AJ Foyt Racing Team President Larry Foyt has confirmed that the future of the No.11 ROKiT Chevrolet is uncertain beyond this weekend’s Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar course.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race, Foyt said:
We are trying to work through a difficult situation as I know ROKiT wishes to continue the program but there are some issues which may prevent that. We will continue to either resolve it with ROKiT or try to find alternate funding which is difficult at best at this point in the season. The No. 14 entry will run the entire season as it is not solely dependent on the ROKiT funding.”
Tatiana Calderon was at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed last weekend for the first time and speaking about her experience she said:
“It has been a privilege to be driving the 1957 Kuzma Offenhauser car at Goodwood and to learn that it was the car where A.J. did his debut in Indy. “Also to contrast it a little bit with today’s Indy cars and see how much change we’ve seen in Indy cars. It’s incredible that they went on the banking at over 160 miles an hour back then in ’57 and to drive the car that won the Race of the Two Worlds in ‘Monzanapolis,’ it was a big privilege. The cars back then were much simpler in a way. No buttons on the steering wheel just the fuel, the ignition and you basically still go with the starter. Huge steering wheel, just the water and oil on the on dashboard, it’s incredible to think that they were going 160 miles an hour in those cars with no mirrors and barely any protection! It’s been an incredible experience. I’m super honored and thankful to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum as well for giving me that chance and to be at Goodwood for the first time. It’s incredible to see so many legends, so many cars, bikes, and the passion of the people out there as well. So now back to modern IndyCar for the weekend.”
The Colombian went on to discuss this weekend’s race at Mid-Ohio saying:
“Mid-Ohio was where I first tested the car with the team. “So at least I know a little bit about the track and the feeling with this car. It’s the first time I am going to a circuit that I know, that I had a feeling for before (the race weekend). I think we had a good test. And a good race car there, so hopefully we can straight away from free practice 1 start closer to the pace. And yes we will just keep working. The physical side there is tougher, it’s a small track so that’s going to be a nice test (laughing). And yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
Dalton Kellett is looking forward to Mid-Ohio having travelled from his home city of Toronto saying:
Mid-Ohio is definitely one of the more exciting tracks that we go to every year,” said Kellett. “It’s got a great flow to it. It’s definitely my type of road course. It’s kind of the opposite of Road America where there you’ve got long straightaways and you’ve got groups of a couple of corners separated by really long straightaways. Mid- Ohio, the whole thing kind of flows together, which I’ve always really enjoyed tracks like that. It’s super physical, really. It’s always one of the tough races with the heat of the summer. So definitely we’ve been training hard to get ready for this one, and I can’t wait to hit the ground running with the K-Line No. 4 Chevy.”
Kyle Kirkwood commented ahead of this weekend saying:
Mid-Ohio is a track that I love and cherish, I almost consider it my home track. “It’s a place that I’ve always had the most success at, given a season. It’s my favorite track to go to. And I think it’s a place where the team has done well at in the past, and we now have a couple week break prior to it. So it’ll be nice to kind of relax and recuperate and get ready for that weekend. I’m not sure what I love about the track, but it’s just suited me, it’s very high speed. There’s tons of elevation. It kind of reminds me of a karting track a little bit tighter, but a bit high speed, high downforce, high grip. I’m not sure why it suits me, but I really like it.”