A year after his deal nearly fell apart with FAZZT Race Team before finally being put back together at the last second for the 2010 Indy 500, Bruno Junqueira has signed with A.J. Foyt Racing for next Month's 'Most Important Race in History'.
Piloting the #84 ABC Supply entry, the 34-year old will team with fellow Brazilian and full-time Foyt driver Vitor Meira.
"Bruno certainly knows his way around Indy—every time he's run there, he's been fast," said Foyt. "Plus he and Vitor get along well—they're both from Brazil. I may have to start learning Portuguese. Not really, but I think it'll be great and it will make us a stronger team for Indy.
Due to sponsorship woes, Junqueira wasn't able to jump into his original ride at FAZZT as scheduled. So, earlier in the week, with rookie pilot Sebastian Saavedra and rookie team Bryan Herta Autosport struggling, Bruno got behind the wheel of the #29 BHA entry. Turning just14 laps on the Thursday before Pole Day, Junqueira ran 32nd of 37 drivers with a 222.274 average, besting Saavedra's time in the same session by .4mph.
Finally getting the go-ahead on Pole Day morning, the #33 FAZZT entry finally took to the track on Bump Day. Quickly getting up to speed, the veteran pilot qualified his entry with just 51 laps under his belt to a 25th place starting position. With an average speed of 225.662 mph, the attempt would have been good enough for the inside of row three, if performed on Pole Day.