Foster wins prestigious IndyCar rookie of the year title

In a dramatic weekend at the Nashville Super Speedway, Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver Louis Foster took the prestigious honour of becoming the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series rookie of the year.

“Obviously, I'm super pleased,” said Foster, who is backed by Copart, a global leader in online auto auctions. 

“One of the main goals we had this year was to win this title. 

“The RLL team have been absolutely incredible all year. We've had our ups and downs, but I think we've been able to bounce back from those downs pretty damn well. Obviously, all credit goes to them and everyone who has been involved in supporting me on this journey on the path to IndyCar. Thank you.”

It was a complicated race for Foster, who started from 24th on the grid. Foster had moved forward from that position, but his race was turned on its head on lap 84/225 when he was involved in contact with another competitor.  Foster received a penalty for blocking prior to the contact and also had damage to nurse for the rest of the race.

After that Foster was 2 laps down which made it difficult to make any forward progress, but his rival Robert Shwartzman also received a blocking penalty with just a few laps to go which cost him enough positions to hand Foster the rookie of the year title.

“A lot of bad luck at the start of the year meant it was probably closer than I would have wanted it to be honestly,” said Foster. 

“Kind of had to hang on at the end and really hope that Robert made a mistake, which he did, because we didn't have the car today.

“We would have liked to have finished higher than 20th in the race and 23rd in the championship. But this title was the main goal and I have to thank everyone who contributed to us achieving it today.

“I’ve learned a lot in my first season. Coming into IndyCar is a tricky business. 

“The qualifying performances this year have been pretty stellar, especially on road and street courses. That's the part that you do as a driver all the way up to IndyCar. You do qualifying all the time. You're used to that.

“The races, double the length, never done a pit stop before, fuel saving. There's a lot to learn in the race that we definitely missed out for sure. A lot to learn in the off-season.

“I’m looking forward to coming back in 2026 with a reset, a lot more experience and knowledge behind the wheel in the races to try to move up the championship standings.”

Foster is hopeful that a top 15 in the championship is possible next year.

The IndyCar season off-season begins now and is set to return in March next year.