This
Indy 500 had all the makings of one of the most memorable in
recent memory but the race turned into one that I would just
as soon forget. Then again, it could have been a lot worse
so I guess I have to remember that as well.
The day started out well
-- seeing old friends I hadn’t seen in years. At the
pre-race festivities I saw General Chuck Yeager whom I had
met in 1986 when he drove the pace car at Indy for the first
time. We both talked about getting older…heck it’s been
probably 10 years since I’d seen him. He hasn’t changed
much.
I
also saw my good friend Kenny Brack who wrote that song
about me. His band played it on Carb Day and the track
played the Legend of the Speedway music video on race day. I
think a lot of people got a kick out of it; I know I did.
Speaking of music, Sammy Hagar, whose company Cabo Wabo
Tequila is a sponsor on my 14 car, called to wish me good
luck on race day. I appreciated that and hope to see him
when we race in California later this year.
I also want to thank my
drivers Darren and Al Jr. and my grandson Anthony for the
very special gifts they presented me after the race. Each
gave me an autographed helmet to commemorate my 50th.
Each helmet had special paint schemes—Al’s was so special
that he decided not to wear it in the race as it was a
little too ‘busy’ for his taste. It had bricks, the golden
wings and wheels of IMS, the years I won, plus the red,
white and blue of my 1964 car. There was a lot going on—it
looked like a trophy in itself.
Darren
put my ‘Coyote red’ where his British green was and Anthony,
well he already has my Coyote red in his helmet design, but
he had his 500 helmet painted with my 50th
anniversary logo on it. Darren and Anthony wore their
helmets…Darren said he wanted to get it all buggered up
(another one of those funny expressions he comes out with).
They each put a personal message on them. It meant an awful
lot to me, more than I can ever put into words.
Those helmets will be
placed right next to my Borg Warner trophies.
The pre-race ceremonies
included having me ride around the Speedway in the 1977 pace
car—I insisted that Tony George ride with me as his
grandfather Tony Hulman had for his last trip around the
Speedway (he passed away that October). Don Bailey, who
drove the car back when I won in ’77, was on hand to drive
it again.
I was prepared for a good
race. The sun was shining, our team had prepared all month
and things had gone pretty smoothly so things were looking
pretty good.
The race started and
Darren Manning in the No. 14 ABC Supply car gained a couple
spots right at the start but about five laps later the car
developed a ‘push’ and he slid back to 15th where
he started.
Al Unser Jr., who was
driving the No. 50 ABC Supply car, seemed to be holding his
own back in 25th.
There was a caution for
debris on lap 11 and both of our cars came in on lap 13 when
the pits opened. That’s when our troubles started. Darren
was about to leave his pit when Al Jr. came in and as Darren
accelerated out, he clipped the left foot of Al’s right rear
tire changer, Dan Brown.
Dan suffered a broken foot
but we didn’t radio Darren because we wanted him to focus on
the race. Dan will have to have surgery on his left heel
next week when the swelling dies down. I know he’s going to
go through a tough time but it could have been worse and I’m
thankful it wasn’t.
Darren spent the first
half of the race biding his time. Al Jr. had some problems
on the pit stops because we had to substitute another tire
changer and the fueler seemed to have trouble plugging in.
Eventually the stops became smoother but Al had lost some
ground (he went a lap down on lap 34). We also had him pit a
lap later just to insure Darren had clean exits during the
remainder of the race.
Darren had been biding his
time and then just before halfway, he radioed in that his
car had become very loose. I pitted him early in his pit
window because he was losing a lot of ground fast.
He had just completed the
stop when the yellow came out from John Andretti’s
wall-banger (he wasn’t hurt). So Darren went from ninth when
he entered to 20th when he exited. A couple
others had pitted so Darren was 17th when the
rain came a few laps later. As hard as it rained, I didn’t
think they’d get it restarted.
Two and a half hours later
they did.
The first three laps were
run under yellow so we decided to pit to get on a different
fuel strategy from most of the field. It would have worked
if we didn’t run out of fuel on the next stint! The computer
said we could go one more lap and then Darren radioed in
“I’m out of fuel in turn two, get the starter ready.’
