IndyCar: Matheus Leist to return to A.J. Foyt Enterprises in 2019

By Asher Fair | Jun 23, 2018

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 08: Matheus Leist, driver of the #4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Rookie driver Matheus Leist is set to return to A.J. Foyt Enterprises in the 2019 IndyCar season as the driver of the #4 Chevrolet.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises rookie Matheus Leist is set to return to the team in the 2019 IndyCar season. He currently drives the #4 Chevrolet for the team, and he is set to continue to do so next year as well.

In addition to bringing back the 19-year-old Leist for the second consecutive season in 2019, A.J. Foyt Enterprises are also set to bring back 43-year-old Tony Kanaan, who is currently in his 21st season as an IndyCar driver, as the driver of the #14 Chevrolet for a second consecutive season.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises signing both of their drivers to return to the team for another season is something that has not happened a whole lot in recent years. In fact, it has not happened since the transition from the 2015 season to the 2016 season.

In both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Takuma Sato drove the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Honda and Jack Hawksworth drove the #41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Honda. Prior to the 2017 season, the team switched from Honda aero kits and engines to Chevrolet aero kits and engines, and they signed Carlos Munoz to replace Sato in the #14 Chevrolet and Conor Daly to replace Hawksworth in the #41-turned-#4 Chevrolet.

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This past offseason, Kanaan and Leist replaced Munoz and Daly, respectively, meaning the team had completely reconstructed their driver lineup for the second consecutive season. However, that is not set to happen between the 2018 season and the 2019 season after they confirmed that Leist is set to return to the team alongside Kanaan.

Leist opened up his rookie IndyCar season with an impressive third place qualifying effort in the season opener, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. However, since then, his season has not been all that great.

Leist currently sits in 19th place in the championship standings, which is the second lowest position among full-time drivers ahead of only Carlin Motorsport’s Max Chilton. He has seven top 20 finishes in the first nine races of the season, and his best finish of the season so far is a 12th place finish, which he recorded in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

That said, there have been several races during which Leist has shown impressive flashes of speed, including the Indianapolis 500. He qualified in 11th place for that race and finished in 13th after a solid first attempt in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

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Are you excited that Matheus Leist is set to return to IndyCar in the 2019 season for his second season in the sport and his second season as the driver of the #4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet?