IndyCar qualifying at Road America was quite the spectacle with some surprises along the way, and the weekend was literally heating up with Alex Palou and Louis Foster battling it out for pole position. The hot weather proves challenging for the drivers, however, the long straights bring some relief not being on the gas as much.
The Firestone Fast Six saw quite the lineup of drivers in the end. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie and 2024 Indy NXT champion, Louis Foster, shocked spectators with a surprising drive to pole position.
Foster commented on the struggles he had during the practice sessions and the obviously happy surprise the team got with the Fast Six advancement. There were some doubts that the No. 45 Droplight Honda would even make it into the Fast Six.
“If I’m honest, we kind of struggled a little bit throughout the three practices. When we got through to the Fast 12, I was surprised because I messed up my lap. We were sitting there before the group stage, the Fast 12 stage. I said to the guys, I don’t think I have the car to make it through the Fast Six. Do you want [to] throw some used tyres on and maybe get a sport or two and see how it goes.
“They were confident in the ability of the car and myself to be able to push into the Fast Six, which obviously was the right call in the end.
“When we did the last run, again, we were just conserving reds. We were in the Fast Six. Top six starting spot for us is awesome alone.
“We just ran out, did out-lap and push on the used reds. By the time I went through turn one, I was about 2 and a half tenths up, then maintained that throughout the lap. Gained about a tenth or so in a couple corners.
“The reds held on really, really well clearly. Yeah, still a little bit in shock.”
IndyCar points leader Alex Palou was just as impressed by the fact that Foster was on used alternate tyres. The rookie ran used alternates for all three sessions. The Spaniard first ran on used alternates but later switched to new alternates.
Come back stronger and better
For the No. 45 crew, winning pole at Road America was much needed to lift spirits. Foster suffered a suspension failure in Detroit, and just last week had a nasty incident involving Penske’s Newgarden at Gateway as the safety in IndyCar passed a big test once again.
“The boys have been working their asses off, I’ll be honest. We had the crash in Detroit with the suspension failure. Then last weekend at St. Louis.
“Massive props to the 45 boys. They needed this to kind of push themselves through the summer stretch. All credit to them because, yeah, they worked endlessly these last two weeks. They’ve rebuilt the car twice.”
Although the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver has been pleased with his quali results this year, he recognizes that most issues have occurred during races.
While qualifying counts for something during a race weekend, especially when coupled with winning the coveted pole — what one does during the race can make or break the weekend as that is where the points get paid.
”We’ve had very, very good qualifying results so far this year. Obviously this is the best. I’m super happy. But we need to do well in the race tomorrow at the end of the day.
“I think that’s right now my target, is to focus and be with the team and make sure that we’ve got the race car to be able to battle up front and try and retain our position as long as possible up front. We’ll go for a win if we can. We have a fast car.”
Foster will be looking to join the ranks of P1 award winners who went on to win the race from pole position.
Lessons learned for success
During the group stage of qualifying the Brit messed up a bit and ended up losing about two tenths and a half of a second. Despite this mistake, Foster made it first into the Fast 12 before advancing to the last round.
“Yeah it was difficult. The lap I messed up was in the group stages. I did my first banker lap. We were only doing one push lap with the reds because of the heat. you get one chance every time right?
“I come into the lot the first corner. The last corner, but the first corner of the timing line, turn 14. I lost two and a half 10ths. I knew the lap was done. At that point I was pretty convinced I wasn’t going to make it through to the Fast 12. Luckily my first lap was just enough to make it through.
“When I went out, the car was really good. We didn’t touch a lot. We changed [the] wing a little bit. For me it was about having a consistent balance throughout the runs to be able to optimize my driving.”
Teamwork and a drive
Two of the three RLL drivers were able to showcase their teamwork with Graham Rahal seemingly sharing tips and notes with Foster.
“I think teamwork is really the key for us a Rahal Letterman Lanigan. As soon as Graham finished his group stage, he jumps out of his car, the first thing he does is run to me, lets me know about certain things that he learned in the session. If that’s not teamwork, I don’t know what is. I don’t see any teams or drivers doing that.”
Teamwork and a good starting position on the grid is crucial to staying at the front of the pack. Pole position gives Louis Foster an advantage, should he be able to hold onto it.
”I think the target obviously is going to be to retain the lead first lap. As long as we can lead the first lap. I’m sure Alex and Kyle and the guys behind me are going to want to try to get past me as soon as possible. We’re not going to make it easy for them.”
The pressure is on for Foster to deliver good results from the front of Sunday’s grid. The future is bright for the rookie.