I radioed back ‘Kick it
into neutral’ which he probably did before I said anything.
He coasted around but by the time he got in, got it
restarted, he’d lost a minute and forty seconds—two laps.
That was the end of our race.
I still hate computers.
Now the strategy became,
just stay out of trouble and finish the race which he did.
And he did a helluva job when Marco Andretti hit Dan Wheldon,
spun and started flipping down the backstretch. Lucky for
Marco no one hit him and he got out of it uninjured. If you
saw the video, you’d realize just how lucky he was.
They just got Marco’s
accident cleaned up, gave the field the green and then it
started raining in turn three. This second big rain came
down in a hurry! The cars had to slow down fast and then
complete about four laps under yellow. Darren said he was
aquaplaning at 40 mph. I told him to do his best to bring it
home.
Unfortunately for Al, Jr.
survival became his strategy early on and he was able to do
that as well. I’m not sure why it didn’t work out better for
him but we’ll look things over and figure it out. He thanked
me for giving him the ride but I told him if we did it
again, I’d give him a better car.
Dario Franchitti, who like
us, was on a different fuel strategy was leading so he
became the second driver from Scotland to win the Indy 500.
Jimmy Clark did it back in 1965.
I was very happy for Dario
and especially for his team manager John Anderson, a low
profile Aussie who calls the race strategy for that team.
John worked for me years ago back in the early 90s.
For our part, Darren
finished 20th and Al finished 26th.
Looking back over the race, it could have been a lot better
but it was really the first race in a while that I felt like
we really had a good shot. It’s the first race since 2000
that all of my cars finished the race. We finished a lot
better back then (3rd, 4th and 15th)
but I’m glad we finished this race. It’s a step in the right
direction.
It’s clear we have some
more work to do but I bet a lot of the teams feel that way
after this 500. It wasn’t pretty for many of the teams. Of
course that’s the time to capitalize and we didn’t.
I’m really looking forward
to going to Milwaukee this weekend – just like the old times
being the first race after Indy.
It’s special too because they named the race
in my honor – the AJ Foyt 225 -- and my sponsor ABC Supply
sponsors the race. It adds some pressure but it’s a
different kind of pressure from Indy. I hope you’ll tune in
to watch on ABC-TV starting at 4 pm eastern time.
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM By A.J. Foyt
INDIANAPOLIS-- The Indy 500 is less than a day
away and after a hectic morning with sponsors (former
and current) and looking over the final prep on the cars
before the race, our garage is finally empty and quiet.
It is the feeling of the calm before the storm.
After being closed for several days this past week, the
track started revving up yesterday. The final practice
before the Indy 500 happens on Carb Day, short for
carburetion day when we would do an engine check for the
new race motors that we installed in the cars. Of
course, the Indy cars haven’t run carburetors on their
engines in a long time—ever since electronic fuel
injection was used. But the name stuck anyway.
Last year they moved Carb Day from Thursday to Friday
and it has really made a difference in the attendance.
There seemed to be people everywhere yesterday.
We had a one hour practice with all of the cars and I
was happy with our ABC Supply cars. We didn’t run a
bunch of laps but enough to see how the car handled in
traffic with the added downforce we put on for the race.
Both of my drivers Darren Manning and Al Unser Jr. were
happy with the way their cars felt. The track was hot
and slick but the cars didn’t slide around too much. Of
course it has rained since yesterday so the track will
be green on race day which means a lot of the rubber and
oil has been washed off. It will take a few laps for the
cars to lay down some rubber but as the race wears on,
the track should get better and better.
I like our chances for this race—I feel like we have a
really good shot. I think our drivers are feeling pretty
confident too. No one wants to say too much but I think
it’s going to be a good day for our ABC Supply Racing
team.
As long as it doesn’t rain; right now the weather
predictions don’t sound too good but you really can’t
trust the weatherman. And there’s nothing you can do
about it so there’s no sense worrying about it.
Today at the track it was raining during the public
drivers’ meeting but when it came time for the parade
through downtown, the sun came out. I was happy because
I was in the parade—I rode in the 1977 Indy 500 pace car
along with Tony George, the president of the Speedway. I
thought there were a lot of people at the track on
Friday but I couldn’t believe how many people were at
the parade today.
