IndyCar: 'New and improved' Sting Ray Robb looks forward to racing for legendary A.J. Foyt
"New and improved” could be the unofficial slogan this season for 22-year-old IndyCar sophomore Sting Ray Robb.
The Payette, Idaho native will be driving for a new team in A.J. Foyt Racing this year and will have a new engine with Chevrolet power -- quite fitting considering Robb was named after the Corvette Stingray.
Robb will also look to improve in his second season after a difficult rookie campaign. However, he’s expecting anything but a sophomore slump this season.
The Foyt team recently began a technical alliance with Team Penske, which the team hopes will translate into better on-track results. Additionally, Robb will be able to share data with new teammate Santino Ferrucci and will have the support of veteran race engineer Michael Cannon.
“I am very excited,” Robb told AutoRacingDigest. “All those things I’m looking at very much as positives. The team seems like they are very excited to get the season going. I can understand because of the season they had last year.
"They’re kind of on the upswing, especially with Santino finishing third at the Indy 500 last year and both cars qualifying towards the front (Ferrucci qualified fourth while Benjamin Pedersen qualified 11th). Obviously, the partnership with Team Penske and also getting two engineers from another team (is also a big plus).
"All in all, I think it’s going to be a good package just based off the knowledge floating around the team and the experience they have and the personnel they have in place.”
Historically, Robb has been able to improve upon his performance in his second season. In 2020, he won seven races and the Indy Pro 2000 championship after failing to win a single race in the same series the year prior. He also finished second in the Indy Lights standings in 2022, picking up a win and two poles after failing to do either in 2021.
Robb is hoping to continue this trend in his second IndyCar season.
“For myself, I’m really excited because my tendency as a driver is to be better in the sophomore season,” Robb said. “I don’t know why that is, but my rookie stripes seem to be a lot more than others for some reason.
"I think that everyone is looking forward to the season. I’m very much excited about having the shop here in Indianapolis just because I can go in, do pit stop practice, meet the guys and get that relationship built before we even get to the racetrack.”
The IndyCar season starts the weekend of March 8-10 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Robb is also excited to drive for one of the most legendary names in racing. While he hasn’t had the chance to meet with A.J. Foyt yet, he recently was gifted an item he’ll have to bring when he does.
“One of my best Christmas presents that I ever got was this year,” Robb said. “My grandma went online to Ebay and found an old unopened box of Wheaties with A.J. Foyt on them and I’m hopefully going to get that signed at some point and put that on the shelf.
“It’s kind of cool to have an Indy legend as the team leader. A.J. Foyt is obviously a name that is synonymous with racing and winning so I’m very honored to feel like I’m part of that legacy in some way just by being one of his drivers.”
Robb has credited his faith as being a major inspiration to push forward as a driver and he brings new sponsorship from pray.com to the team this season. The sponsorship - rumored to be worth several million dollars - will bring a new level of funding to the Foyt team.
“I’ve been looking for brands to align with since the beginning of my career that I could not only share my passion with but also my faith and values with,” Robb said. “Having pray.com step on board this year is something that is very exciting. They’re helping us create a program that is going to hopefully allow me to have a long career in IndyCar.”
With a new team, engine manufacturer and primary sponsor as well as an experienced teammate and race engineers, the 2024 IndyCar season could be a big one for Robb.
“I'm hoping that it will very much contrast with the season that I had last year,” Robb said. “I’m hoping that we can reverse that narrative this year and with the promise that they’ve (Foyt) shown and the experience that the team has, I think everyone is looking forward to it. They’re already making improvements.
“They’re already saying that they’re going to be better this year than last year and they know the reasons why. I think that is much more important than last year’s results. I think that clarity and understanding which direction is going to lead to success and making those steps happen in the offseason is what’s going to make the team good. For myself, I’m looking forward to learning from the team and seeing what they can do.”