OFFICIAL: Takuma Sato joins A.J. Foyt Racing

Back in his racing days, four-time Indianapolis 500 champion and current IZOD IndyCar Series team owner A.J. Foyt was always a hard charger.

One can argue that his newest driver is the same way. The aggressive Takuma Sato, who raced with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last season, has officially joined the A.J. Foyt Racing team for this year's championship.

Sato will drive the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Honda after collecting two podiums (Sao Paulo and Edmonton) for RLL in 2012. However, the former Formula One pilot also found lots of trouble in the campaign and suffered eight DNFs in 15 races.

“While I do not know A.J. well yet, it is unbelievable what he did in his career," said Sato in a team release. "A.J. has achieved so many wins in every type of car, at every type of circuit, and in every type of situation.  That experience can only help in trying to win races this year.  I think with A.J. and the team helping me this year, we can be very successful.”

As for ol' Supertex, he and his son, team director Larry Foyt, felt that Sato's considerable background and fearlessness would help boost the squad in 2013.

"There were a lot of question marks when the season ended but I’m happy to put an end to all that now," A.J. said in the same release. "We chose to go with Takuma Sato because he brings a lot of experience to our team but he has the hunger of a rookie–and he’s certainly proven he has the desire to win."

Sato will replace Mike Conway, who ended 2012 by stepping out of the No. 14 before last fall's season finale at Fontana, California, citing that he no longer felt comfortable with oval racing.