ELKHART LAKE – Shaving his mustache was a big deal.
Winning his first IndyCar pole was bigger.
And race day is yet to come for Louis Foster at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.
“We’ve had very, very good qualifying results so far this year. Obviously this is the best,” the 21-year-old British NTT IndyCar Series rookie said June 21. “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 to retain our position as long as possible up front. We’ll go for a win if we can. We have a fast car.”
Foster – whose crew has had to rebuild his car after crashes in each of the previous two races – lapped in 1 minute 44.5141 seconds. His effort on used tires on the rolling, 4.014-mile, 14-turn circuit gave Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing its first pole in two seasons.
Foster edged three-time and defending series champion Alex Palou (1:44.6300). Kyle Kirkwood, winner of the series’ past two races, will start third, alongside Scott McLaughlin with Christian Lundgaard fifth and Graham Rahal, one of Foster’s teammates, sixth.
“As soon as Graham finished his group stage, he jumps out of his car, the first thing he does is runs to me, lets me know about certain things that he learned in the session,” Foster said. “If that’s not teamwork, I don’t know what is.
“I don’t see any teams or drivers doing that. It is a really family feeling at RLL. All three of us are super close. I think that really helps us push the program forward.”
Before the weekend began, Foster created a social media buzz when he allowed IndyCar great Dario Franchitti and Fox broadcaster Will Buxton shave his mustache in downtown Elkhart Lake, raising $1,000 for charity.
Naturally, winning the pole got people talking about that again.
“When we shaved it off, I was sad,” Foster said. “I was in shock in the mirror every morning so far. Just kind of jump-scaring myself.
“We’ll see. I think if we win tomorrow, yeah, I’ll never have a moustache again, that’s for sure.”
In all seriousness, Foster will have his hands full chasing his first victory in his ninth start, even beyond having one of IndyCar’s hottest drivers to his right and another directly behind him for the green flag.
Anticipated temperatures in the 90s will take their toll on drivers and crews and could affect cars, tires and consequently strategy.
How teams choose to use their harder, primary Firestone tires vs. the softer, less durable red-sidewall alternate tires and when they choose to make their pit stops – whether due to tire wear or fuel consumption – are often a key factors in determining the outcome.
“Last year everybody was a little bit scared on the alternates,” Palou said. “I think we’ll see a bit more tomorrow during warmup when we’re able to do, like, eight laps in a row pushing, or 10 laps.
“Louis got pole on used alternates, I was on new alternates. They for sure are going to be capable of doing a full stint. We need to see if they’re going to be a lot faster than the primaries or not.”
Also, in the March race at Thermal Club in southern California, when the temperature approached 90, some teams experienced heat-related problems with the hybrid units on their cars. The hybrid system, which stores energy during braking for drivers to deploy on demand, was not introduced until after the Road America round in 2024.
“I just drive cars, man. I don’t know how the hybrid works,” Foster said. “So that’s not a question for me. … I’m sure people much smarter than me will figure that out.
“Obviously we’ll be in the cool suits, which helps a little bit. The aeroscreen makes it a little bit more difficult with just lack of air circulation. It’s going to be a very, very tricky race tomorrow for the cars, the drivers, the pit crews, everyone around.
“Can’t do anything about it. It’s going to be hot. Just have to make the most of it.”
ROAD AMERICA INDYCAR XPEL GRAND PRIX RACE DAY PREVIEW
When is the IndyCar XPEL Grand Prix at Road America?
The listed start time is 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 22. The anticipated green flag is 12:47. Warmup is set for 9 a.m.
Support series races are USF Pro 2000 (third race) at 7:55 a.m., Indy NXT at 10 a.m. and Radical Cup North America at 3:20.
Where is Road America?
The main entrance to Road America is off Hwy. 67, less than 5 miles north of downtown Plymouth and 3 miles southeast of Elkhart Lake.
How much do tickets cost for the XPEL Grand Prix IndyCar race at Road America?
$95 Sunday. Anyone 16 or under gets in for free with a paid adult admission. Paddock admission is included. Parking is free.
2024 Road America IndyCar recap
Australian Will Power won the 2024 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in the No. 12 Penske Chevrolet, ending a two-year drought in the series.
Power led the final nine laps, having made his final pit stop later than his two teammates and coming out in front. Penske completed its first podium sweep since 2017 with Josef Newgarden second and Scott McLaughlin third.
Other past Road America IndyCar race winners
IndyCar has raced 10 times over the past nine seasons. Will Power (2016, 2024), Scott Dixon (2017, 2020 first race), Josef Newgarden (2018, 2022) and Alex Palou (2021, 2023) have won twice each. Alexander Rossi won in 2019 and Felix Rosenqvist won the 2020 second race.
Various other iterations of series for Indy-style cars at the track 25 times from 1982-2007.
Road America IndyCar television, radio broadcasts
All IndyCar races this season are available over the air on Fox (Channel 6 in Milwaukee). Warmup is to appear on FS1.
The IndyCar Radio Network has one Wisconsin affiliate is WCUB (980 AM / 97.1 FM) of Two Rivers. The broadcast is available via SiriusXM satellite radio (Channel 218) and the IndyCar app.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rookie Louis Foster puts himself in position to battle for first IndyCar win at Road America
Reporting by Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
