How Foster proved a degree and fulfilled a lifelong dream in 2024

Successful the Indy NXT championship and getting an IndyCar seat for 2025 meant this has been an amazing 12 months for me. To win the title in such a dominant vogue was the icing on the cake. It confirmed how a lot effort the crew at Andretti and I put in during the last two years. Our rivals at HMD had been fairly dominant in current Indy NXT historical past, so I’m completely happy to have turned it round.

The efficiency has given me the opening to go and drive in IndyCar subsequent 12 months with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. I had discussions with Bobby Rahal all year long, however it got here collectively as soon as the season was completed. I’m over the moon to be with the crew, as they’re an amazing organisation. I’ve spent numerous time attending to know everybody as a result of there are quite a lot of new faces, and it’s a crew that I hope to have the ability to push ahead with. It’s about turning it round and I hope to have a protracted future the place we may be profitable.

It was superior after I introduced the drive as a result of it’s been a lifelong dream to name myself an IndyCar driver and to offer myself the label of being an expert racing driver. I thank Bobby, Mike Lanigan, David Letterman and the complete crew for his or her perception in me. The honeymoon interval has worn off now, and all I’m targeted on, and all I would like, is to do nicely. It’s one factor to be in IndyCar, however it’s one other factor to remain in IndyCar and achieve success. My mindset from day one was, ‘How will we prepare for the upcoming season, in order that we hit the bottom and shock folks?’ That’s my goal. I wish to be a pleasing shock on the grid and have a huge impact.

We now have some winter testing deliberate, and the early periods are going to be about educating me issues like in-laps, out-laps, pitstops, gasoline saving, the hybrid system and all of the nitty-gritty rising pains stuff that I must be taught. The crew and I can then have dialog about targets for subsequent 12 months and perceive which route we wish to go together with the automobile.

I did some pitstop observe, to get my eye in and be across the crew extra as a result of it’s about cohesion. There are such a lot of gifted people in each IndyCar crew these days as a result of they’re actually world-class folks. I feel the distinction shouldn’t be within the folks you’ve received, however the way you make everybody work collectively. That’s what we’re specializing in.

This 12 months the journey to Barber Motorsports Park was a spotlight for me. I got here from the again, because of points that meant I couldn’t qualify, and completed fifth. That one was fairly weekend for me personally – I discovered rather a lot and it allowed me to grasp that, even when now we have unhealthy weekends on this championship, we had the tempo to be up the entrance. That instilled quite a lot of confidence in me to go forward and beat all of them for the remainder of the 12 months.

While you’re preventing for championships, you don’t begin close to the again. So, while you do, it’s nearly a little bit of enjoyable, actually, since you get to correctly go racing once more. Typically in championships you spend your life close to the entrance, and also you by no means actually get to race anybody. The weekend the place we dominated at Laguna Seca was good as nicely, after which the weekend at Milwaukee the place we gained the championship. There are quite a lot of highlights all year long, which was very nice.

The tip objective was the championship and as soon as we’d achieved that, going into the ultimate race in Nashville, there was nothing to lose in any respect. Though I’ll have been the Indy NXT champion, that didn’t assure a seat in IndyCar, so I needed to actually put a stamp on the season and exit with a win, simply to make clear my place within the minds of any bosses on the market that I’m the driving force to guide their crew.

Victories on the ovals made the distinction between successful by an in depth margin and successful by the margin we did, and it proves that I can race and win on each monitor: highway programs, avenue programs and ovals

Oval racing nonetheless feels very recent to me, however after this 12 months I really feel extra snug within the automobile and perceive what I must do as a driver. It meant rather a lot to do nicely this 12 months, having solely gained one oval race in my profession out of 4 coming in, however now I’ve had eight oval races, and I’ve gained 5 of them. I feel there was quite a lot of strain on my competitors the place folks tipped them to be higher on ovals than I might be, and I actually needed to make it possible for was stamped out instantly.

These victories on the ovals made the distinction between successful by an in depth margin and successful by the margin we did, and it proves that I can race and win on each monitor: highway programs, avenue programs and ovals. I’ve received the three disciplines down, so there can be no query marks for any IndyCar crew bosses whether or not I may carry out.

Having the help from Andy Meyrick and the blokes again house at Silverstone and the British Racing Drivers’ Membership is nice. I might love to have the ability to come again extra, particularly for the Grand Prix, however subsequent 12 months goes to be tough. I’d prefer to help the BRDC a bit extra, like I used to, however it’s good to race abroad, flying the flag for the Membership and the SuperStars. Subsequent 12 months it’d solely be myself and Callum Ilott as Brits in IndyCar, however it’s nice to be part of the UK’s high Elite Athlete programmes.

What can Foster produce in his rookie IndyCar marketing campaign?

Picture by: Penske Leisure