Rapid rookie Foster 'shaved the mustache and ended up on pole'

Christian Lundgaard earned his first pole position for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in his 23rd race with the No. 45 Honda, and as his replacement in the car, reigning Indy NXT champion Louis Foster was able to deliver his first pole in just the ninth race of his rookie campaign.

RLL has come a long way since Lundgaard – who left during the offseason for Arrow McLaren – was learning the ropes in IndyCar, and thanks to the progress made from 2022-2024, the team is showing a greater level of competitiveness on road courses.

Foster, despite his limited experience in the top category, has been incredibly fast at most races and landed the Road America pole after enduring two of his worst IndyCar weekends to date after a suspension failure in Detroit destroyed his car, and ruined the race of Felix Rosenqvist from Meyer Shank Racing, then followed it with a solo crash at World Wide Technology Raceway, which led to a massive impact with Josef Newgarden that sent the Team Penske driver flying through the air.

One week later, having shaved off his mustache for charity while trying to turn the page on the ruinous results at Detroit and WWTR, Foster was able to outrun championship leader Alex Palou, a winner of five races this season, and Kyle Kirkwood, winner of three races and the last two in a row.

“Shaved the mustache and ended up on pole. I liked the mustache though, so we’ll see how the race goes tomorrow,” Foster said. “If we win tomorrow, you’ll never see one on my face again. Our Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car was really fast. We got good power from the Honda engine. It’s always great to start in front of Alex and Kyle – a Honda 1-2-3 – and those guys have been quick all season. Hopefully we can stay in front tomorrow and bring home a win.”