Bobby Rahal, a legendary racer and co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, expects a youth movement to soon enter the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. With several drivers soon entering or already in their 40s, good rides will become available for the next crop of stars.
That mindset predicated RLL’s hiring of INDY NXT by Firestone champion Louis Foster.
Foster, 21, was named Oct. 9 as one of the drivers for RLL during the 2025 season. He joins Graham Rahal and a not-yet-announced third driver with the team.
“The youth movement exists in a big way,” Rahal said. “We would like to be one of the first to really create this young driver cadre in our team, thinking three, four, five years ahead from now. When you look at the great drivers that are out there that have been with great teams -- Will Power has been with Penske for, I don't even know how long now, 12, 13 years – develop those kinds of relationships. That's what you want to – I think that's important to us as a team.
“Having these young guys come in is exciting for us, and there's just a ton of potential to realize from it.”
1986 Indy 500 winner Rahal envisions a long, successful career for Foster and with the England native available for hire, the timing was right to snag him before a rival team. RLL eyes this pairing as a long-term play. Having Graham Rahal as the veteran presence to lead the driver room but also have the voice to help Foster gives RLL an interesting 1-2 punch.
“He’s (Foster) won championships pretty much at every level,” three-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Bobby Rahal said. “There’s no doubt I think he’s got what it takes. I was really impressed with the way he went about his racing this year. He doesn’t really make mistakes and is smart behind the wheel.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt we feel Louis can run up front. All the elements are there, in my estimation. Louis has proven his worth and earned the situation. Having Graham as a teammate, a lot of experience there and still showed competitive speeds this year. It’s a good combination.
“He’s got a lot of runway ahead of him. I was 29 (years old) in my rookie year. We think very highly of him.”
Foster won an INDY NXT by Firestone series-high eight of the 14 races for Andretti Global this season and two races as a rookie in 2023. As a sophomore driver, Foster led the series in wins (eight), poles (seven), podiums (12), laps led (362 of 640) and completed every lap of competition. His previous title came in the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 series, where he won seven races.
“Over the moon,” Foster said. “Been my dream to compete in the INDYCAR SERIES for many years. I’m looking forward to getting the season started. My mind is already on 2025 and doing the best job I can do for the team and hopefully we can have a long career together.
“I feel prepared to take that step. I’m ready for it.”
Foster expects the usual rookie moments to occur during the first half of the season but doesn’t rule out a top-three finish or two during the 17-race schedule.
“We have to perform the best we can every weekend,” he said.
Rahal has big expectations for the team in 2025, with Foster a large piece of that puzzle.