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By
A.J. Foyt
 This
year in auto racing is one that I never envisioned when I was driving
race cars for a living. Back then, I tried to shield my family from
racing because it was a dangerous and tough way to make a living. My
strategy worked for a while but once I retired, the kids really
started putting on the pressure to get involved.
And now they are
involved, in a really big way. It's good because it brought us closer
together but I have to admit, it was a lot easier on me when I was
driving.
My son Larry is
competing at the top level in stock car racing and my grandson A.J.
Foyt IV is competing at the top level in Indy car racing. It is both
exciting and a little nerve-wracking (okay a lot) to have your kids
competing at this level. Although this column is focused on the Indy
Racing League, I'll talk about Larry too. I'm awful proud of both
these kids.
 Larry
made his first NASCAR Winston Cup race last weekend at Rockingham (and
would have made it at Daytona if we didn't let him run out of gas in
the 125 qualifier) and he did a good job in the No. 14 Harrahs Dodge.
The car was off at the beginning (most of practice was rained out) but
they worked on it throughout the race and he was running pretty good
from the middle stages of the race on. He finished the race and he
learned a lot which I expect him to do all this year.
This weekend he'll
be competing at Las Vegas which is where our sponsor Harrah's is
headquartered, so he has a busy week before he ever gets to the track.
I am going to be in
Florida with my grandson who is making his Indy car debut in the
Conseco No. 14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He has tested there a
couple times so he knows what the track is like which helps. He is
going to have a lot to learn and not much time to get it down.
How much?
Well, he will be
driving a brand new car because I ordered a Dallara which I think he
will adapt to more quickly than the G-force he's been running. We
worked late over the weekend and all through Tuesday night to get it
on the Conseco transporter Wednesday morning. I finally sent A.J. IV
home at 5 a.m. and I'm going home for a couple hours after I finish
writing this column.
But getting back to
A.J. IV, he has to learn the car, the other drivers and running side
by side in an Indy car. And for those of you who have tuned in to see
an IRL Indy car race, you know that it is the closest wheel-to-wheel
action out there.
He has to learn
about pitstops--he has practiced them but nothing can really prepare
you for them. However, he does know what the tire changers feel like
since he was the right front tire man for Airton Dare last year. At
least he has respect for his men.
Most important
though, he has to learn to pace himself. The longest races he has
driven are the 100-milers that he ran in the Infiniti Pro Series last
year. This race will be three times as long and it is critical that a
driver maintains his concentration and focus. There is no margin for
error in this league. And he didn't make many errors last year which
was a big factor in his winning the Infiniti Pro Series championship.
A.J. IV won't be the
only one who's busy this weekend. I am also working with Shigeaki
Hattori who is driving my No. 5 Epson-sponsored, Toyota-powered
G-force car. This program came together very late so we only had one
test together. Shiggy's English is a lot better than my Japanese so we
have been communicating pretty good so far. I am sure we will both
have a much better understanding of each other after this weekend
though.
Hopefully he can
teach me some Japanese before we go to Japan in April. I know I'll
feel a lot better being over there with someone who knows what
everyone is saying and what all those signs mean. That will be a big
race for Epson and Toyota and we plan to do well there.
his weekend I will
also be working with Ed Carpenter who is driving my No. 14 Futaba
Dallara in the Infiniti Pro Series. Ed tested for me at Phoenix and at
Homestead this month and both tests went well. Ed is a good
communicator and a good listener so I think we will win some races
this year. He finished third in the series last year so he has a good
feel for the cars and the drivers. Ed comes from a background similar
to mine. He has won in midgets and sprint cars and drove Silver Crown
cars for my good friend George Snider. He's only 22 but he's got a lot
of experience.
Once I get everyone
sorted out in practice on Friday, A.J. IV and I will head to the
RadioShack store in Florida City to sign autographs that night from
6:30 to 7:30 pm. It's part of the RadioShack Xtreme Fan Contest which
is seeking racing's most extreme fan. The winner (and three guests)
get to go to the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day!
That's 1100 miles of racing where they'll see A.J. IV run at Indy and
then fly by private jet to Charlotte where they'll see Larry Foyt race
at Lowe's Motor Speedway that evening.
RadioShack picked
us as their spokesmen because we are an Xtreme Racing Family. In fact
Larry will be signing autographs this Saturday night at the Boulevard
Mall in Vegas from 6:30-7:30 pm.
Well it's time for
this Xtreme Team Owner to get back to work...I can always sleep on the
plane ride to Miam. |
