Michael Cannon, AJ Foyt Racing’s revered engineer and technical director, is leaving the team after two successful IndyCar seasons.
Cannon is a highly respected engineer that has been a presence in the IndyCar paddock for nearly 40 years.
He has worked with many different teams in that time, and has led some of the series’ best drivers to championship success.
The team confirmed Cannon’s departure on Tuesday, with Team President Larry Foyt providing some details to RACER.
“We’re certainly going to miss Mike [Cannon] and it was really awesome working with him,” Foyt said. “I tried to get him for many years, so I’m really sorry that it’s not going to continue.
“As far as the [Technical Director], we’re not in a huge hurry to fill that role. I think with everything that’s working with Penske that we’re fine, and we’ve got enough engineers in the building to do everything we’re hoping to do.”
Cannon oversaw multiple changes within the Foyt organization, including helping create a technical partnership with Team Penske.
The alliance allowed the smaller organization to pull in expertise from the well-funded Team Penske in multiple different areas, and in return a superior knowledge of the current shock and damper package was transferred back.
AJ Foyt Racing has used the alliance along with Cannon’s leadership to help gain better results than it has for many years.
Santino Ferrucci helped that cause further when he joined the team in 2023, the same year Cannon came on board.
Ferrucci gelled well with the organization and earned a podium finish in his first Indy 500 with Foyt, then completed a consistent season this year that saw him earn 11 podiums and a statement pole award.
With Foyt having the best season it has had in over 20 years, the loss of one of the major architects of that success will be felt immediately.
The news of Cannon’s departure was unexpected, and the veteran engineer has not yet made public his future plans.
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