Before the Indy 500, Robb stands with his fiancee Molly Mitchell, mother Kimmie Serrano and his grandmother Suzy Davis (aka 'Grama Suz'). His mother and grandmother travel to every race (along with his father and grandfather and extended family). Crewman Ryan Marzec is to his right.
On the Aeroscreen:
"There's no doubt in my mind that the Aeroscreen saved a lot of damage to my head and who knows what else would have happened to me in that incident. That Halo was ground down quite a bit, the titanium that I burnt my finger on obviously got pretty hot from grinding on the surface. I haven't seen my helmet yet. But from the people that have looked at it, and have inspected it, there's no visible issues with the helmet. So it's pretty impressive because that means that the cockpit did its job. Everything in there took the impact rather than making the impact. So the Aeroscreen was severely damaged, but that's because it worked as it was supposed to."
The aeroscreen was a major factor in Robb being able to walk away from his spectacular accident at Iowa Speedway Sunday.
On transitioning to the hybrid engine:
"The transition was actually a lot smoother than I expected it to be just because we know how this works in motorsports. When everyone's pushing the limits like this and you introduce something halfway through the season, even if it is flawless, there's always something to be learned. And somebody to get it figured out on the team side or the series side. The fact that it went as well as it did was very good. And then going to Iowa I think that we did learn a lot on what the capabilities and advantages are of using versus not using the hybrid system. That first stint in race two, I was right ahead of Will Power. He was able to go just a little bit longer, even though he was very similar pace to us. That's what essentially won him the race, or what moved him to the front. So there's some tricks that we could learn from him just looking at how to use the hybrid system, how to use the re-gen to save fuel. And I think that will play a big difference in the future. It's just a matter of us figuring out the system and what its capabilities really are. But as far as power output and re-gen levels go, I think that the series has done a good job getting it close to where it needs to be. I would like to see lower torque because the tires are a little bit less grippy, different compound to deal with the weight of the car. Increasing the hybrid's capability in the future, it's output in the future, would be good to see. I'm sure that will happen over time, it's just a matter of when and where it will happen."
Sting Ray Fast Facts: Age 22...Grew up in Payette, ID....Lives in Indianapolis...Engaged to Molly Mitchell...Began racing karts at age 5 winning several national titles over the next 10 years. His transition to cars began at the Skip Barber Karts to Cars Shootout where he won the Bryan Herta Scholarship which put him on the Road to Indy and into the NTT INDYCAR Series at age 21. In his rookie season, he scored a career best finish of 12th in the season finale in Monterey, Calif. A devout Christian, Robb will be active as a spokesman for his sponsor Pray.com this season. Off track, Robb enjoys mountain biking, skiing, hiking, hunting, fishing, rock-climbing, golf, tennis, pickleball and basketball.
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will be streamed on Peacock starting at 1 p.m. ET. All practices plus Qualifying (Sat., 2:45 p.m. ET) will also be streamed on Peacock.
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