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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Conway Content With His Decision
“Obviously, I'd love to continue to race IndyCars,” Conway told SPEED.com. “Obviously, not on the ovals anymore but all the road course, street course stuff."
Could Mike Conway fill his racing calendar with a full-time sports car program and a part-time IndyCar effort on road and street courses? (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Before last weekend's IndyCar season finale in Fontana got under way, Series veteran Mike Conway dropped a bombshell when he chose to pull the plug on his race and any future participation on ovals.
“I’m truly sorry for putting the team and our sponsors in a difficult position, but this is the hardest decision I have ever made in my racing career,” said Conway in a prepared statement.
“I’ve come to realize I’m not comfortable on the ovals and no longer wish to compete on them. I want to stress that I am not finished racing and to this end, I would love to continue with Foyt Racing, but that’s something we need to discuss in the future.”
With a few days to reflect on what took place, I spoke to the 29-year-old Englishman who said he’s appreciated the overwhelming support from the IndyCar paddock since stepping down from the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing car.
“I was quite pleased with what everyone said afterward and how everyone's reacted,” he said. “It’s been nice. I still wasn’t looking for a reaction or bothered what people thought at the time because it was a decision for me and not [for everyone else]. It's nice to know they're giving back. It just kind of shows how close everybody in the racing industry is. We’re all there doing the same thing, all care about each other. That's really cool.”
Conway’s ongoing inner struggle as to whether he should keep racing on high-risk ovals came to a head at Fontana and led to his rather surprising decision, but with a little bit of distance and time to think about last week’s events, the 2011 Long Beach Grand Prix race winner says he hasn’t regretted his decision, and now hopes to maintain a presence in the series—even on a part-time basis.
“Obviously, I'd love to continue to race IndyCars,” he confirmed. “Obviously, not on the ovals anymore but all the road course, street course stuff, I’d love to be able to continue to do it. And I suppose it’s all managed to sit there and make it possible for some teams who are strong on ovals more than road courses, who want to improve on the road courses. But then I’d also love to continue with Foyt Racing as well, if there's any possibility to do that. I'm not sure yet. I'd love to stay in IndyCar and pursue that a bit longer if I can.”
The next step for Conway is to sort out which teams would have an interest in the services of a proven road and street course winner.
“Let's see what happens next year,” he said. “It depends on if they want to different driver for ovals and a different driver for road courses then it may be possible. But, for sure, the [Foyt] team’s already looking for the whole package and ones that want to do the whole thing.
"It’s just going to depend, really, on what people are looking for. I love racing in the IndyCar Series; it’s been great the last four years. I'd love to be able to continue it.”
“I’m truly sorry for putting the team and our sponsors in a difficult position, but this is the hardest decision I have ever made in my racing career,” said Conway in a prepared statement.
“I’ve come to realize I’m not comfortable on the ovals and no longer wish to compete on them. I want to stress that I am not finished racing and to this end, I would love to continue with Foyt Racing, but that’s something we need to discuss in the future.”
With a few days to reflect on what took place, I spoke to the 29-year-old Englishman who said he’s appreciated the overwhelming support from the IndyCar paddock since stepping down from the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing car.
“I was quite pleased with what everyone said afterward and how everyone's reacted,” he said. “It’s been nice. I still wasn’t looking for a reaction or bothered what people thought at the time because it was a decision for me and not [for everyone else]. It's nice to know they're giving back. It just kind of shows how close everybody in the racing industry is. We’re all there doing the same thing, all care about each other. That's really cool.”
Conway’s ongoing inner struggle as to whether he should keep racing on high-risk ovals came to a head at Fontana and led to his rather surprising decision, but with a little bit of distance and time to think about last week’s events, the 2011 Long Beach Grand Prix race winner says he hasn’t regretted his decision, and now hopes to maintain a presence in the series—even on a part-time basis.
“Obviously, I'd love to continue to race IndyCars,” he confirmed. “Obviously, not on the ovals anymore but all the road course, street course stuff, I’d love to be able to continue to do it. And I suppose it’s all managed to sit there and make it possible for some teams who are strong on ovals more than road courses, who want to improve on the road courses. But then I’d also love to continue with Foyt Racing as well, if there's any possibility to do that. I'm not sure yet. I'd love to stay in IndyCar and pursue that a bit longer if I can.”
The next step for Conway is to sort out which teams would have an interest in the services of a proven road and street course winner.
“Let's see what happens next year,” he said. “It depends on if they want to different driver for ovals and a different driver for road courses then it may be possible. But, for sure, the [Foyt] team’s already looking for the whole package and ones that want to do the whole thing.
"It’s just going to depend, really, on what people are looking for. I love racing in the IndyCar Series; it’s been great the last four years. I'd love to be able to continue it.”
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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