INDIANAPOLIS — Success has proven elusive for A.J. Foyt Racing in recent years. The team bearing the name of one of the world's most iconic racers hasn't won a race since the start of 2013. Its last podium came at Detroit four years ago.

Since then, Foyt's cars have recorded as many top-five finishes in 138 races as Alexander Rossi has since the end of May: four.

Despite their persistent struggles, however, there have usually been some glimmers of hope, reasons to believe the team might be a mini-breakthrough away from putting the great A.J. Foyt back where he belongs: In Victory Lane.

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This season though, those glimmers have been shrouded by mechanical troubles, crashes and a sheer lack of speed. This season, Larry Foyt admitted, has been the toughest in recent memory.

Heading into next weekend's race at Road America, A.J. Foyt Racing's cars are a modest Zach Veach drive away from ranking dead last and next to last in the championship.

IndyCar sophomore Matheus Leist already occupies the lowest spot in the points standings among the 19 drivers who have competed in each of the nine NTT IndyCar Series races this season. Tony Kanaan meanwhile, sits in 17th, just six points ahead of Veach.

It's no wonder A.J. Foyt was irate heading into last weekend's race in his home state of Texas, telling the NBC Sports Gold broadcast: "I can't stand what we're doing and I think my son Larry feels the same way... We're just not going to tolerate it no longer."

If that's how he felt before the race, imagine how furious he must have been after watching his team yank Leist off track after just 73 laps because of handling issues. That DNF was the third in a row for the young Brazilian driver and his fourth of the season. Add in Kanaan's from Dual 2 at Detroit and the 2019 resumes of Foyt's cars show three more DNFs than they do top-10 finishes.

Needless to say, a reckoning is coming for A.J. Foyt Racing, a team that seems perpetually on the verge of hitting the reset button.

Larry Foyt wishes that weren't the case. His team poured more time, energy and resources into their offseason program than ever before, yet the results are worse than ever.

"Even though we have development plans we’re trying to get to a place, if it’s not working, you have to make changes," Foyt told IndyStar. "(A.J.) knows that. I know that. Everyone knows that.

"Everyone’s frustrated. No doubt. From the engineers to the drivers to the owners. We feel bad for (primary sponsor) ABC Supply and for all our associate sponsors. We really are putting everything into this. ... Right now, I think things are a bit up in the air. But I'm already thinking about, ‘OK, how do we make sure this doesn’t happen next year."

Foyt and Kanaan trace the team's struggles back to the offseason, where despite the "deepest damper dive we've ever done," the team took a big step in the wrong direction in that regard.

"Now we're suffering big time," Kanaan said.

As one of the only primary components on the current car that is not spec, IndyCar teams invest heavily in evolving damper technology. Teams that do it the best tend to enjoy the most success. Well-resourced teams, such as Penske, build their own dampers while smaller teams, such as Foyt, purchase them.

Larry Foyt assures that the team buys "the best we can get our hands on. But for whatever reason, our group is just not getting the job done on finding the speed in the car."

Halfway through the season, Foyt is so far behind other teams, most of which took big steps forward during the winter, that 2019 might have to be chalked up as a lost season. With few test days remaining and a short supply of practices heading into race weekend, there is little time to make any significant changes in development. While Larry Foyt promises the team isn't quitting on the season, he acknowledged some of its focus will be diverted toward examining changes that can be made to avoid another disaster in 2020.

Foyt denies the outside speculation that having the team split between two garages, one in Texas and one in Indianapolis, is a factor in the team's struggles. While it presents some logistical headaches, it's not the root of their issues.

The real trouble, Kanaan said, is that while some teams boast an engineering staff of a half-dozen or more, his team has only two.

Foyt acknowledged that his team is out-manned.

"We know we need to beef up our engineering staff a little bit," Foyt said. "That’s a big plan for this winter. It’s amazing some of the teams and the amount of engineering power they have. I don’t think we're miles away. I think it’s a couple of people to help out our current group. Just beef up that engineering staff a little bit."

To do that, Foyt must first ensure ABC Supply returns to the team. Without their primary sponsor committed to the future, there will be little the team can do to turn things around.

Fortunately, Foyt believes the team's partners of 15 years will remain loyal to their program despite the recent rough patches.

"We’re very close (partners)," Foyt said. "After 15 years, you get very close. ... All I can say is we’re trying to get the cars figured out so we can give them something to cheer for, because that’s why they do this. We’ve got to work on getting that done for them. That’s all I can say. We want to produce for them."

Foyt hinted that a key ingredient toward enticing ABC to stick around is bringing back Kanaan for at least one more season. The 23-year Indy car veteran remains not only one of the most popular drivers among fans but with ABC employees as well, Foyt said.

Furthermore, when Kanaan signed with Foyt ahead of the 2017 campaign, he did so after making a promise to A.J. Foyt that he'd help reinvigorate the downtrodden team. As both would admit that hasn't happened yet, and Kanaan has no intention of walking away at the team's lowest point.

"I think we all feel like there’s unfinished business there," Larry Foyt said. "And that goes for him, too. I want him to go out on top. He definitely doesn’t want, toward the end of his career, to just be riding around. He wants to win races. We still feel like we have a chance to win the Indy 500 and other races as well. We’re in this together, so I think he’ll definitely be with us next year."

There does not appear to be the same level of certainty regarding Leist's future. When asked if the 20-year-old would be coming back for his third season with the team, Foyt would say only that his status was still being determined and that neither driver has officially been confirmed for 2020.

Leist boasts the team's top finish of the season with a fourth-place run at the IndyCar Grand Prix, which he followed up with a solid 15th-place run at the Indianapolis 500. However, in recent weeks, a frustrated Leist has sparred with his engineer, Daniele Cucchiaroni. Foyt said he had no issue with the driver expressing his anger.

"As a young guy, you know you only get so much time to show your stuff and show what you can do," Foyt said. "I know he’s a bit down, but everyone’s behind him. ... Him and his engineers, they have to do the best they can to figure out: How do we make this car better? That’s a tough task for young driver, but he’s got to do that for himself as well.

If there wasn’t that (frustration between a driver and his engineer), I’d be worried that people don’t care. I don’t think it’s anything awful. Everyone’s giving 100 percent, and we’re not getting it done. It does get frustrating. It does. ... All I know is we can’t be sitting here next year having this same conversation, talking about, 'Where did it go wrong?' Changes for sure have to make made, because this has to be better."

Follow IndyStar Motorsports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @jimayello.