Vitor Meira was supposed to bring A.J. Foyt Enterprises back to relevancy in the IZOD IndyCar Series last year, but a heavy crash in the Indianapolis 500 put a premature end to that dream. Instead, the team suffered through a revolving door of four drivers before finally settling on Ryan Hunter-Reay for the balance of the season. In short, the year was incredibly disappointing for a team looking to return to the upper echelon of IndyCar.
Meira returns this season, his back fully healed from last year's devastating crash, and he will look to make amends by finally scoring his first career win in the series. In 97 career starts, Meira's best finish is second place, which he has accomplished eight times, the last being at Indianapolis in 2008. Foyt's team hasn't won a race since 2002, when Airton Dare took the checkers at Kansas.
While the partnership with ABC Supply Co. works for both team and sponsor, Foyt simply does not have the money to run up front with the powers of the sport anymore. The team sadly lingers towards the back of the pack despite possessing one of the more underrated talents in the sport and one of the most storied histories in all of open-wheel racing.
This season will likely be more of the same for the Foyt bunch - running between 10th and 15th with maybe a stroke of luck at Indy to give them a shot at the win. As much as everybody would like to see it, don't expect a title run unless something huge changes, and quickly.
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