AJ Foyt Racing Team President Larry Foyt was ecstatic with how the opening day of qualifying for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge went on Saturday as both Santino Ferrucci and Benjamin Pedersen made it into the Firestone Fast 12 and day 2 of qualifying today.
Benjamin Pedersen in the No.55 Sexton Properties Chevrolet set a new lap record on single lap pace when he set a speed of 233.297mph before doing a four-lap average of 232.739 mph ending the day as the fastest rookie on the opening day of the Indianapolis 500 qualifying and the second fastest time ever set by a rookie second only to Tony Stewart.
Speaking following the action, Team President Larry Foyt said:
What an amazing day for A.J. and Foyt Racing to have both cars in the top 12! “It is just a fantastic team effort and it really is the whole team to have fast cars here in Indy. Not only do you have to have the know-how and the attention to detail and the parts and pieces, but it takes all of it together, along with a team that is clicking. This team has worked extremely hard from the engineers to the mechanics to the truck drivers to everybody, plus the sponsors Homes For Our Troops and Sexton Properties, and of course Chevrolet–we couldn’t do it without them. Both drivers put together fantastic runs and it’s just a great feeling all around. To see the team’s excitement means soo much because they have put in a huge effort and I’m glad they were rewarded today. I know everyone is looking forward to see what we can do tomorrow.”
The results on Saturday mean that AJ Foyt Racing’s two cars are guaranteed to start the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbrige a week from today, no worse than 12th on the grid.
Santino Ferrucci also made it into the Fast 12, and it was such a great day for the team, particularly for AJ, whose wife passed away last month.
Speaking about day one qualifying, AJ said:
I’m happy with qualifying. “We’ve had a lot of bad things happen the last two months, I lost my wife and our family has been very upset, so I’m glad to see things start to turn around because it’s been very sad in our home. Everyone on the team has worked really hard. I’m glad to see it paid back a little bit today and we can enjoy life again.”