A lot of people showed their appreciation and it made me
feel pretty good.
There have been a lot of nice tributes to my 50 years at
Indy throughout the month and I appreciate every one of
them. As ornery as I can be, it surprises me that people
still care. I think that’s one of the reasons that keeps
me coming back. The fans have been very loyal over the
years. Heck, now I’m meeting their grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. Talk about making you feel old.
As old as I get though, I still get charged up for race
day. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the
world. You can feel the energy of 400,000 people as the
race gets ready to start. There is color everywhere and
the small city of Indianapolis Motor Speedway really
comes to life as it has for the last 50 years. There
have been a lot of changes in that time but when it gets
right down to it, it’s still about 33 drivers risking it
all for 200 laps in the hope of winning the Indy 500.
That will never change.
INDY - BACK AGAIN FOR NO. 50 By A.J. Foyt
INDIANAPOLIS--I pulled into the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway on Opening Day this year and it was hard
to believe I’ve been doing this for fifty straight
races. Yes, this will be my 50th straight Indy 500 race.
The first 35 were as a driver and the last 15, including
this one, were as an owner.
That first day they rolled out my winning cars from the
Hall of Fame Museum along with the No. 14 that Kenny
Brack drove to victory in ’99, and as I walked around
the cars, I admit, I felt a tingle or two. I can
remember each of those wins as if they were yesterday…I
remember the near wins as if they were yesterday too.
The cars were driven by my longtime friend George Snider
(1961), my current drivers Al Unser Jr (1964) and Darren
Manning (1999) and my son Larry (1967) and grandson
Anthony (1977). Anthony’s tall—about 6’2”—and he asked
me how to get in that car. I told him he had to slide
straight down because unlike today’s cars, the steering
wheel doesn’t pop off. He struggled a little bit but he
got those long legs in there. Larry said driving the ‘67
car was like watching the racing film ‘Grand Prix’ where
they did the in-car special effects. He thought it was
very cool.
I followed in the ‘77 pace car with Tony George sitting
by my side much like his grandfather Tony Hulman did 30
years ago when I won it for the fourth time. I’m not too
proud to admit that it gave me goose bumps. We made two
laps, then we stopped at the yard of bricks where I
talked to my old friend Tom Carnegie, the announcer
whose voice is really magic here at the Speedway. We
talked about old times and it was an experience that I
will cherish.
The day ended with an interview on the stage in Plaza
followed by an autograph session. So many fans brought
so many things for me to sign. I signed for everyone who
waited in line. I did hear they cut off the line about 2
½ hours early so no one went away disappointed. My
drivers also stuck around to sign autographs so I think
there was something for young and old fans alike that
day.
Qualifying on Pole Day was frustrating for us because we
put a touch more downforce on the No. 14 car than we
needed to; we barely lost out being a first day
qualifier with Darren Manning by 13 hundredths of a mile
an hour over a four lap average. Darren put the ABC
Supply car in the show the next day. He’ll start
15th—outside of row five. He’s pretty happy about his
race car based on the race trim practices we did last
weekend but we’ll know more after Carb Day.
Al Unser Jr. joined my team for the first time this year
and I’m thrilled to have him driving for me. He’s
driving the No. 50 ABC Supply car which we did because
it’s my 50th straight Indy, my 50th anniversary in Indy
car racing and Al is my 50th different driver in the
Indy cars. He’s been a lot of fun to work with and I’ve
really enjoyed this month, and I think Al has too.
He qualified on the second weekend so he’s starting
25th, on the inside of row nine. I’m confident he’ll
have a good race because, like Darren, he’s a helluva
racer. It will be Li’l Al’s 19th Indy 500—I remember
when he was a rookie in ‘83. Amazing how the time flies.
Well I have to take off now to see my good friend Kenny
Brack and his band BRACK play at the Blu Lounge here in
Indy tonight. He’s kicking off his new album BRACK which
has among other songs, “Legend of the Speedway,” which
he wrote about me! It’s a pretty funny song and he pokes
a little fun but that’s the kind of friendship we have.
He keeps trying to convert me to his rock music but as I
tell him, I like country-western—that’s the only music
there is.
