Notes & Quotes: Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250

EVAN JEWSON joined AJ Foyt Racing this year as a systems engineer on the No. 14 Chevrolet driven by Santino Ferrucci. Born and raised in the Chicago suburb Lake in the Hills, Evan graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in mechanical engineering. We asked him a few questions...

How did you become interested in motorsports? 

EJ: "Freshman year of college I stumbled upon the 2018 Formula 1 race highlights on YouTube and pretty much just watched them all in one sitting. It ended up being just before the start of the 2019 F1 season and I decided that I'd start watching that and have been hooked on Motorsport ever since."

 Evan with his dad Scott at the Canadian GP.

Where/when was the first race you attended? 

EJ: "I remember going to Chicagoland Speedway in the late 2000s for the IndyCar race but don't quite remember the exact year. Aside from that, going to the Canadian GP in 2022 would've been the first race I can vividly remember going to as a fan."

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

EJ: "I started my professional career in racing at Sonoma Raceway in March of 2021 (SRO GT4). Don't think I fully realized I could make a career out of it until I moved up to Indianapolis after I graduated."

Evan at his first race weekend in professional motorsports: Sonoma 2021 (GT4).

Have you ever raced cars yourself?

EJ: "Only thing I've raced is rental go-karts and my simulator I bought this summer!"

Please list the series you've worked in (year/series/ team/job):

EJ:           "2021 Capstone Motorsports (SRO/IMSA GT4) Engineering Intern

                  2022 Corsa Horizon w/ MC2 (IMSA GT4) Engineering Intern

                  2023 Exclusive Autosport (USF Pro Championships) Junior Engineer

                  2024 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (IndyCar Series) Systems Engineer

                  2025 AJ Foyt Racing (IndyCar Series) Systems Engineer"

What is your most significant achievement to date?  

EJ: "My most significant achievement to date is probably graduating college."

Evan graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in mechanical engineering.

 How did you come to work for AJ Foyt Racing? 

EJ: "Met Collin Hendershot last year in the paddock and just kept in contact with him. The discussions about this team and where it was heading was very exciting and something I wanted to be a part of!"

Please describe your job on the team. 

EJ: "As the Systems Engineer on the 14 car, my job is to ensure that all data systems on the car work, and log accurate data that the rest of the engineering team can use to improve the car throughout the weekend! While on track I also perform fuel calculations for practice and am backup fuel strategy to C.J. [Nielsen] on race day!"

What is the most challenging part of your job?

EJ: "Most challenging part of the job is definitely staying on top of things when we're not having the best weekend. My job isn't bad if I've done a good job preparing for the weekend, but If we've crashed or something goes wrong on the electronics side, it can get pretty hectic with limited time between sessions."

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

EJ: "I love how competitive the series is! There are so many teams that can win any given weekend, and I don't think there are many series out there that can say that."

What would you change, if you could?

EJ: "If I could change anything it would definitely be the schedule. July is a little nuts."

What is your favorite track and why?

EJ: "My favorite track is Barber Motorsports Park! It's just such a pretty track and it's close to where I went to school so I get to see familiar faces when we go. Driving it on my sim has given me even more appreciation for the track! It's awesome to drive!"

What interests/hobbies do you have outside of racing?  

EJ: "Love to golf even though I'm not great. I like going to concerts and seeing live music. Trying new beers or going to breweries with friends in the summer is a must!"

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list? 

EJ: "Top 3 things on my bucket list are:

Win the 500

Participate in the 24 hours of Le Mans

Visit a few countries in Europe and just enjoy all the different foods there!"

Evan with his family (mother Kristin, father Scott and brother Brock) at the Grand Canyon this year.

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

EJ: "Best advice I've received from my parents is: 'Just control what you can control!'"

DAVID MALUKAS is driving the No. 4 Chevrolet in Clarience Technologies livery for the final two races of the season. In his first start at the Milwaukee Mile, Malukas qualified outside pole. He enters the weekend 10th in the NTT INDYCAR Series standings. At the Mile last year, he finished 15th in the first race and ended early in the second with mechanical woes and was credited with 22nd. 

You qualified in the top 10 for both races last year, including outside pole. What is the key to qualifying well at the Milwaukee Mile?

"Honestly, the key to qualifying well at the Milwaukee Mile is just, just trying to go as deep and as late as possible. I mean, the practice sessions are short. You're quickly going into qualifying. And from what I remember last year, it was, it was simply just trying to turn it up. It's such short track times, such short amount of data to look at that you kind of just need to go out there and just go deep, let the car slide. The Milwaukee Mile is very special in the fact that it doesn't really have banking compared to other ovals. So the car likes to slide a lot more. So you need to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and need to trust, trust the setup, trust the car, trust that the engineers have done a good job, and let that car slide. And that's how you'll be fast."

What is more important at the Milwaukee Mile, managing tires or managing fuel?

"I would say, for Milwaukee, it's honestly managing tires. The car is sliding around all the time, so you actually start getting quite a bit of rear tire deg compared to what I'd say is on other ovals. So I from what I remember last year that race, it was, it was very tough to keep the tires alive, to keep the pace up and to keep moving forward in that race. So I would say managing tires would be, would be key."

Question from a seven-year-old, 'What are you most afraid of?'

"What am I most afraid of? Interesting question. Well, if you want it to be deep, I'm afraid of failure. If you want to just say, everyday life, I am very afraid of spiders. Those guys suck. I don't like spiders. So yeah, there we go."

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.

SANTINO FERRUCCI will carry the Phoenix Investors livery on his No. 14 Chevrolet for the final two races of the season. Last year at the Mile with his car in the same livery, Ferrucci started 19th in the first race and finished fourth after a stirring drive tot he front. In the second race, he repeated the performance by finishing fourth after starting 12th.

What is the key to racing well at Milwaukee, because you do race well at that track?

"I think one of the big things about racing around Milwaukee would have been just understanding what we need to do for setups. And you know, I think that my experience actually in stock bars and dirt racing kind of really helped me understanding how to pass and set the car up."

About your passing, you pass in places that other people don't.

"Last year, the car was good enough that I could just pass wherever. Didn't matter if people were on top or on the bottom, I could get around them."

What is the most challenging aspect of the Milwaukee Mile for a driver?

"I definitely believe the most challenging bit is the end of stints when the tires go away drastically and you lose a lot of lap time. Just being able to hang on to a loose race car is difficult to do."

Question from a seven-year-old: 'What are you most afraid of? '

"Spiders. I just don't do spiders!"

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.

Texas Roadhouse will provide delicious lunches to the team this weekend at the Milwaukee Mile delivering on their mission statement of “Legendary Food, Legendary Service.” The national restaurant chain will have Andy Armadillo on hand to greet race fans in the paddock. The armadillo mascot has been creating smiles since the establishment of the first Texas Roadhouse restaurant in February of 1993.

"Miller Lite Man" Doug Gilman, who tossed the can of Miller Lite beer to Santino Ferrucci after the race at Road America in June, will be on hand as a guest of the team this weekend. Ferrucci will help deliver a special surprise to Gilman on Race Day!

The Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 will be broadcast by FOX Sunday, Aug. 24, starting at 2 p.m. ET. Qualifying will be on FS1 Saturday starting at 2 p.m. ET. Practices on Saturday (11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET) are on FS2.