Foyt was born on May 25, 1984, in Louisville, Kentucky, but lists his hometown as Hockley, Texas, the long-time residence of his grandfather and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt, who guided him through much of his career. He spent much of his early years working with horses at Churchill Downs before his family relocated to Texas when he was six years old. He graduated from Waller High School in June 2002.
Foyt began his career racing Junior Dragsters as a nine-year-old, winning two championships. He progressed to racing karts, competing on paved and dirt tracks for six years. In 2001, he won six of nine SCCA events to claim the Southwest Regional championship and was named the series’ Rookie of the Year. He also finished second in the Briggs Heavy feature event at the World Karting Association’s Dirt World Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida.
In 2002, Foyt signed with A. J. Foyt Enterprises to drive in the newly formed Infiniti Pro Series, winning the championship with four wins and four pole positions in seven events. After passing his rookie test at Texas Motor Speedway on October 31, 2002, he obtained an Indy Racing League (IRL) racing license and progressed to Foyt Enterprises’ IRL IndyCar Series team for the 2003 season. He became the youngest driver to start in the Indianapolis 500 that year, on his nineteenth birthday. He took the record from Josele Garza who was slightly over two months older for his first start in 1981.
Foyt continued in the IndyCar Series, finishing 21st in the 2003 standings, 18th in 2004, and 20th in 2005. In the 2005 Indianapolis 500, he was involved in an accident with Bruno Junqueira, who sustained a fractured back. The team switched from Toyota to Chevrolet power mid-season, and Foyt was replaced for the late-season road course events by Jeff Bucknum.
In October 2005, Foyt announced he would leave Foyt Enterprises to drive in the NASCAR Busch Series for Akins Motorsports and was signed as a developmental driver for Evernham Motorsports. He competed in the final four rounds of the 2005 Busch Series, finishing outside the top twenty in all of them. After the season, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and was scheduled to run the entire 2006 Busch Series schedule. However, Akins was purchased by Braun Racing, which switched from Dodge to Chevrolet. Due to a contract with Dodge, Foyt was unable to continue with the team and was released after seven races. He later attempted to qualify for a race with FitzBradshaw Racing, but was unsuccessful.
On September 5, 2006, Foyt drove for Andretti Green Racing at Chicagoland Speedway, finishing 14th. In 2007, he signed with Vision Racing to return to the IRL and also compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona. During the Firestone Indy 400, he was involved in a seven-car accident where Dario Franchitti’s car went airborne and landed on Foyt’s vehicle, though Foyt was uninjured. He achieved a career-best 3rd-place finish at the Meijer Indy 300, the first Top-5 finish of his career, tying Tomas Scheckter's third-place finish at the Milwaukee Mile in 2006 as the best finish in Vision Racing's team history.
Foyt returned to Vision Racing for the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2008 IndyCar Series. He finished fifth at the Iowa Corn Indy 250, his best result of the season, and ended the year 19th in the points standings.
In 2009, Vision Racing lacked sponsorship for a second car, leaving Foyt without a ride. He returned to Foyt-Greer Racing for the 2009 Indianapolis 500, finishing 16th. He briefly drove for the team at Texas Motor Speedway after Vítor Meira was injured, but Ryan Hunter-Reay drove the car for the remainder of the season. In 2010, Foyt was entered in a second Foyt Enterprises car for the Indy 500, but left the team following a disagreement with his grandfather regarding the car’s setup.
Since 2010, Foyt has worked as a scouting assistant for the Indianapolis Colts. He also co-founded the Foyt Wine Collective with his cousin Larry Foyt in 2015, with locations in Speedway, Indiana, Fredericksburg, Texas and Sonoma County, California.
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