A.J. Foyt IV to Drive Second Foyt Entry in the Indianapolis 500
"It's great to be back in an Indy car and I'm grateful to my grandfather for giving me another opportunity to drive at Indy," Foyt IV said. "Although I haven't been in a car since Texas, I feel pretty confident going into this year's 500. I know Larry and A.J. have been working hard to step up the team's performance and it really shows."
Foyt IV will renew his working relationship with Jeff Britton, Foyt Racing's new chief engineer, as both worked at Vision Racing. Although Britton was the engineer on Carpenter's car, Foyt IV respected his expertise.
"I know what Jeff's capable of because he gave Ed [Carpenter] some good cars on the ovals and especially at Indy," Foyt IV said. "But mainly I'm excited to get back out there and work with my grandfather again. I think this could be our best year yet."
"Even though it's been a year since Anthony's been in the car, he'll catch on pretty quick," Foyt said. "I'm not worried about him getting back up to speed and we'll have a good car for him. I'm looking forward to working with him again."
Meira is also looking forward to working with Foyt IV at Indy.
"I'm glad to hear that Anthony will be a part of the team at the 500 this year," Meira said. "It's really good because we like the same things in a car. Last year, we benefitted from each other's feedback which is not always the case with teammates if their driving styles are different, but ours are pretty similar. The competition is so close that you have to capitalize on every little bit and having him on track there is a big advantage to our program. I'm excited about our chances at Indy this year."
The young charger, who turns 26 on May 25, will take part in a refresher course when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens Saturday, May 15th because it has been nearly a year since he drove an Indy car. Weather permitting, he will have seven days of practice before qualifications begin the following weekend.
Last year, Foyt IV finished 16th at Indy, completing all 500 miles. That was the bright spot for the ABC Supply team as Meira was involved in a pit fire and then a serious accident with Raphael Matos. Meira sustained two broken vertebra which sidelined him for the rest of the season.
The Foyt team has entered a third car but is not expected to make a driver announcement until sponsorship is finalized.
Qualifying for the pole position for the Indy 500 takes place Saturday, May 22, the same day that the first 24 qualifiers will be locked into their starting positions provided their speed is among the 33 fastest cars of the weekend. The final nine starters will be determined on Bump Day, Sunday, May 23. The field will be composed of the fastest 33 cars gridded in the order of the days on which they qualified.
Qualifying activity for both days will be broadcast live from 12 — 6:30pm by the VERSUS network. The Indy 500 pre-race show will be broadcast live by ABC-TV Sunday, May 30 starting at noon with the race getting underway at 1:00 pm.