Rookie Louis Foster Stuns NTT INDYCAR Series with Road America Pole in RLL Droplight Honda, Finished 11th in Race
British Native Foster fights veterans in 96-degree heat to place 11th in fuel strategy race Sunday
By: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Photos Courtesy RLLR)
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 23, 2025) – Rookie NTT INDYCAR Series racer Louis Foster stunned the open-wheel community last Saturday by taking his No. 45 Droplight Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda race car to the pole position for Sunday’s Xpel Grand Prix at the famed Road America road circuit, and then fought hard in 96-degree heat to score his best finish of the 2025 racing season with an eleventh.
The 2024 INDY NXT series champion took on the series’ best drivers in the ”knockout” qualifying format by advancing to the fast 12 and then the Firestone Fast Six for a chance to win the coveted pole position at the legendary 4.014-mile road circuit in the scenic Wisconsin hills. Foster’s previous best qualifying performance was third last month at the Sonsio Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
Foster, who shamed off his mustache for charity the night before, came off two scary incidents at Detroit and WWTR (St. Louis) and performed well in Friday’s practice round with an eighth. But Saturday’s pole run of 138.263 miles per hour was the icing on the cake, as he bettered the two 2025 race winners, Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood, for the No. 1 starting position in Sunday’s Grand Prix event. Another surprise by Foster’s lightning-fast speed was the fact that he produced it on used alternate Firestone tires rather than the new tires.
“I don’t really know what to say,’ said a smiling Foster following receiving a hug from RLL co-owner, Bobby Rahal. “Obviously a massive thank you to the team. They’ve done an amazing job. They were confident in the ability of the car and myself to be able to push into the Fast Six, which obviously was the right call in the end. Top six starting spot for us is awesome alone.
“Then we just ran out, did the out-lap and pushed on the used reds. By the time I went through turn one, I was about 2/10ths up, then maintained that throughout the lap. Gained about a 10th or so in a couple corners. The reds held on really, really well clearly. Yeah, I’m still a little bit in shock.”
Foster, the 21-year-old driver from Odiham, England, jumped to the lead at the start of the 55-lap feature Sunday as 26 other drivers stormed into turn one behind Louis at close to 200 miles per hour on the long Road America front straightaway. Early caution periods made for several different race strategies from the various teams including RLL with teammates Graham Rahal and Devin DeFrancesco.
Starting on the alternate tires, Foster’s team switched the harder primary rubber on the first pit stop, but those tires were not as competitive as the alternates. It forced Foster to be back in the field and made it hard to make passes on his competition.
Towards the end of the race, Foster’s No. 45 RLL Droplight Honda pitted for fuel, and he had a strong chance for a top ten finish as drivers in front of him saved fuel to make it the checkered flag. Ironically, five cars right in front of Foster crossed the finish line with no fuel and stopped just yards pass the start/finish stripe.
The 11th place finish was Foster’s best placing in the first nine races of the NTT INDYCAR Series 18-event campaign and moved him closer to the “Rookie of the Year” points, just two points behind the leader as the series now moves to the rolling hills of Ohio at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 4-6.
“It was a decent race I think,” said Foster following the Road America race. “We probably got the most out of it that we could. Obviously starting P1 and finishing P11, you don’t love but we struggled so much on the blacks. And a lot of other drivers did three red tire stints, and we only did two. That’s what really made the race for them. We got a few places at the end and took the result from being a pretty average result to a decent one. But we scored our season best result of 11th, so I’m not overly disappointed. However, I feel like there was more on the table for the Droplight team today.”
The HONDA INDYCAR 200 at Mid-Ohio opens action on Friday, July 4, with the first round of practice at 4:30 p.m. EDT followed by practice round 2 on Saturday, July 5, at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Qualifying runs and the Firestone Fast Six begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The 90-lap, 203.22-mile feature event is set to start at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 6.
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course contest, the tenth race on the NTT INDYCAR Series schedule, will be televised live on the FOX Network.
