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Kentucky
By A.J. Foyt
 Victories
come in two sizes, big and small. Sam Hornish and his Panther Racing team had a
big victory with their domination of the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky
Speedway this weekend. Big because with the new generation Chevy engine, they
won the pole and the race, and set records along the way.
At Team Conseco, we had some small victories.
We struggled here this weekend and really weren't sure why. We brought the
Conseco G-Force car which my rookie driver (and grandson) A.J. IV seems to adapt
to pretty quickly. The track was bumpy in places but there were a couple
grooves.
I told A.J. IV he needed to tighten his racing line because the shortest way
around the track was the quickest. The challenge for me was to get the Conseco
car set up so that A.J. IV could run that low line.
Another challenge was selecting the right gear ratios. We learned that drivers
were shifting twice on a lap. Another oval where they're shifting? What is the
world coming to?
In qualifying, A.J. IV didn't shift but I don't think we had the best
combination of set-up and gear ratios for that, so his 19th place qualifying run
was a little disappointing. I got on him pretty hard about it but more out of
frustration.
We made changes to the car for the race and they looked like the right changes
because he was able to run competitively after some small adjustments on the
first pit stop. We had to put some front wing in to correct the pushing (losing
the front end) he was having.
Good news, bad news on that first stop. Good news was Team Conseco did it in 9.5
seconds. Bad news was that A.J. IV stalled leaving the pits. He lost critical
time getting the car pushed back and getting the engine re-fired.
With Hornish being so strong and very few cautions (the race average speed was
over 197 mph a new IRL record), A.J. IV couldn't get his lap back and lost a
couple more to Hornish by the end. Hornish lapped up to third place--actually
second place but Bryan Herta was able to get his lap back through a late race
pitstop strategy.
When A.J. IV did get re-started, he came out in the pack of cars that was
running third through eighth and he was able to hold his own. So that was one
small victory.
Another small victory were Team Conseco's pit stops, all of them were in the
9-second range. That is a big improvement because of they had both speed and
consistency.
Another small victory was the way A.J. IV handled the car when it wasn't
handling to his liking, like on cold tires. The tires used at Kentucky had less
rubber but a harder compound because Firestone wanted a construction that gets
rid of the heat quickly so the tires wouldn't blister.
I should have had the tires scrubbed in during practice because the new tires
were real wormy for the first couple laps. It hurt us in qualifying and in the
race but to his credit, A.J. IV dealt with it and kept the car under control. So
that was small victory for him and us. He is getting much better at finding the
car's limits and his own.
We're going into this weekend's race at a disadvantage because we didn't get a
chance to test there at Nazareth Speedway. The one-mile track is tough because
it has blind spots, elevation changes, three different corners, and just one
good groove because it's so narrow.
Another problem is the different USAC Series which will be running with us that
weekend, especially the Silver Crown Series. They use Hoosier tires and that
compound doesn't work with the Firestones so the track is definitely going to be
greasy after their sessions.
I don't like going into a race feeling that we are behind the 8-ball but we will
have our work cut out for us. My young rookie is going to have apply everything
he's learned so far and have a little bit of luck too because this track gets
the best of even the veterans.
Surviving the Firestone Indy 225 would be a big victory for us and quite a few
of our competitors. But that's how success comes, one small victory at a time. I
believe that A.J. IV and Team Conseco are showing they have the resilience to
overcome challenges and win, one small victory at a time. |
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