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Texas Finale
By A.J. Foyt
 When
we get to the IRL IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall,
I think everyone is breathing a sigh of relief. Of course that
feeling lasts about a month and then we're all itching to get
started again.
There were times that I thought this racing season would never end
and I am sure that my grandson A.J. Foyt IV felt the same way. It
was a long tough season for Team Conseco. But we finished on a good
note: A.J. IV scored his first top-10 (tenth) result this past
weekend at Texas and he finished on the lead lap for the first time
in his career.
I said we finished on a good note but we also started on one too.
The track officials arranged for A.J. IV and me to meet Dana
Vollmer, the 16-year-old Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer who lives in
nearby Granbury, Texas. She gave each of us one of her swim caps
autographed along with two framed autographed photos. A.J. IV gave
her one of his driver's suits (autographed of course), and we gave
her a bunch of autographed hats for her family and friends.
 Her
dad Les is a big time Indy 500 fan so he was pretty excited about
meeting us and going to the race. I doubt Dana knew much about
racing before but I think she became fan after this weekend. She got
a ride in the two-seater Indy car several days before and then A.J.
IV gave her a personal tour of his race car. He introduced her to
his buddies who were very impressed by her. I think the Vollmers
really enjoyed the day and we had fun meeting them and learning a
little more of what went on at the Olympics.
People have been noticing the improvement in A.J. IV's performance.
He qualified in the top-10 in two out of the last three races. He
qualified 12th at Texas and started 11th because Dario Franchitti
crashed in practice and had to use his back-up car. He's doing
better because he has a better car to work with.
 Most
of the credit there goes to Toyota because they made some big gains
in their engine program and it is finally starting to show. The flip
side of that is that A.J. IV was a victim when the manufacturer was
struggling to find the horsepower it enjoys now. And the other
Toyota teams also suffered but like us, they stuck with the
manufacturer through the tough times and so they share the rewards
of the turnaround. I firmly believe that Toyota will be even more
competitive next year.
A.J. IV's car was not terrific at the start but it wasn't too bad.
We did see where the right rear tire had worn more than usual which
is rare for Firestone because their tires have been pretty
consistent. That affected the Conseco car's handling towards the end
of the first stint but we kept adjusting the car during the race and
it seemed to work better as the race went on. A.J. IV had dropped
back to 17th at one point early but he worked his way back into the
top 12 by halfway and was able to keep it there.
An accident occurred with 20 laps to go between Franchitti (who did
not have good weekend, two crashes in two days) and Alex Barron.
Franchitti spun in front of Barron and the two slid up and hit the
wall in turn four. Fortunately they hit the safer barrier (soft
wall) and so the accident wasn't as bad as it could have been. Still
Barron was knocked out briefly and then taken by ambulance to the
hospital. Franchitti limped away (he'd broken a bone in his foot the
day before).
A.J. IV, who prefers to drive the high line (I don't know why but
he's usually running high wide and handsome), was trying hard to
listen to me and keep the car in the middle of the track...at least in
turns three and four where he knew I could see him. It was a good
thing because he was able to miss that last accident which happened
right in front of him. He sailed by on the inside as they sailed
towards the wall. He went from 12th to his first top-10 finish.
A.J. IV's effort was also helped by his crew giving him good solid
pit stops. They didn't cost him any positions on the track, and a
couple times he even gained a position. All in all it was good race
for us and a long time coming.
The finish at Texas was not quite as thrilling as usual at that 1.5
mile superspeedway because there was a restart with two laps to go.
Leader Helio Castroneves jumped the restart (gunned it before he
reached the official restart cone) and left Tony Kanaan and Dan
Wheldon in his wake. They crossed the line just six inches apart.
Castroneves was fined $50,000 and docked 15 points (which didn't
affect his final standing) but he was allowed to keep his victory.
Fans hate leaving the track seeing one guy win and then learning the
next day that the guy who finished second was the winner because of
the officials' ruling.
So the long season is finally over. Congratulations to Tony Kanaan
on winning his first championship. He had an amazing season
finishing every lap in every race. No one has ever done that before.
That is a credit to his driving and to the preparation of his car.
Andretti-Green Racing turned in a great performance this year.
As for me, I'm going to take some time off and let my shoulder heal
after the rotator cuff surgery I had two weeks ago. There's a lot of
therapy ahead for me but I'm used to that after all the injuries
I've had in my career. I really did think that when I retired from
driving race cars I wouldn't have to see the inside of a hospital
anymore. Wrong, again.
I hope you have enjoyed the columns and getting the inside track on
how our season went. You certainly got to share the good and the
bad. I hope you all have a healthy off-season and enjoy the holidays
which are fast approaching. Next season will be here before we know
it.
Until then, be safe. |
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