It has been 25 years since AJ Foyt celebrated an Indianapolis 500 victory. Although it wasn’t one of his four as a driver, the win with Kenny Brack meant just as much for him to be able to enjoy that moment with his team.

Seeing AJ trackside has become a rare occurrence, as the 89-year-old legend is not traveling as much. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will always be his home, and after decades of mediocrity, there is hope on the horizon.

Last year it was Santino Ferrucci that put Foyt back in the limelight at Indy. The daring driver wheeled the famous No. 14 around the 2.5-mile oval with serious speed. After qualifying 4th, Ferrucci led 11 laps and finished 3rd in the race. Santino has always performed well at IMS, finishing inside the top ten in all five of his starts.

The new alliance between Foyt and Team Penske should only help what was a magical run last year.

Another detail that should not be overlooked is Foyt’s decision to focus on their two full-time entries. For years the team has always felt the need to run a third car, which ultimately stretched the already thin team even more. Sting Ray Robb will pilot the No. 41 entry from the 23rd starting position, but the team’s real hopes ride on the shoulders of Ferrucci.

Ferrucci is determined to have even greater success this time around. He will start Sunday’s race from the outside of Row 2 after another brilliant qualifying performance. The only cars ahead of him were the three Team Penske cars, and the two Arrow McLaren cars of Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson.

Since reunification in 2008, every championship has been won by Penske or Ganassi. The lone exception came in 2013 when Ryan Hunter-Reay won it with Andretti. While Penske and Ganassi have had their fair share of success at Indianapolis, the race is wide open. Foyt may not be a title contender, but they should be considered one of the favorites to win the 500 this weekend.

In terms of popular wins, this would certainly be one of them. Despite cheating death time and time again, the fact is AJ will not be around forever. No one – not even his competitors – would be opposed to seeing him in victory lane one more time.