Conway and AJ Foyt Racing head to the Streets of Baltimore

Mike Conway on the Baltimore street course: “Baltimore is a good track but it’s probably the most physically demanding one on the circuit because it’s really bumpy and there are so many corners, plus it’s fairly long for a street circuit. [At 2.04 miles, Baltimore is the third longest of the seven temporary circuits -- only Sao Paulo (2.5 mi) and Detroit (2.07 mi) are longer.] Last year there were exposed railroad ties and makeshift curbs that were put in on the race weekend but I expect it will be better this year because they’ve made a few changes to the circuit. I enjoy the challenge of a new circuit, getting to learn it as quick as possible and finding out the tricks of the place -- like where you can make up time.

"Street courses in general are always fun because the cities are pretty cool. The Baltimore circuit has a stretch where you can actually smell the food from the food stores and restaurants just before the right hander that leads onto that long main straightaway. Makes me hungry when I go through there—not really. It’s funny that you notice those things while driving a race car at speed.”

Conway on coming back from a frustrating weekend: “Sonoma was definitely frustrating because we really wanted to do well there and going into the weekend, we thought we had a good shot at it but it just wasn’t to be. We just have to work harder, iron out all the little issues we had and come back quicker. Mentally, you put it behind you and get on with the next one.”

Grid Penalty: AJ Foyt Racing had to change their Honda engine after the Sonoma race because the engine was well over the 1850-mile mark (the minimum for an allowed engine change). However, because it will be the sixth engine installed which exceeds the five engine limit allowed for the season, the car will incur a 10-spot grid penalty at Baltimore this weekend. It will be the second grid penalty of the year for the team with the first one occurring at Texas Motor Speedway (Conway qualified eighth, started 18th and finished 16th due to aero issues on the car).

Source: AJ Foyt Racing