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

Profitable the Indy NXT championship and getting an IndyCar seat for 2025 meant this has been an awesome yr for me. To win the title in such a dominant vogue was the icing on the cake. It confirmed how a lot effort the workforce at Andretti and I put in over the past two years. Our rivals at HMD had been fairly dominant in current Indy NXT historical past, so I’m pleased to have turned it round.

The efficiency has given me the opening to go and drive in IndyCar subsequent yr 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 workforce, as they’re an awesome organisation. I’ve spent numerous time attending to know everybody as a result of there are loads of new faces, and it’s a workforce that I hope to have the ability to push ahead with. It’s about turning it round and I hope to have an extended future the place we will 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 whole workforce 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 properly. 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 need to be a pleasing shock on the grid and have a huge impact.

Now we have some winter testing deliberate, and the early classes 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 workforce and I can then have an excellent dialog about targets for subsequent yr and perceive which course we need to go together with the automobile.

I did some pitstop apply, to get my eye in and be across the workforce extra as a result of it’s about cohesion. There are such a lot of proficient people in each IndyCar workforce these days as a result of they’re actually world-class folks. I believe the distinction is just not within the folks you’ve acquired, however the way you make everybody work collectively. That’s what we’re specializing in.

This yr the journey to Barber Motorsports Park was a spotlight for me. I got here from the again, attributable to points that meant I couldn’t qualify, and completed fifth. That one was fairly an excellent weekend for me personally – I discovered so much and it allowed me to grasp that, even when we’ve got dangerous weekends on this championship, we had the tempo to be up the entrance. That instilled loads of confidence in me to go forward and beat all of them for the remainder of the yr.

With the Indy NXT title secured, Foster strikes as much as IndyCar in 2025

Picture by: Penske Leisure

If you’re combating 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. Usually 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 properly, after which the weekend at Milwaukee the place we received the championship. There are loads of highlights all year long, which was very nice.

The top aim was the championship and as soon as we’d completed 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 steer their workforce.

Victories on the ovals made the distinction between profitable by a detailed margin and profitable by the margin we did, and it proves that I can race and win on each observe: highway programs, avenue programs and ovals

Oval racing nonetheless feels very contemporary to me, however after this yr I really feel extra snug within the automobile and perceive what I must do as a driver. It meant so much to do properly this yr, having solely received one oval race in my profession out of 4 coming in, however now I’ve had eight oval races, and I’ve received 5 of them. I believe there was loads of stress on my competitors the place folks tipped them to be higher on ovals than I’d be, and I actually needed to be sure that was stamped out instantly.

These victories on the ovals made the distinction between profitable by a detailed margin and profitable by the margin we did, and it proves that I can race and win on each observe: highway programs, avenue programs and ovals. I’ve acquired the three disciplines down, so there can be no query marks for any IndyCar workforce bosses whether or not I might carry out.

Having the assist from Andy Meyrick and the blokes again residence at Silverstone and the British Racing Drivers’ Membership is nice. I’d love to have the ability to come again extra, particularly for the Grand Prix, however subsequent yr goes to be troublesome. I’d wish to assist 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 yr it’d solely be myself and Callum Ilott as Brits in IndyCar, however it’s nice to be part of the UK’s prime Elite Athlete programmes.