IndyCar: What Is The Future Of A.J. Foyt Enterprises?

A.J. Foyt Enterprises is poised for a total makeover, with the IndyCar squad reportedly changing drivers and manufacturers in 2017. What will be left?

The A.J. Foyt Enterprises IndyCar team of 2017 may not look anything like the team of 2016.

Rumors are continuing to swirl around the Foyt organization, with Racer reporting that they are headed back to Chevrolet from Honda, and the league itself quoting team president Larry Foyt as saying that “We’re wide open next year.”

The prevailing belief is that they will soon part ways with longtime driver Takuma Sato and his young teammate Jack Hawksworth, who finished 17th and 20th among the 20 full-time drivers who raced in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season.

So if A.J. Foyt Enterprises is really going to blow itself up in the off-season, what will the team look like on the other side?

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You can’t fault the team for deciding to wipe its driver slate. They had no wins and were not even near a podium; Sato had the team’s two top finishes, in fifth place at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Honda Indy Toronto. Hawksworth didn’t even crack the Top 10.

Overall, Hawksworth has no wins, no podiums and four Top 10’s in his two seasons with Foyt (though he did earn a podium finish with Bryan Herta Autosport in 2014).

Meanwhile Sato’s last win – and only victory with the team – came in 2013, also at Long Beach. Since then, he’s had just two podium finishes (2013 Sao Paulo and 2015 Detroit) as well as 14 other results in the Top 10.

To say that your two drivers have one victory and two podium finishes between them in a combined six seasons would upset any team owner.

You might see giving Hawksworth one more year, but it’s clear that the combination of these drivers and A.J. Foyt Enterprises just is not working, and you can’t blame it all on the impending retirement of technical director Don Halliday. Hawksworth and Sato were struggling before this season.

Even so, you don’t make a drastic move like jettisoning both your drivers unless you have a real alternative out there – and given the team’s uncertain future, what kind of talent will it be able to attract?

The biggest names on the market have already signed deals, and as long as there are seats open at Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing (let’s assume that Helio Castroneves is coming back to Team Penske), those squads will have the advantage when it comes to picking amongst the talent that is left.

What might be the best move for Foyt is to partner with a driver that likewise is looking to take a gamble. 2015 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Gabby Chaves is still a free agent, though who knows if he’s solved the financial issue that saw him replaced at Herta.

Where will RC Enerson land if the two Dale Coyne Racing cars are filled by Sebastien Bourdais and Conor Daly? Does Sage Karam want back into an IndyCar? There are drivers who for one reason or another need a team to take a chance on them, and Foyt is an organization that can go out on that limb.

Next: Who Will Run Andretti Autosport's Fourth IndyCar Entry?

2017 will essentially be a rebuilding year for A.J. Foyt Enterprises in IndyCar. They will be moving to a new engine manufacturer, they’ll have a new technical director, and all signs point to them having new drivers.

So perhaps it’s best to think of this as an experimental season and use it as an opportunity to not play it safe. Sign a dark horse driver to a one- or two-year contract and see if they can surprise or at least fit with the team. Try strategy option B instead of option A and find out what works. But if Foyt really wants to change things up, the team needs to go all the way or not at all.

What do you think A.J. Foyt Enterprises will look like in 2017?

What Is The IndyCar Future Of A.J. Foyt Enterprises?

By Brittany Frederick | Oct 19, 2016

A.J. Foyt Enterprises is poised for a total makeover, with the IndyCar squad reportedly changing drivers and manufacturers in 2017. What will be left?

More from IndyCar