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Season Preview
By A.J. Foyt
 The
IRL IndyCar Series is set to kick-off this weekend at Homestead-Miami
Speedway and my team will be there with my grandson A.J. Foyt IV driving
the No. 14 car.
The winter has been a busy one for us. We tested at Homestead, Phoenix
and most recently, on the road course at Texas World Speedway. A.J. IV
had never driven an Indy car on a road course our kit didn't arrive in
time for the IRL open test at Homestead in January. AT TWS, he found his
limits a couple times with some off-track excursions. Overall though, he
did pretty well and he's excited about racing on the road courses. He
thinks they're fun.
I'm not quite as excited because I think we should be an oval only
series but the priorities have changed as the series has grown. They are
looking to grow the fan-base to include the fans that enjoy road racing
which isn't a bad idea I guess. But I still believe that Indy cars were
designed for ovals and that they are at their best on ovals where fans
can get the close, wheel-to-wheel racing that the IRL has become known
for. But I am in the minority so I can either support the current
management or get out of the game. Since I'm not ready to leave just
yet, we'll go road racing.
 We
have signed a couple of associate sponsors for the 2005 season and our
search continues for a primary sponsor. There were some disappointments
over the winter but now there are a couple deals with potential.
However, we will be starting the season without a primary on board.
We've been in that position before and we always manage to land
something before Indy so I'm confident that we'll work something out
soon.
My team is anxious to get going and so is my 20-year-old grandson. He's
ready to get back to racing. He's grown a lot as a driver over the last
two seasons and we both find it easier to work with each other. I've
gotten on him pretty hard at times but he's learned to deal with it. We
both want to win so bad and the pressure can get pretty intense.
A.J. IV's been busy over the winter doing some promotional work for the
IndyCar Series with appearances in Detroit (Auto Show), Indy (NBA game)
and Las Vegas (Firestone dealers meeting). Last week he was in southern
California for an appearance at Toyota Racing Development (TRD)'s
headquarters. This past Saturday he and I were both in Houston's big
parade to open the Houston Rodeo. It was cold and wet. I was driving a
Deusenberg and A.J. IV had the rumble seat (and the umbrella). Others
Texans in the parade were Roger Clemens, Dan Pastorini, MaryLou Retton
and Bum Phillips.
Sunday morning, A.J. IV flew up to Dallas to take part in the IRL's
season-opening "Green Flag Tour." It's a 10-day road trip to major
markets (and some race markets) to promote the series using different
drivers in each market. Monday night, A.J. IV was at the rodeo for
another guest appearance. He had to borrow a pair of my cowboy boots! He
must have 50 pairs of shoes (that I know of), everything from Pumas to
Pradas and not a pair of boots to his name. He's a Texan but it's a
different generation these days. I like country western music (the only
kind there is) and he likes alternative and rap (whatever that is).
All that P.R. stuff aside, the big question is, how are our chances this
year?
Well pretty good if TRD makes some progress on finding more power. Some
of their recent developments didn't quite meet their expectations so
they are working even harder to finding the key to more power. For now
we'll be using the engines from last year which by the end of the year
were pretty competitive. The problem is that our competitors didn't sit
still and they did find more power over the winter.
This weekend will be a real test because Homestead-Miami Speedway is a
1.5-mile banked superspeedway -- the guy with the most horsepower wins.
It's flat out, pedal-to-the-metal racing. Now, at our next race in
Phoenix, the cars will need power but that track rewards the cars that
handle well too. Not the case in Miami--it's all about the power.
Despite all that, I am also a firm believer that you go into every race
thinking you can win. Sometimes it takes a lot of faith but even when
you don't have the best engine or the best package, you can still find a
way to win--sometimes by just avoiding the mistakes of others.
I'm looking forward to another season. This will be the 49th straight
season that I've been in Indy car racing. It's hard for me to believe
that I'm that old! My first race ever in the USAC Championship Car
Series (as it was called back then) was on a mile dirt track in
Springfield, Ill. in August, 1957. I started 16th out of 18 cars (they
only took the top 18 back then), finished 9th and made $607.
Times have changed a lot and so have I. But one thing hasn't--the desire
to win, which is one thing I share with my grandson. There is no
generation gap when it comes to winning and I want to be there when he
does. |
