Foster Fights Back After a Tough Weekend at the Milwaukee Mile To Score a 17th Place Finish in #45 RLL Droplight Ichor Honda
Rough start with an engine change after two laps of practice, Foster comes from last to 17th
By: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Photo Courtesy RLLR)
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (August 25, 2025) – Rookie racer Louis Foster figured he might be in for a long weekend on Saturday morning at the historic Milwaukee Mile when his Rahal Letterman Lanigan team signaled him just after two laps in practice for Sunday’s SNAG-ON Milwaukee Mile 250 NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.
Not even up to speed in the first practice round, Foster, the 22-year-old driver from England, had to pull his No. 45 RLL Droplight Ichor Honda in the pits as an issue had occurred with his car’s engine. Unfortunately, that was the end of Foster’s practice with qualifying set in two hours.
The RLL crew made a complete engine change in time for the single-car qualifications, and, despite no “at-speed” laps, Foster rolled out for a two-lap run and a starting position in the 27-car field. Louis put his No. 45 Droplight machine in the 22nd starting position for Sunday’s 250-lap feature. But the needed engine change also cost Foster his starting spot with a nine-position penalty. Thus, Foster was starting last in the race.
But the 2024 INDY NXT series champion was not about to sit back at the drop of the green flag, as he moved up six positions in the first 11 circuits. Foster’s RLL Droplight crew worked on a strategy to get him into the top-ten by the race’s finish.
Foster actually led a lap in the event (lap 59) and tried various lines to improve his position after each pit stop. Still leading the NTT INDYCAR SERIES “Rookie of the Year” points, the personable Brit made his way from 21st to 17th at the checkered flag. The finish gave Foster an eight-point lead in the “Rookie” point standings leading into the final race – Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix – of the 17-event national series this weekend at 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway oval on Sunday, Aug. 31.
“Our race was pretty straightforward and boring, in a good way honestly,” said Foster after the race. “We made a good start and gained some positions, made use of the yellow flags and kept going forward. And then we got stagnated a little bit towards the second half of the race due to less yellow flags and less opportunities to overtake cars. I would get a bit unlucky with the lanes I would choose on restarts. One lane would back up and the other wouldn’t and that just a 50/50 thing with luck. And then we managed to finish 10 spots up from the start in 17th and gain a few points in the rookie standings. All in all, it was a good day. Maybe there was a little more on the table but not a ton more. Maybe a top 15 would have been do-able but that was the maximum I think I could have done.”
Foster’s No. 45 RLL Droplight Honda machine also featured a new prominent local partner with Ichor Water, a popular hydrogen and alkaline beverage produced just a few miles from the Milwaukee Mile in Wauwatosa.
The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix weekend gets underway with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES machines on track on Saturday (Aug. 30) at 9:30 a.m. CDT with a practice session. Qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six starts at 1 p.m. CDT with a final practice round at 3:30 p.m. CDT. Sunday’s 225-lap, 229.25-mile feature race is scheduled at 1 p.m. CDT.
The Nashville Superspeedway NTT INDYCAR SERIES race will air live on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
