IndyCar 2023 season review: AJ Foyt Racing

#14 – Santino Ferrucci, 19th in championship standings (219 points) – 17 races

0 wins, 1 podium, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 0 poles, 1 Fast Six Appearance
Best Finish: 3rd (Indianapolis 500)
Best Start: 4th (Indianapolis 500)

#55 – Benjamin Pedersen, 27th in championship standings (129 points) – 17 races

0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 top fives, 0 top 10, 0 poles, 0 Fast Six Appearance
Best Finish: 15th (Texas)
Best Start: 10th (Road America)

Joey Barnes: There were little expectations for a squad going into the year with a rookie in Pedersen, and Ferrucci who had only run eight races – for three separate teams – in 2021-22. It was known the season would be an uphill battle, which put a necessary emphasis on the Indianapolis 500, where Ferrucci shined and, if not for a late caution that negated his outside pass to challenge for the lead on a late restart, might have won the whole thing. Still, he finished a career-best third in what was without question the best performance by him and the organisation all season.

Qualifying put Foyt behind to start the weekend, yet Ferrucci was able to improve on his starting position in 11 of 17 races. Meanwhile, Pedersen advanced from his qualifying position on six occasions. Even still, Pedersen finished 20th or worse in 15 of 17 races and ended the season last in the standings among full-timers, and also behind four drivers that ran a partial schedule.

The silver lining was shown with the Indy 500 performance, which demonstrated that the AJ Foyt Racing squad can have success when allocating all the focus and resources to a specific effort; they just need more depth to be able to work from, and that could be the case next year in the partnership with Team Penske.

Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images

Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

Nick Degroot: With the outlier being Ferrucci’s remarkable drive at the Indianapolis 500, the 2023 season was a dismal one for the A.J. Foyt-owned team.

Foyt has had flashes of brilliance in the past with the Indianapolis 500 being the most recent example, but they remain behind in overall performance. There wasn’t much improvement over the previous year, but a new alliance with Team Penske could help them to finally bridge the gap to the competition. 

Not having a veteran driver behind the wheel to guide the team’s efforts isn’t ideal while in a rebuilding phase, but Ferrucci has shown promise. Then there’s Pedersen, who struggled mightily in his rookie season. He was the lowest-ranked full-time driver in the standings, lagging behind multiple part-time drivers and nearly 100 points behind his teammate.