Notes & Quotes: Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

MIKE MESSINGER joined AJ Foyt Racing this year for his first season in the NTT INDYCAR Series. A veteran mechanic who has worked most recently in the IMSA and World Endurance championship, Messinger works on the No. 4 Chevrolet piloted by David Malukas. We asked him a few questions...

Where were you born and where did you grow up? 

MM: "I was born and grew up in Salisbury, Maryland."

How did you become interested in motorsports?   

MM: "A friend asked me to come to a race to help him with his race car (dirt track)."

Where/when was the first race you attended? (photos) 

MM: "Delaware International Speedway – dirt track - in 2007."

 When and where did you start your professional career in racing?

MM: "That same year--2007--at Delaware International Speedway. I was a mechanic with a team that competed in the Crate Racin' USA Dirt Late Model Series."

When did you realize you could make a career out of it? 

MM: "My career in racing progressed over time. For many years I was working full-time as a Ferrari Factory Trained Master Technician in a Ferrari dealership while also racing with professional race teams part time. It just progressed into racing as my full time career, which I love."

Have you ever raced cars yourself?

MM: "No, but I have goals to race motorcycles and am building a kart with my kid to eventually race."

Please list major series you've worked in.

MM: "A long time ago, I worked as a mechanic in the World of Outlaws, the Lucas Oil Super Late Models and Big Block Modifieds. More recently I worked in IMSA (2017-2021), then World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2022, back to IMSA (car chief in the GTP division in 2023-24) and now in the INDYCAR Series this year."

Messinger (second from right) poses with driver Connor DePhillippi at Mosport in IMSA's GTP division.

What is your most significant achievement to date?  

MM: "Personally: My family – my wife and kids. Professionally: Racing at Le Mans in 2022. We finished 10th in class."

Mike with his wife Lydia holding Amelia along with son Maddox and oldest child Matilda.

How did you come to work for AJ Foyt Racing?   

MM: "I had a goal of working in the INDYCAR Series."

What do you enjoy most about working in the INDYCAR Series? 

MM: "Seeing all of the different tracks, the challenges we overcome as a team… and garage hours."

Messinger handles the airjack at the rear of the car on the pitstops.

What is your favorite track and why?  

MM: "Racing at Le Mans has to be my favorite. The energy there is amazing. Highly recommend if you have never been. "

What interests/hobbies do you have outside of racing?  

MM: "Disc golf and spending time with my kids."

Messinger playing disc golf in Indianapolis.

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?   

MM: "Go to Tokyo, work in Formula 1, race motorcycles."

What is the best advice you've ever received (and from whom)?

MM: "My wife always reminds me to keep chasing my dreams."

SANTINO FERRUCCI comes to Barber Motorsports Park with some momentum after earning the "Josten's Biggest Mover Award" for his performance in the Long Beach Grand Prix where he started last (27th) and finished 11th. Last year at Barber, he started 17th, led laps twice and finished seventh.

"Barber's got a lot of really unique features including the elevation changes, the big braking zones which go into high-speed corners and on the back side turns 12 and 13 it's all high speed and no brakes so you're just trying to trust the car because you have to be on the limit. It's got a lot of passing zones and that makes it a lot of fun. Normally, this race happens to be a split strategy race, so that shake things up. So it's always a lot of fun to be racing there. (Favorite artwork on the course?) I like the big spider in the center. It's cool and it's the only thing you really see when you're driving except for Georgina when she falls. She's back--I saw her at testing. Testing was okay, we weren't as quick as we'd like to have been. I think we learned a lot but we've made a lot of progression since then."

Ferrucci Fast Facts: Age 26...Born in Woodbury, CT...Lives in Dallas, Texas...Married Renay Moore in January, 2024...Began racing karts at age 5, moved to cars in 2013...Competed

in Formula 2000, British Formula 3, GP3 finishing third at Spa Francorchamps as

a rookie, was development driver for Haas F1 team for three years (2016-2018),

moved to Formula 2 in 2018...made his INDYCAR debut in Detroit in 2018...moved

to NTT INDYCAR Series fulltime in 2019 finishing 13th in standings for Dale

Coyne and won Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing

seventh...13th in standings again with fourth place finish in the 500...drove

part-time in 2021-22 but maintained top-10 streak in Indy 500 with finishes of

sixth (RLL Racing) and 10th (Dreyer Reinbold Racing)...Scored career-best

finish to date with his 3rd place finish in the 2023 Indianapolis 500 to

continue his string of consecutive top-10 finishes in the 500...Competed

part-time in NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021-22. Earned 2025 NTT P1 Award at

Portland, Ore....posted 11 Top-10 finishes for career-best to finish 9th in the

NTT INDYCAR Series driver standings, his highest ranking to date. The Foyt team

finished in the top-10 in the points standings for the first time since 2002.

DAVID MALUKAS last raced at Barber in 2023 for Dale Coyne with HMD Motorsports where he started 17th and finished 19th on the lead lap. He tested there in March and the engineering staff was happy with the progression made. Since then the team also tested on the road course at IMS.

"Can't wait to head back to Barber after the short break! It's been a while since I've raced there after missing out in 2024. However, we've been able to test there and I've spent a lot of time practicing on the sim. Excited to see the progress we've made with the car on track!"

Malukas Fast Facts: Age 23...Born in Chicago...Lives in Indianapolis...Single...First generation

Lithuanian American...Father gave him his first go kart launching his

multi-time championship karting career including the 2015 IAME International

Final World Championship (Junior division) in LeMans, France...Scored poles and

victories in the USF2000 and Pro Mazda series before becoming Vice-Champion in

the 2021 INDY NXT by Firestone series...Joined Dale Coyne Racing with HMD to

advance to the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series scoring a 2nd place finish at World Wide

Technology Raceway (WWTR)...Came back with Coyne in 2023 and scored another

podium at WWTR finishing 3rd...In 2024, a wrist injury in a dirt-biking

accident in the off-season led to a partial 10-race season with Meyer-Shank Racing

where he posted two Top-10s and qualified in the Firestone Fast 6 five times.

The Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will be broadcast live on FOX Sunday afternoon starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Following are the practice and qualifying sessions television broadcast times:  Practice 1, 3:30 p.m. ET, Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Warmup, 10 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). The IndyCar Radio Network will air live the race and all NTT INDYCAR Series practices and qualifying sessions on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.