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Nazareth
By A.J. Foyt
 The
Indy Racing League is 100 races old which if you compare it to NASCAR Nextel
Cup, would be about three seasons. Actually it's been about eight years and I've
been there since the beginning. I've seen a lot of growth and a lot of changes,
not all for the good. But that is part of the growth. Overall, I think Tony
George has done a helluva job. He's weathered a lot of storms, but he's always
been steadfast in his decision to continue. I'm one of the few that has been to
all of the races (actually I missed one--Phoenix, 2000) and I hope we can
continue in 2005. We have to find a primary sponsor because Conseco won't be
back but we're working hard to do just that.
We came to Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway knowing that we had our work cut out for us
because we didn't test there. A.J. IV qualified 17th for the Firestone Indy 225,
which was better than some who had tested there. In final practice, he didn't
like the way his car handled so I made some changes for the race.
He had a problem getting with it at the start of the race, which is something he
has to work on (and he knows it). I think he is so cautious (sometimes) that
others get the jump on him. He loses positions that are hard to regain,
especially on a track like Nazareth where it's so hard to pass.
Another problem with losing positions at the start on a small track is that it
doesn't take long for the leaders to catch you. We had an additional problem
because the car was ‘loose' on that first stint and A.J. IV went a lap down on
lap 24. As it turned out, the tires' stagger grew too much in that first run
which made the car very loose. We didn't know exactly what happened until the
first pit stop but I had an idea, and I made an air pressure adjustment in the
next set of tires.
The car handled better but he got stuck behind some slower cars (because it is
so hard to pass), and he went another lap down at the halfway point of the 225
lapper. He stayed with leader Sam Hornish and pulled away from second-place Tony
Kanaan. A.J. IV was looking good until Hornish became stuck in traffic; A.J. IV
got stuck right behind him. Then Kanaan and the rest of the field closed in. A.J.
IV didn't move over, however, Kanaan slid underneath as they exited the corner
and he powered past on the straightaway (A.J. IV's Toyota was no match for
Kanaan's Honda). A.J. IV had to watch as third through ninth followed Kanaan and
filed past A.J. IV on the inside.
Finally, he moved back into his groove. After his second pit stop, he lost fifth
gear and ran faster without it, picking up half a second. I wished he'd lost it
earlier in the race. Looking back, I should have run a lower top gear--he may
have been able to avoid shifting altogether.
He finished 15th which isn't spectacular but he drove a good race. Team Conseco
had clean pit stops which is an accomplishment in the IRL lately. In the last
four races, six teams have had problems in the pits. I'm sure Brian Barnhart,
IRL VP of Operations, will be addressing it again at the next event.
Michael Andretti's team won the race, swept the podium in fact with Dan Wheldon,
Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti taking the top three honors. It's ironic
because Michael won the first race there in 1987 (when it was the CART PPG Indy
Car World Series) as a driver and now he's won the last as an owner (and in his
hometown). I'm sure he found it a bittersweet victory.
We have this weekend off and I'm looking forward to it. The last time I had a
weekend off was in the middle of July. I'm going to my ranch in West Texas to do
some work there, and A.J. IV is heading to Florida to watch Florida State
compete against the University of Miami. Jack Arute, ABC sports analyst for the
IRL IndyCar Series, is a sidelines reporter for ABC's telecasts of college
football. He knows how much A.J. IV likes football so Jack invited him to
Florida for ABC's opening broadcast of the NCAA football season. A.J. IV is
really looking forward to it.
Our season is winding down with just three races to go. Our next race is the
Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. It will be broadcast
live by ABC on Sunday, Sept. 12th at 1:30 pm Eastern time. Tune in! |
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