Notes & Quotes: Java House Grand Prix of Monterey

MARK EASLEY joined AJ Foyt Racing this season as the driver of the No. 14 transporter. It was in Guadalajara, Mexico that his interest in racing was cultivated. He spent seven years of his childhood in Mexico where his mother was born but it was his father's interest in hot rods that spurred the interest in racing. We asked him a few questions...

Where did you grow up? 

ME: "Grew up in Chino, California with a seven year stay in Guadalajara, Mexico. Went to Don Lugo High school, and Chaffey College (race car design and engine performance). Mom was born and raised in Guadalajara Mexico. Dad was born in Ohio but relocated in southern California.  Both my sister and brother live in southern California; I have three grown kids and seven grandkids. My daughter still lives in Mexico, one son lives in Boise ID, and the middle son lives in Anderson, Ind."

Mark poses with his wife Lisa and their granddaughters.

 How did you become interested in motorsports? 

ME: "I think I was first drawn to racing back in the late '60s in Mexico. Saw several magazines. There is a community of ex-pats near Lake Chapala, Mexico. Dad used to go there to buy books in English, and I would look for anything racing-related. Dad built hot rods in the late '40s so he would explain why race cars looked the way they do. When he was looking at hot rod stuff I was more interested in CAN-AM, I loved the look of the Chaparrals, Porsches, Shadows. Of course, F1 and Indy cars. Loved that drivers would do all three series in the same season."  

Mark's friend Rick Smith drove the midgets that Mark worked on.

Where/when was the first race you attended? 

ME: "The first race I attended was a midget race in ASCOT in Gardena, California. I watched drivers like Wally Pankratz, Sleepy Tripp, Bobby Olivero. Took in more races there, sprint cars with Dean Thompson, Bubby Jones, and Tony Simon.

"Went to Indy car races at the late, great Ontario Motor Speedway, and Riverside Raceway.

In the 1980's, my life-long friends decided to go racing, and they bought a midget and we went off the deep end! Raced all over California, Ascot, El Cajon, Santa Maria, Madera, and San Bernardino. We shifted gears and raced Formula Ford."

When did you know you could make a career in motorsports?

ME: "I didn't think one could make a living working on a race team, so I joined the Air Force. While stationed at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth, Texas, I came across Johnny Rutherford at a flower shop. He actually approached me and thanked me for my service (I was in uniform). That was unheard of back then. But we struck up a nice conversation where he told me that indeed one can make a career in motorsports. It changed my thought process for sure, but it had to wait.

"I spent 13 years working at McDonnell Douglas working on MD80s, the last DC10, and moved to experimental mechanic. Built the first three prototype MD90's before moving to the C-17 line until Boeing took over and cut the commercial side. Unemployed, my racing friends had moved on to other racing venues, one being with Patrick Racing. I got my CDL and joined them for a 'few' races and I've been in CART/INDYCAR ever since!"

What is your most significant achievement to date?  

ME: "I've had a few wins at this level. The most memorable? Maybe the win in Detroit with Justin Wilson in 2008. He won in a very used car that was being used as a show car. All the wins (5) have been with Justin Wilson with two different teams RuSPORT and Newman-Haas, one win was with Adrian Fernandez driving for Patrick Racing."

How did you come to work for AJ Foyt Racing?  

ME: "While I worked at INDYCAR, I met Craig Brooks, he was working in the INDY NXT Series at the time. He of course went on to AJ Foyt Racing. Over time we chatted about me joining the team several times but this last off season we made it official. And so far, it's been a blast!!"

Please describe your job on the team. 

ME: "My job title is "Truck driver." And yes, I do drive the truck to-and-from events. Also, we handle all the pit equipment, the set-up of the pits, and garage/paddock areas. Basically, my job is to make the mechanics' jobs as easy and efficient as possible in the garage and pits. During pit stops, I run the stop sign and try to hit the buckeye with water after fueling is completed. After that, I assist where I can."

Easley holds out the "lollipop" to signal Santino where to stop to hit his marks in the pit box during practice and the race.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

ME: "The most challenging thing so far has been the schedule!! Lots of cross-country and back-to-back races make it challenging."

