INDYCAR: Foyt Focused On One Car, Stronger Engineering

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Foyt Focused On One Car, Stronger Engineering

“For us right now, the biggest thing I’ve had to look at is whether our model of how we do things is where we need to be,” Team Director Larry Foyt told SPEED.com.

Marshall Pruett | Posted November 22, 2011

After a few years of modest results, Larry Foyt, left, has a detailed plan to move his father's team up the grid in 2012. (LAT)

It’s too early to make bold predictions on how the A.J. Foyt Racing team will perform in 2012, but if the off-season plans of Team Director Larry Foyt come to fruition, IndyCar’s most tenured outfit could turn the clock back to a more competitive time in its long history.

Foyt’s legendary father handed over the day-to-day responsibilities of running the storied open-wheel operation starting in 2007, and since then, the younger Foyt’s mission has been to modernize the ABC Supply-sponsored program as quickly as possible.

After cycling through nine drivers since 2007, Foyt’s most recent adaptation has been to bring more simplicity and stability to the team. Although the relationship with Brazil’s Vitor Meira did not deliver the results either party wanted, having a single full-time entry to focus on was clearly a step in the right direction.

The elder Foyt told SPEED.com’s Robin Miller in July that he was interested in expanding to a second full-time entry for 2012, but as his son shares, the No. 14 car will be the team’s primary focus once again.

“Running two cars is a goal, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to happen for us in ’12,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we won’t run a second car part-time. There’s a possibility of that, but full-time, it’s not a possibility. It’s something we want for ’13 for sure, but I do have plans to run something with a second car.”

Meira finished 12th in the 2010 championship standings and 16th in 2011 with his former Rahal Letterman engineer Jeff Britton on the timing stand, yet parted ways with the team after the season finale in Las Vegas. With the search for Meira’s replacement currently under way, and with a bit of time to perform a makeover on the team while they wait for the new Dallara DW12 chassis to arrive, Foyt’s shifted his efforts to strengthening the team’s workforce.

“We’re in that stage where we want to take another step forward,” he said. “When I first got here, I was going with the flow and slowly making changes, but we all know that when we have a year like we did last year—and I don’t want to point the finger; it wasn’t just the driver, or the team; it was a combination of everything—it shows you that the chemistry is so important in how things go together. From your engineer to your mechanics to your management, it all has to work together. It’s a constant fight to get all the right pieces in place.”

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