Notes & Quotes: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

JAKE WILLIAMS, a native Hoosier from northwest Indiana who grew up in Chesterton, joined AJ Foyt Racing in 2024 as a mechanic. A graduate of Universal Technical Institute, he is in the Sub Assembly department and is in charge of building the uprights (where the suspension meets the wheel) for both cars. On pitstops, he fuels the No. 14 car. We asked him a few questions...

How did you become interested in motorsports?   

JW: "The video game called "Need for Speed: Underground 2."

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

JW: "The first race I ever went to was in 2011 at Shady Hill Speedway in Medaryville, Indiana."

Jake with his siblings (L to R): Abby, Zack, Jake and Josh.

When and where did you start your professional career in racing? When did you realize you could make a career out of it? 

JW: "I started in 2021 at Rahal but I didn't realize it was a career path until I started working at Foyt."

Have you ever raced cars yourself?

JW: "I've done a few autocross events and track days." 

What is your most significant achievement to date?

JW: "Being a part of this team."

Jake high-fives teammate Mike Messinger.

How did you come to work for AJ Foyt Racing? 

JW: "Collin (Hendershot) and Coop (crew chief Nick Cooper) both asked me to give Foyt a shot on the same day." 

Please describe your job on the team. 

JW: "I service the uprights for both cars and I fuel the 14 car during race weekends."

What is the most challenging part of your job?

JW: "Luckily our team has a very wide range of experience and knowledge so there isn't much that is challenging in my opinion."

Jake (center) working with Jeremy Villarde (L) and Ryan Marzec (R).

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

JW: "I enjoy getting to travel to a new area and getting to explore local restaurants or try things that we can't get in the Midwest."

What would you change, if you could?

JW: "In all honesty, I think things are going well as is, so I wouldn't change anything." 

What is your favorite track and why?  

JW: "Road America, it's a beautiful area all around the track." 

 Jake with his mother Amy who still lives in northwestern Indiana with Jake's siblings. She came to Road America last month and was there for the post-race celebrations when the 14 team snared third with Santino.

What interests do you have outside of racing?

JW: "I read a lot of books. I did just finish a re-read of The Divine Comedy but I gravitate towards more grimdark, science fiction, and fantasy genres."

The Divine Comedy? The one by Dante? 

JW: "Dante Alighieri, I try to read that once a year or at the very least read Dante's Inferno which is the first of three in that series." 

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?   

JW: "Winning the 500;

Traveling to the UK for sightseeing; 

Traveling to Japan to visit one of my friends who moved there."

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

JW: "I had a supervisor who once said, 'No one sleeps on your bed but you,' and for some reason, that has always stuck with me ."

SANTINO FERRUCCI enters the second half of the season in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet ninth in the NTT INDYCAR Series standings by virtue of his recent top-five finishes in the last four races. Santino hits the road this week traveling to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (and then Iowa Speedway) in his Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD towing his 41-foot fifth-wheel camper with his dogs Kleo the Great Dane and Kodak, the Golden Lab for company. He left Dallas at 2 a.m. to be in Indianapolis in time to catch the BC 39 midget show at the Speedway's temporary track inside Turn 3 tonight.

You are on a roll with top five runs in the like the last four races and you've moved to third in the Indycar.com Power Rankings. What are your thoughts on that, and what will it take to keep that hot streak going?

"Obviously, very, very proud to be, you know, p3 in the power rankings, and to be finishing the top five this much. And honestly, I think we've had really good cars, we've done a really good job with engineering and strategy and pit stops. Plus staying clean and having good races. I think if we continue that, we will be able to continue fighting for podiums and wins."

What do you like about Mid-Ohio?

"Overall , it's just a very fun track, a very technical track, and I'm very excited to be going back there with last year's success when we finished 10th and got the Biggest Mover award because we started 21st."

You have two top 10s in six starts at Mid-Ohio. What do you find challenging about that track?

"It's challenging because it's really hard to pass there. So qualifying is important. It's a rather technical track, but everybody's run it so much that everybody's also really good. So being perfect is going to be important."

Since you, you mentioned that passing is hard, how did you go from 17th to ninth?

"I passed a bunch of people, and we had a good pit strategy. That was what made that race, but we were one of the only people passing. I'd say the best places to pass are probably into the keyhole, which is, I believe, turn two, and then down the back straight into four, which has now been repaved. So, you don't really know how that's going to play out."

You have five races in four weeks. Is it tougher on the driver or the crew? And why?

"Probably tougher on the crew, because they've got to be at the track early and stay late working on the car versus the drivers. We get a little bit more downtime on the race weekends, and we get to go home between races. I'll be staying out between the races this year, so, I'll be on the same schedule as the crew, which I'm looking forward to. I think that'll be a lot of fun."

What are you doing right now (at time of interview on Tuesday)?

"I think I broke a valve on my Corvette, so I'm over doing valve covers and ignition coils. I'm over here working on cars before I leave. What else is new? Hey A.J. would be proud."

DAVID MALUKAS is also on a streak with his top-7 qualifying runs in the last four races in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet. While his second-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 is his top result to date this season, he came back from a lap 1 issue at Road America which relegated him to last to finish seventh in a strong recovery.

You are on a roll with strong qualifying runs and a great recovery at Road America. Do you think that marks a turning point for you and the team?

"I feel like we’ve had a turning point since the month of May. Having the entire month together with the team helped build our relationships with each other and the car. We’ve been having some good speed building with each race and we are excited to see what comes next."

You have finished ninth, sixth and 12th in three starts at Mid-Ohio. What do you like about the Mid-Ohio track?

"Mid-Ohio is one of my favorite tracks to drive around. If I were to pick a track to just do laps on, Mid-Ohio would be up there. I’ve managed to understand the track well and get a good rhythm of speed."

 What do you find challenging at that track?

"Mid-Ohio is all the about the flow from turns 4 to 9. One mistake throughout those corners, and you’ll be off line throughout the rest losing lots of time. It's a track where being consistent is very important."

 You have five races in four weeks. Is it tougher on the driver or the crew and why?

"Definitely tougher on the crew. We get to have a few days between each race to rest and recover while the crew needs to transport the car to and from and rebuild the car for the next race. Their jobs never stop and deserve lots of praise for what they do."

The No. 14 Chevrolet will carry the "In Honor of Marlyne Sexton" tribute livery this weekend at Mid-Ohio and the following weekend at Iowa Speedway for that track's doubleheader.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be broadcast live on FOX Sunday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. ET.

The Saturday morning practice and afternoon qualifying sessions will be carried on FS1 while Friday's afternoon practice will be shown on FS2.