IndyCar team on the rise after massive signing
The famed #14 car hasn’t reached victory lane in nearly a decade in the NTT IndyCar Series. But A.J. Foyt’s newest signing just might change that.
When A.J. Foyt Enterprises announced the signing of reigning Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood, it was a signal to the rest of the NTT IndyCar Series that they are fed up with mediocrity.
Kirkwood, who racked up a record-tying 10 wins in 2021 en route to his first Indy Lights championship following championships in U.S. F2000 (2018) and Indy Pro 2000 (2019), found himself without a ride for 2022.
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Andretti Autosport seemed like the most logical option, given that he competed there in Indy Lights. However, the Jupiter, Florida native had to start making calls with Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, Romain Grosjean and former Indy Lights teammate Devlin DeFrancesco all locked in for 2021.
According to Marshall Pruett of RACER Magazine , Kirkwood had discussions with Arrow McLaren SP about a potential part-time schedule. However, any type of talk with the team fell through.
It has been a struggle for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, which haven’t tasted victory champagne since winning on the streets of Long Beach in April 2013 with Takuma Sato, who led the point standings after the following race on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
But since Sato’s departure after the 2016 season, it has been a revolving door at A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
A whopping 10 different drivers have come in to fill seats at the team. Combined, those drivers have 29 top 10 finishes over the span of 81 races, the worst among full-time active teams since 2017 (Ed Carpenter Racing rank second worst with 35).
Despite their recent struggles, team president Larry Foyt mentioned just how massive the signing of Kirkwood is for the team in a media Zoom call.
“It’s really exciting,” Foyt said. “When you have a guy that’s had the results he’s had and is young and enthusiastic, and excited to get in the race car, people want to work with him.”
During the entirety of the 45-minute media call, Kirkwood’s eyes had a certain intensity; a fire within.
“I’m [at] a loss of words right now,” Kirkwood said, “I’m ecstatic. It’s been my entire career building up to this moment.”
The 23-year-old brings a polished pedigree of winning to the organization after he earned championships in all three Road to Indy series.
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“We’re all hungry,” Kirkwood said, “We all wanna do really well, and I’m ecstatic to try and push everyone forward to try and build an amazing team.”