IndyCar: A.J. Foyt team poised for feat not accomplished in 22 years
As a long-time IndyCar fan and follower of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, I have witnessed the team’s struggles over the years. It’s been a tough road for them since Takuma Sato’s victory in 2013, with no driver managing to finish in the top 10 of the championship standings since Airton Dare’s ninth place finish in 2002.
Among the ten permanent IndyCar teams, nine of them have celebrated a win in the past, with Juncos Hollinger Racing being the lone team yet to reach victory lane. Five out of these nine successful teams have added wins to their records since the beginning of the 2023 season.
In the past ten years, Ed Carpenter Racing and Meyer Shank Racing have secured two victories each. The remaining teams, A.J. Foyt Enterprises and Dale Coyne Racing, have not won recently; with the latest triumph for Dale Coyne Racing occurring half a decade ago compared to the more recent success of Ed Carpenter Racing.
A.J. Foyt Enterprises last emerged victorious in an IndyCar race back in April 2013, when Takuma Sato clinched his initial career triumph on the Long Beach, California streets. That success catapulted him into the lead for the championship standings, positioning him favorably before the 97th Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
During the last 10 races of the Indy 500 series, the Japanese driver experienced a string of unfortunate incidents resulting in nine failed completions (DNFs). Consequently, he slipped to the 17th position in the championship ranking by the season’s end.
It’s been a long time since Sato’s Foyt victory; in fact, it’s been longer still since a Foyt driver finished in the top 10 of the championship. The last time this happened was when Dare came in ninth place in 2002. Amazingly enough, just eleven races into the seventeen-race 2024 season, Santino Ferrucci has managed to achieve this feat and is currently in tenth position.
A.J. Foyt Enterprises formed a technical alliance with Team Penske ahead of the 2024 season, and it seems to be paying off.
Ferrucci trails Newgarden by only one position in the Indy 500 standings, and he recently put on a noteworthy performance at Iowa Speedway with his No. 14 Chevrolet being among the select cars capable of successfully passing others.
At age 26, this racer has achieved seven top-10 results in the current season, with only one incident resulting in a failure to finish. His impressive performance has significantly transformed A.J. Foyt Enterprises from what was once considered the slowest team into a strong contender, placing them among the top teams beside Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, as well as Arrow McLaren and Andretti Global.
Starting from Dare’s eleventh position finish back in 2002, the best ranking by a Foyt driver in the final standings is Vitor Meira’s twelfth place in the year 2010.
During his tenure with Dale Coyne Racing from 2019 to 2020, Ferrucci achieved his best results in the championship rankings, finishing in 13th place both years. However, it’s important to note that, while racing alongside Alex Palou in the same team in 2020, Ferrucci managed to outperform him in the final standings, placing three spots higher.
Since then, Palou has teamed up with Chip Ganassi Racing and emerged victorious in two out of the last three championship titles. Currently, he holds the top spot in the points standings.
Last year, Ferrucci achieved his best result yet at the Indy 500 with a third-place finish. However, the second half of the season was challenging for him, and he failed to secure another top 10 position. Following an impressive eighth place finish in this year’s Indy 500, Ferrucci expressed confidence that his team’s strength would continue, predicting better results for the remainder of the season.
In the six races held after the Indy 500, he has finished with an average position of 10.0. It seems accurate that this assessment was made. Will he manage to secure a top 10 finish in points for “Super Tex” for the first time in over twenty years?
On July 21, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race, which is the twelfth event on the IndyCar schedule, will take place on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto. This particular race is one of only two IndyCar events that are exclusive to Peacock subscribers this year, so fans will need to have a subscription to the streaming service to watch it.
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2024-07-20 17:32