A.J. Foyt Racing announced that it has hired Jeff Simmons to drive the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda-powered Dallara as a teammate to Darren Manning for the 92nd Indianapolis 500. Simmons will see his first track time May 14 and attempt to qualify for the 33-car field May 17.
“A.J. is taking it on himself to put me in this car so I just want to do the best job I can for his team,” said Simmons, who will be seeking to qualify for his fourth 500-Mile Race.
Simmons, 31, drove for Foyt in the Indy Pro Series in May 2004, finishing second in the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A few hours later, he was behind the wheel of the No. 21 Mo Nunn Racing car (Tora Takagi’s backup) for his initial practice laps. He qualified 29th the next day – Bump Day – and finished 16th in his first 500-Mile Race.
“It’s great to be back with A.J.’s team,” said Simmons, who started 13th and finished 11th last year in the ‘500’ in the No. 17 Team Ethanol car for Rahal Letterman Racing. “I’m looking forward to working with A.J. and Darren and the whole Foyt team. Darren can help me get up to speed quickly and hopefully I can contribute something to the team as we get ready for qualifying next weekend.”
Simmons has been competing this season with Team Moore Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights, producing two top-10 finishes in three starts. He is scheduled to compete in the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 23 in the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car.
“I’m glad to be working with Jeff again,” Foyt said. “I like the way he drives and the way he hustles the car pretty hard which is what I look for in young drivers.”
In 25 IndyCar Series starts, Simmons has recorded 11 top-10 finishes. His best finish is sixth, which came last year at Texas Motor Speedway where he led twice. He was replaced in the No. 17 car by Ryan Hunter-Reay.
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