Milwaukee comeback complete, Nashville finale next for Foster

ONE Sports Management Group
Aug 26
2 min read

Updated: Aug 28

Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Louis Foster made the best of a weekend of adversity in Milwaukee to maintain the lead of the NTT IndyCar Series rookie of the year title race heading into the final event.

Foster, 22, was immediately on the back foot as he only got around half a lap of practice at Milwaukee due to requiring an engine change, and without a proper lap at speed, he had to go straight into qualifying with no testing on the new engine.

Despite the engine therefore not being optimised, Foster - driver of the #45 Droplight RLL Honda - still managed to qualify 22nd, an impressive comeback, and then was 14th fastest in the final practice before the race.

In the race he went longer than anybody on tyres and fuel in the first stint and continued to move forward in the race finishing 17th, and leads the rookie standings by eight points with one race left.

“Our race was pretty straightforward and boring, in a good way honestly,” said Foster, who is backed by Copart, a global leader in online auto auctions.

“We made a good start and gained some positions, made use of the yellows and kept going forward. And then stagnated a little bit towards the second half of the race due to fewer yellows and fewer opportunities to overtake cars.

“I would get a bit unlucky with the lanes I would choose on restarts. One lane would back up and the other wouldn’t and that’s just a 50/50 thing on an oval.

“And then we managed to finish 10 spots up on the day in 17th and gain a few points in the rookie standings.

“All in all, it was a good day. Maybe there was a little more on the table but not a lot more. Maybe a top 15 would have been do-able but that was the maximum I think I could have done.”

Foster is gaining somewhat of a reputation for impressive comebacks during his rookie year. The last race at Portland was another example where he was crashed into by another competitor but drove through the field to finish 13th.

It’s been a season of learning for Foster where his qualifying has been among the best drivers in the series, and it comes to an end next weekend as the season concludes in Nashville on the 1.33-mile tri-oval.

“It’s the last race this weekend, the last chance to deliver a strong result for RLL and all of our partners who have made this season possible," said Foster.

“I’m sure I’ll have more time to process my thoughts on the season once it’s over, but for now, the team and I are laser-focused on delivering the best possible result for the partners and everyone involved this season.