Watkins Glen
By A.J. Foyt

Whenever we race at Watkins Glen, water always seems to be a factor. I didn’t make it to the first race here in 2005 because Hurricane Rita was bearing down on Houston. Last year, I did come and it rained so hard at the track that it felt like we were in a hurricane in Watkins Glen. This year the rains in central Texas created flooding conditions at my lake house in Austin…there was about eight feet of water in the first level when I left Houston last Thursday.

I didn’t come straight to the Glen though. I went to Daytona (where it was raining!) for a media event for all of the living winners of the Daytona 500. I enjoyed catching up with my fellow old timers like Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Marvin Panch and Richard Petty, some of whom I hadn’t seen in years.

The organizers sat me down next to Mario Andretti and we did a lot of interviews. We don’t agree on a lot of things, especially when it comes to the IRL and the IndyCar Series. But we managed to keep the reporters laughing. I think the IndyCar Series is growing stronger every year and people are starting to appreciate the Indy cars like they used to years ago.

When I got ready to leave, I checked the weather in Austin and found out that the lake level was going down so I didn’t have to go back and empty out the second level of my house after all. When I got to Watkins Glen the weather was clear which was unusual.

I think the fact that it stayed clear all weekend made a difference in the race because the track really got a lot of rubber into it which gave it a lot of grip. Because it is such a high speed course with fast corners, you need to run downforce but it makes it particularly hard on the drivers. I think a lot of drivers were surprised at how difficult the race was for them, especially since the past two races had been run in the rain (or at least some portion of them had).

We came to the track with a set-up that we had developed from our Mid-Ohio test that didn’t really work like we wanted it to here. Straight out of the box, Darren didn’t like it so we went back to the garage and made some major changes.

He ended up 12th in the first practice and 11th in the second. He qualified ninth the ABC Supply car and was eighth in the final practice. I liked the fact that he got quicker with each session.

In the race he moved into eighth at the start and ran there through the first fuel stop on lap 16. A yellow on lap 19 came out for leader Helio Castroneves who lost control and spun coming off the final turn before the homestretch. Several cars behind us pitted for fuel but we chose to follow the leaders who didn’t. Then my grandson spun a couple of laps later causing another yellow and everyone pitted. But now we were behind those who had pitted first.

Vitor Meira brought out another yellow on lap 33 when he ran out of fuel on the course while leading. Darren had been behind Sam Hornish (who finished second) most of the race until the last pitstop. The stop went smoothly enough (unlike the one we had under caution which cost an extra half second and Darren a couple spots -- he regained them on the restart), but in that final stint, Darren dropped off the pace. Several cars passed him and he finished ninth.

I thought something happened to the car at first but when he said he couldn’t steer it, I realized he was tired which he admitted after the race. I think if he hadn’t gotten tired, we may not have finished third behind Sam but a top five was definitely possible.

One reason the track affected him more than the others was that he injured a rib—he’s not sure how but he thought he did it in his sleep (before he ever got on the track). I don’t know about that but I do know that it was significant enough that he opted for his oval track seat instead of his road course seat. The road course seat wraps around the driver and holds him in. That seat helps lessen the strain of the g-forces from the fast right and left turns but its pressure points were too painful for him. He was pretty low-key about the whole thing but in retrospect I think it was a lot more painful than he was letting on at the time.

Darren got tired in St. Pete too but that was because he hadn’t raced an Indy car on a road course for about 18 months. He pushed it too hard and crashed. While we were disappointed about losing spots here, he didn’t push it to the point of crashing. I’m glad he used his head and I appreciated his honesty afterwards. I really respected him for that.

I realize we have a problem and like all of the problems we’ve had this year, we are making changes. My son Larry said he was going to be in charge of Darren’s workout routine but it sounds pretty strict as it is already. We’re also making some changes on the No. 14 car so it’s not as physically demanding on Darren.

Anyway, our ABC Supply team is constantly learning and it is making us stronger for when we come back to these tracks next year.

Our next race is this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. I’m going to take some time and visit with my newest great grandchild--Isabella Lucy Poe—born to Anthony’s sister Tonia and her husband Monte Poe. I actually met Isabella last month when she and her mother made the trip to Houston. She smiles a lot which makes me think she knows something I don’t.

Our visit will be a short one because the Indy cars will only be in Nashville for two days. The race takes place Saturday night. It will be televised on ESPN at 7:30 pm eastern time. I hope you tune in.