Louis Foster extended his Indy NXT by Firestone championship lead in a crucial weekend at the Mid-Ohio road course.
Andretti Global driver Foster, 20, extended the gap at the top of the standings to 42 points with five events remaining, after finishing second at the road course in Lexington.
He has finished in the top two in the last six races and won four of the events in that period.
Brit Foster and the Andretti crew were not happy with their car when they arrived. With the track being resurfaced for this year it made predicting how to the set the car up difficult compared to last year when Foster took his first Indy NXT win.
“I think with the resurfacing, candidly, I don't think we figured it out as a team,” said Foster, who is backed by Copart, a global leader in online auto auctions.
“We struggled a lot this weekend. We turned up in FP1 with a car that I was definitely not happy with at all, but worked really hard with the team, and we got it into a spot where we could challenge for a podium.
“For me, a second place today feels like a win. We worked really, really hard to be up here. Caio [Collet, race winner] and HMD did an amazing job this weekend. I think it was going to be really tough to beat them.
“But yeah, pretty much just too much tyre degradation.”
Despite the fight to improve the car Foster still managed to qualify second and hold on to that position despite having quick cars behind.
Foster managed to pressure Collet at one stage while the pair were moving through traffic, but wasn’t able to make a move and settled for a positive points score.
The Indy NXT series now heads to the Iowa oval this weekend, which has also been partially resurfaced, and provides an unknown after the test there earlier this month was rained off with little running completed.
“As a driver, I love oval racing,” added Foster.
“With the repave, it looks like it could be a one-lane track so overtaking will be tough and getting the qualifying right and the car set-up in the race so that you’re able to pass will be absolutely crucial.
“Even after a tricky weekend in Mid-Ohio we managed to extend our championship lead, so we just need to stay calm and just deliver the best result we can.
“All year, the Andretti Global team have worked hard on any issues we’ve had and we’ve become a better team for it. So that gives me faith we can overcome any challenges we’ll face.”
In the UK you’ll be able to watch Louis race on Sky Sports F1 channel with the race live on Saturday at 1905pm UK time.
Iowa oval schedule - Eastern time zone
Friday July 12
Practice 1 - 1400-1515 (19:00-20:15 UK)
Qualifying - 18:30-19:15 (23:30-00:15 UK)
Saturday July 13
Race - 14:05-15:20 (19:05-20:20 UK)
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