What is your favorite track and why?

ME: "My favorite track... it used to be Ontario Motor speedway, until I discovered IMS! By far Indianapolis Motor Speedway has it all!"

What interests/hobbies do you have outside of racing?  

ME: "Outside of racing, I love spending time with my Family whether it's camping or just spending time with my grandkids!" 

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list? 

ME: "Bucket list?? Probably like everyone else... WIN THE 500!!!!"

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

ME: "Probably my dad: Have fun with job and hobbies, but Family comes first!"

SANTINO FERRUCCI is recovering from an accident in practice last weekend at Toronto which resulted in the No. 14 Chevrolet not starting the race. Ferrucci injured his right hand when his car got loose and hit a couple of the concrete barriers on the street course. Ferrucci dropped to 12th in the NTT INDYCAR Series standings. At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, his best start is 12th (2019) and his best finish is 9th (2024).

How is how is your hand?

"It's okay, not great. I'm just trying not to use it, really. Nothing I can do. It's still swollen. I'm sure it'll be fine for the race weekend; I don't anticipate it being an issue. I have almost 100% grip strength. It's just certain angles and rotations and picking things up that I can't do, which is, luckily nothing I have to do in the car."

What do you like about WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the racetrack?

"I think the corkscrew is really cool. The layout is awesome. It's an old school classic track. It's got a really nice flow to it as well, and yeah, the corkscrew is definitely the best part of that track. It's pretty crazy, because it's completely blind in a Formula car because of where you sit, you sit so low that you can't look over anything. So, we depend on the corner workers a lot for that corner."

What's the most challenging aspect of that track?

"Probably say the high speed left leading up to the corkscrew. It's just so fast, it just requires a lot of commitment, and then you're going into a blind corner. Quite an interesting track. It's got a lot of blind, high-speed corners."

What are you looking forward to doing outside of the track?

"I've got a sushi place that I love to visit. It's in Carmel. Sushi Heaven - it's really good. Yeah, it's one of my favorites. Actually, I'm excited to be taking a vacation with my wife Renay after the race. We're going to see Napa and visit wineries. And you know, I've never been -- I've only raced in Sonoma. Actually, looking forward to going to Jimmy Vasser's winery."

Are you going to any fancy restaurants out there?

"No, me and Renee are not fancy restaurant people. We like off the beaten path, more of the local venues, not the touristy ones."

FERRUCCI FAST FACTS: Age 27...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 at Indy with his 3rd place finish in the 2023 Indianapolis 500; with his fifth place finish at Indy this year, he continued his string of consecutive top-10 finishes in the 500 which now stands at seven...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. Ferrucci scored his career best finish of second in the 2025 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

DAVID MALUKAS posted his fourth top-10 finish of the season last weekend when he finished ninth at Toronto. He moved to 10th in the NTT INDYCAR Series standings. At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, his best start is sixth (2022) and his best finish is 13th (also 2022).

What do you like about the track?

"Laguna Seca is a very special track. I've never really been to a track like it. I think specifically about the Corkscrew--just a very unique corner. And of course, you're in the Monterey area, it's just very nice weather all the time. So there's certain perks that come with Laguna Seca."

What is the most challenging aspect of the track?

"Again, what makes it very unique is also the most challenging that being the Corkscrew and that whole run down the hill all the way to the alt start/finish line. Again, it's very unique. It's something that's very special to the track. So it's not something that you get a lot of practice towards. So it's something that I really practice on the sim quite a bit. And of course, practice once we get there.

Will you do anything fun outside of the track activity?

"Probably will be going into the Monterey area exploring it. I normally always go to a certain bay area where there's a lot of good food, a lot of good clam chowder places. So I will be taking my girlfriend over there, favorite restaurant out there. I don't know what the specific name is.  There's all these different restaurants and they all make their own versions of clam chowder and just good seafood so anything in that area is very good. There's also a bunch of seals over there which are fun to watch."

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. Finished 2nd in 2025 Indy 500 after starting seventh. Qualified second in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix for best start to date in 2025.

FOX will broadcast the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey Sunday, July 27th starting at 3 p.m. ET.