Louis Foster is experiencing the challenging life of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie.

That was never more evident than coming to World Wide Technology Raceway on Wednesday, April 16, to take part in a rookie oval test alongside PREMA Racing rookie Robert Shwartzman.

Last time Foster was on the 1.25-mile track, he led all 75 laps from the pole to take one of his eight wins during a 2024 championship-winning season in INDY NXT by Firestone.

He returned for the test as a rookie driver in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, sitting 24th among 27 drivers in points.

That leaves the English driver in a rare position entering the next race, the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst on Sunday, May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Foster is used to winning. He won 10 of his 28 INDY NXT by Firestone starts across two seasons. He’s not been close in three INDYCAR SERIES races this season.

“Unfortunately, the races haven’t gone our way just yet,” Foster said. “But the team and I are working really hard and very well together to keep improving. Some of the results have been totally out of our control, so my focus is on what we can control and working hard to make sure the team and I get the best out of the weekends.”

Foster was collected in an opening-lap crash in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, then finished 24th in The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix.

However, the 65-lap race at The Thermal Club road course located near Palm Springs, California, was a great dose of medicine that Foster needed to improve. After completing no race laps in St. Petersburg, he nearly went the distance at The Thermal Club, completing 64 of 65 laps, allowing for a great learning experience.

“I did my first full INDYCAR race at Thermal and learned a lot about tire management, fuel management and pit stops,” Foster said. “Those things were a big learning curve for me, and now that I’ve got that out of the way, I do feel more relaxed and have a bit more understanding of how things are going to play out.”

Before this season, Foster had never driven a race car with an aeroscreen. Racing with a hybrid system also is a first. He’s also not had to work on fuel-saving measures or had a car serviced during a pit stop since his junior category races were essentially sprint races from green flag to checkered.

Getting that experience led to a career-best 16th-place finish in last weekend’s 50th anniversary of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The learning doesn’t stop with that result.

The next aim, in addition to continuing to learn the inner workings of how to complete a race, is to charge forward instead of backward.

Foster has flashed decent qualifying speed for a rookie in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda. He started 16th in St. Petersburg, 10th at The Thermal Club and 20th in Long Beach.

Fighting forward, however, is easier said than done. Only 28 rookie drivers since 1947 have reached victory lane, including two since 2007 – Carlos Huertas (Houston 1, 2014) and Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis 500, 2016).

That’s a large adjustment for a driver used to winning.

Luckily, Foster has plenty of learning opportunities ahead. Beginning with last week’s race in Long Beach, he will be in the car 14 of the next 16 weeks.

“We’re about to get into the meat of the season, and it’s going to be hitting the ground running from that point,” he said. “I feel confident that we can get the most out of it and progress faster so that when we get into the meat of the season, it kind of is smooth sailing.”