Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today it has extended its existing multi-year agreement with NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Louis Foster, 22, in a new multi-year agreement that will see the British driver at the team for the foreseeable future. Foster followed up his 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone title with that of 2025 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year.

In addition, RLL recently announced a long-term, multi-year extension of its partnership with Droplight, a full-throttle venture studio, for title sponsorship of the No. 45 entry. Foster’s strong performance, coupled with the formidable commitment from Droplight enabled the team to solidify a long-term commitment with the rising star.

In 2025, Foster delivered a breakout season, earning two top-three starts – including his first career pole at Road America – and scoring an 11th place finish at both the Indianapolis 500 and Road America. With six top-10 starts and having led the race three separate times in 2025, he now looks to build on the momentum and experience gained throughout a strong campaign.

In 2024, Foster won a series-high eight of the 14 races in the INDY NXT Championship for Andretti Global. He led the series in wins (8), poles (7), podiums (12), laps led (362/640) and completed every lap of competition to beat Abel Motorsports’ Jacob Abel to the title by 122 points. His previous title came in the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 Series, where he won seven races en route to being named the champion in the season finale.

The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1. The 17-race schedule includes new venues in Arlington, Texas and Markham, Ontario, Canada and all races will be broadcast live on FOX. For more information about the team or series, please visit www.rahal.com or www.indycar.com.

QUOTEBOARD:

LOUIS FOSTER, driver for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “I’m really happy to extend my contract with RLL. Having that consistency and sense of security means a lot—it’s great knowing who I’ll be working with over the next few years. We’ve built a strong, trusting group here, and that familiarity helps us understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses so we can keep improving together. I truly believe that consistency will pay off in the long run. I’m excited to get back to work with the team and help push us forward in a positive direction. Huge thanks to Bobby, Mike, and Dave for their faith in me, and to Droplight for their continued support.”

BOBBY RAHAL, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “I was very pleased with the job that Louis did this season; he exceeded our expectations. I knew he would be competitive, but I certainly didn’t expect the pace and consistency he showed almost from the start. Given his talent and potential, it made perfect sense for us to extend his contract, especially with Droplight extending their partnership with the team and knowing how well Droplight and Louis work together. I’m confident Louis will be running up front on a regular basis in the coming years. We’re excited to continue this next chapter with him.”

MIKE LANIGAN, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “We at RLL are very excited to confirm that Louis will be with us for a number of years. With one year under his belt and winning the Rookie of the Year honors last year, our expectations are high to compete for the championship.”

About Louis Foster
Louis Foster, 22, was named the INDYCAR Rookie of the Year after his debut season in 2025 which saw him earn his first series pole position at Road America and his top finish of 11th place at the Indy 500 and Road America. Foster was born on July 27, 2003 in Odiham, England and inherited his passion for motorsport from his father Nick, who was a former British Touring Car Championship driver. Foster began karting at the age of nine at local karting circuits Camberley Kart Club and Forest Edge Kart Club and won championships at each, in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

He made his car racing debut in the final three meetings of the 2017 Ginette Junior Championship, driving for Elite Motorsport and went on to compete in that year’s Ginetta Junior Winter Series, where he won the rookie championship.

He returned to the championship in 2018 and was a persistent title contender throughout the season. Foster claimed 19 podiums, including 9 victories, plus four pole positions and two fastest laps on his way to second place in the championship and was the top rookie. He scored the most points of any driver but lost out on the title by just eight points to teammate Adam Smalley after dropped scores were accounted for. During the campaign, Foster accrued several records: the first rookie to win three races in one weekend, the first driver to win five races in succession and the youngest driver to score an outright victory.

Following his successful stint in Ginetta Juniors, Foster moved to single-seaters when he joined Double R Racing for the 2019 F4 British Championship. He was immediately on the pace, taking victory in only the second race of the season and followed that with a strong weekend in Donington, winning two races and scoring a third-place finish in the other to give him a 17-point lead in the championship. Across the rest of the season, Foster accrued another three wins and nine podium finishes – dominating at Silverstone – to finish the year third in the championship, remaining in the title hunt until the season finale weekend at Brands Hatch.

In 2020, Louis returned to Double R Racing and stepped up to the BRDC British F3 Championship where an impressive season-long performance, including three wins, earned him the rookie championship and third place overall. For 2021, Louis raced in Europe with Motopark in Euroformula Open and finished runner up in the championship during which he won a record three wins over the event at Spa Francorchamps. His performance garnered attention and a nomination for the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year.

The 2022 season saw Louis move to the United States and race in the Indy Pro 2000 series with Exclusive Autosport. Despite racing on street circuits and ovals for the first time, Louis impressed all season long and won the championship in dominant fashion on the strength of seven wins which earned him back-to-back nominations for the Aston Martin Autosport BDRC Young Driver of the Year Award.

He moved up to the INDY NXT by Firestone series in 2023 with Andretti Autosport and earned two wins and four poles in his rookie season. In September of that year, he also drove an Indy car for the first time at Road America. His series-high eight wins, seven poles and 12 podiums en route to the 2024 INDY NXT Championship netted a record-setting average finish of 2.07 during the season and his 10 total wins over his INDY NXT career moved him to a tie for second place to Greg Moore, who had 13. He was selected to be part of the BRDC SuperStars program for 2023 and 2024 and the organization also presented him with the Graham Hill Trophy for his 2024 season. The award is named in honor of 1966 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time Formula One World Champion Graham Hill and is given annually to the British driver “with the most meritorious performance in single-seater racing” including Formula One, Formula E, Formula 2, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, INDY NXT by Firestone and more.

About Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Zionsville, Ind., is co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. In 2026, the team will compete in its 35th year of competition and will attempt to add to its 30 Indy car wins – including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice and the 2020 Indy 500 with Takuma Sato — their 38 poles, 112 podium finishes and 1992 series championship. The team also competed in the American Le Mans Series from 2009-2013 as BMW Team RLL where they won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category in 2010 and swept all three GT titles in 2011 – Manufacturer, Team and Driver. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. From 2014 to 2021, BMW Team RLL competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program. In 2022, BMW M Team RLL competed in the GTD PRO class in IMSA while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated GTP class in IMSA for 2023. In total, the team earned 25 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 34 poles and 107 podium finishes. BMW M Team RLL highlights also include second-place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and being named the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions. In 2026, the team will compete in IMSA’s GTD Pro class with a one-car entry as RLL Team McLaren.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!