We start with the bottom and 2019 was a difficult season for A.J. Foyt Racing on the racetrack and things took a tough turn off the racetrack. There were a few high moments for the operation but the team will have a lot of work to do to on an already crowded plate.
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| Tony Kanaan made a step forward in 2019 but it was still a trying year. |
Kanaan completed his 21st season in IndyCar but it was one of the most difficult in his career. The Brazilian did not start a race in the top ten. He did not lead a lap. He had the worst average starting position amongst full-time drivers.
There were some bright spots. Kanaan moved to second all-time in starts, surpassing his team owner A.J. Foyt at Texas. He ended his top five and podium finish drought with an unexpected third at Gateway. He heads into 2020 with 377 starts, 30 starts behind Mario Andretti's all-time record, 317 consecutive starts and five seasons since his most recent victory.
What objectively was his best race?
Gateway, where Kanaan had a third place finish, most of which came because he went off strategy and was able to hold on and not make his final pit stop before a caution for Sébastien Bouradis' spin. Kanaan was in second for the restart behind Takuma Sato, unfortunately, Kanaan could not challenge for the lead in the closing laps and he ended up losing a spot to Ed Carpenter but third was a great night for Kanaan.
Prior to Gateway, Kanaan had not had a top five since Pocono 2017 and it was his first podium finish since Texas 2017.
What subjectively was his best race?
There really isn't a race that stands out for Kanaan in 2019. You could say Gateway in this case but if that caution does not come out at Gateway he likely finishes outside the top ten. Gateway was not a race where Kanaan was making up ground and put himself into a spot to get a podium result.
If there is one race where Kanaan was moving it was the Indianapolis 500, where he finished ninth after starting 16th. Even Indianapolis was not a spectacular performance but he was racy and there were few races where that was the case.
What objectively was his worst race?
It was the second Belle Isle race, where Kanaan got in an accident in turn three with Simon Pagenaud and Patricio O'Ward. Unfortunately for Kanaan, he completed zero laps. His day was done in that corner.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Can we say every qualifying performance because Kanaan did not start a race in the top ten in 2019? On top of that, add all of the road course races where Kanaan started outside the top twenty and finished a lap or two down. This happened Long Beach, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Road America, Toronto and Mid-Ohio.
There is not one race that stands out, good or bad, and it is not entirely a reflection of Kanaan. This is more a reflection of where A.J. Foyt Racing is as a whole and this was the best Kanaan could do.
Tony Kanaan's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 15th (304 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 20.438
Average Finish: 14.882
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| Matheus Leist's sophomore season was somehow better and worse than his rookie season |
The 2019 season will be remembered for the bright spots for Leist but every bright spot has multiple dark spots after it.
He got his first career top five finish and another top ten finish. He scored more points than he did in 2018 but finished a position worse in the championship. He started outside the top twenty nine times and somehow qualified ahead of his teammate nine times.
What objectively was his best race?
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis, where in the changing conditions Leist ended up finishing fourth. Leist went off strategy and through the cautions and the weather he cycled to the front of the pack. In race where he could have fallen back, Leist held on and got his first top five finish and his first top ten finish in 22 career starts.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is really the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. I think Leist deserves acknowledgement for his eighth place finish at Portland. That was a race where Leist avoided accidents, stayed on the lead lap and took fresh tires on the final stop, which allowed him to pick up a few positions at the end and get his second top ten finish of the season.
What objectively was his worst race?
Leist had two finishes of 22nd this season, both retirements. The first came in the season opener when Leist clipped the parked car of Ed Jones. The second came in Texas where Leist was essentially parked after 73 laps because of handling issues.
What subjectively was his worst race?
It is a similar situation to Kanaan. There were so many races where Leist was irrelevant in 2019 that you cannot pick one. The difference is Leist tore up equipment more than Kanaan and most of the time Kanaan finished ahead of Leist. The St. Petersburg incident was particularly bad and an argument could be made that Leist had nowhere to go and Jones was kind of in a blind spot but the five cars ahead of Leist got by without hitting Jones, though Veach was directly ahead of Leist and nearly did the same thing Leist did.
The other race to mention is the first Belle Isle race because Leist had two accidents in that race and I completely forgot those two accidents even happened. The first was just a lazy spin exiting turn two and avoided hitting the barrier or another car but the second was running wide into turn seven, getting off the dry line and on the damp service nosing it into the tire barrier. That wasn't a good day.
Matheus Leist's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 19th (261 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 1
Average Start: 20.125
Average Finish: 16.143
An Early Look Ahead
I am worried about A.J. Foyt Racing. ABC Supply, Co. is gone as the team's sponsor for the full season, though it is still interested in the Indianapolis 500, which is like someone breaking up with you but him or her saying he or she would still accept invitations whenever you were going to your parents' beach house.
This was a move that probably could have come five years ago. ABC Supply, Co. stuck with a back of the pack team for a decade longer than any other sponsor would have and I am not sure if the company should be praised for that or ridiculed when it could have aligned with a half a dozen better teams and it could have kept or put quality drivers on the grid.
I am not sure where A.J. Foyt Racing goes from here. The team says it plans on having two cars for next year but what will be the quality of those cars? Is it realistic to think this team can find another company to sponsor two cars when in the last six seasons the team has not won a race, has two podium finishes, eight top five finishes and the best championship finisher was 14th?
This is the example of why we can never feel entirely safe in IndyCar. For the last year we were really happy about seeing new teams joining the series and teams slowly progressing to full-time entries but here we are with a two-car team losing a sponsor and now we are looking at the grid remaining the same size because cars exiting the series cancel out the cars entering.
I would not be surprised if A.J. Foyt Racing is closed within the next five years and that would suck but we have seen plenty of notable names drop out of motorsports. Junior Johnson hasn't fielded a NASCAR Cup car in almost 25 years, Bud Moore hasn't fielded a car since 2000, Newman/Haas Racing, Jim Hall, Gerry Forsythe, Pat Patrick, Rick Galles, Derrick Walker, the Bettenhausens and Granatellis haven't been on the IndyCar grid for a while. Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell and Cooper are no longer featured on the Formula One grid.
IndyCar would survive if A.J. Foyt Racing no longer has a presence on the grid. It would suck if the team is not there but time marches on and teams come and go. The greatest names are not protected.
I believe A.J. Foyt Racing will be back in 2020 but I am skeptical the team can make a step forward. We may have seen the last of Matheus Leist and Tony Kanaan has a verbal agreement to return. Foyt will keep Kanaan and I am not sure if Kanaan will have suitors elsewhere. Kanaan could have this be one of his last reclamation processes. He could leave IndyCar after bringing Foyt back to the point of being a respectable team.
If Kanaan is there, the second seat could go to someone with money. It will probably be a name with money. If Kanaan does not return, Foyt may bring two of the most unfamiliar drivers to IndyCar in a long time. It will likely not be a good sign if that is the case. It is hard to fathom two unknown drivers will carry the team forward.
