Larry Foyt, President of AJ Foyt Racing, hopes the Speedway, Indiana-based outfit can carry the end-of-season momentum it had in 2024 into next weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Speaking to Paddock Eye on Thursday, Foyt said that the time from testing in Sebring didn’t represent the team’s work over the off-season. The team has consolidated its INDYCAR program into its shop near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He and AJ felt it was the right time to do it, and the team in Waller, Texas, supported it.
Regarding David Malukas’s arrival on the team for 2025, Larry says he is excited to see what Malukas can do alongside Santino Ferrucci, who Foyt says has been impressing the team since arriving in 2023.
Foyt confirmed that he feels it is too soon to say where the team is in the pecking order this season, as all the teams are incredibly close. Larry said that by the time he arrived in Sebring, David Malukas had already completed his time in the car, but he had been impressed with what the engineers on the No.4 Chevrolet had to say about the feedback that Malukas gave them.
Foyt said that it was early days for Santino and David, but they had different feelings about the car. Looking ahead to the race in St Pete, Foyt said that the team is cautiously optimistic that they will qualify better than last season. Every team has a pretty good shot to do so, so you have to put it together.
Regarding Fox, Foyt says it’s an exciting opportunity for the sport and great for everyone involved. They had significant momentum, Santino was getting better and better, and with David coming in, they had two guys who could be fast every weekend.
The move to Speedway was the right time, and Craig Brooks did a great job of putting people in the right place. It will pay off in dividends.