MotorSportsTalk looks through the teams competing in the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. It’s almost an entirely new A.J. Foyt Enterprises set to compete in 2017.
Drivers (Engineer, Strategist)
4-Conor Daly (Daniele Cucchiarroni, George Klotz)
14-Carlos Munoz (Will Phillips, Larry Foyt)
Manufacturer/aero kit: Chevrolet
Sponsors: ABC Supply Co. (Nos. 4, 14)
What went right in 2016: Not much at all. There were no podiums and only two top-five finishes, while Jack Hawksworth didn’t even crack the top-10 once.
What went wrong in 2016: Quite a bit, and a couple additional chances for big results that Takuma Sato could have pulled off (Indianapolis, Mid-Ohio) went begging.
What’s changed for 2017: Nearly everything but the kitchen sink. Perhaps that, too. With a new engine and aero kits, two new drivers, a new technical director/engineer and the arrival of George Klotz on the strategist box, there’s a little bit of everything that’s different for the team that’s split between Waller, Texas and Speedway, Ind.
What they’ll look to accomplish in 2017: Steady progression and understanding with its new equipment, a couple early top-10 finishes to build momentum, and contending for top-fives and podiums as the year goes on.
MST PREDICTIONS
Tony DiZinno: Foyt’s team wins the “all the individual parts are good but how are they going to mesh as a new unit?” preseason award by a mile. As such, if they can succeed early, it will have spoken to an incredible effort following Larry Foyt’s day-to-day leadership. This is a nice way of saying I don’t expect much at the start, but as they start dialing in setups, I think results will start to come.
Kyle Lavigne: A.J. Foyt Racing has been one of the more perplexing teams in recent history. ABC Supply represents a solid and long-standing partnership that dates back to 2005. They’ve sported some solid driving talent in Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth. Larry Foyt presents himself as a solid team manager.
Yet, they’ve always underachieved, necessitating a complete reset ahead of 2017. Because of that, it may take a while before they get their legs underneath them. A dream season would see one of their drivers get on the podium once, but challenging to finish the top ten in the championship would be more realistic and signify tremendous gains.
Luke Smith: All change for Foyt in 2017. Two new drivers in the form of Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly, a switch back to Chevy power, plus an array of personnel alterations behind the scene is seen as the remedy to a couple of disappointing years.
Daly was my personal rookie of the year in 2017 and a regular spoke in the works for the front-runners with off-piste strategies, and could nab a podium or two. Munoz is of a similar ilk, and has plenty of experience of working with Honda from Andretti. Victory lane remains out of reach, but a marked improvement on 2016 should be the target this year.