INDYCAR: Foyt predicts big step from Hawksworth

Larry Foyt predicts a strong 2016 from Jack Hawksworth as the young Brit works to capitalize on the experience gained during his first two season in IndyCar.

Hawksworth arrived at Foyt last year as part of the team's expansion to two cars after a solid rookie season with Bryan Herta Autosport. However Foyt's struggles to cope with both its expansion and the arrival of the new aero kits contributed to both Hawksworth and Takuma Sato finishing the year well outside the top 10 in the championship.

However Foyt is

confident that those problems have now been overcome

, and he expects the 24-year-old to take strides this year.

"I'm looking for Jack to be very competitive," he told RACER. "He still doesn't have a ton of experience on ovals. He still doesn't have a ton of experience in big cars, if you look at it. He really is a raw talent. But one of the things we love about Jack is that is he 100 percent committed.

"He is here at the race shop three days a week, driving the pitstop car as the guys practice pitstops and working on them himself ... he eats and sleeps and dreams racing, and that's what you want in a young guy."

Foyt said that he was especially encouraged by the progress that Hawksworth made on ovals last year, especially with his tenth-place at Fontana.

"He is definitely a hard-charger, and I was really impressed at how much he improved on ovals last year – Pocono was one of his best drives on an oval I've seen.

"He's got a lot of raw, natural ability, and he is really applying himself. We all know he is quick on road courses, but I was really impressed with how he was maturing on ovals throughout last season. He's a guy who will be championship contender in the future, and I think we'll see that more and more as he spends time in IndyCars."