Richmond
By A.J. Foyt
|
Photo Credit: Dan
Bell |
I didn't know if I was going to make it to the IndyCar race at
Richmond International Raceway in Virginia last weekend. I had had a
lot of trouble with my left knee the weekend before when I was
working on my ranch. So much trouble that I went to my doctor and
told him I was ready to have the operation he recommended five years
ago--knee replacement surgery.
I decided to go to the SunTrust Indy Challenge even though my
doctors weren't thrilled with me traveling since my surgery was set
for 6:30 am Monday morning. But I have a race team to run. Of course
after the race Saturday night, the team probably wished I stayed in
Houston.
We came in on Thursday because there was an Open Test at the track
that afternoon. We had a so-so session but we came up with some
things to try the next day. Unfortunately, the next day we had a
mechanical problem with the engine after just eight laps around the
3/4 mile banked oval. At 16 seconds a lap that meant a little over
two minutes of practice time.
The problem required changing the engine and there wasn't enough
time before the next practice to do that so we lost the whole day.
 Qualifying
was rained out which meant the grid was set according to practice
times (from the practice we didn't really get). The final warm-up
was also rained out that evening and postponed to Saturday
afternoon. Not good for anyone because we knew the track conditions
were going to change from afternoon to evening.
Long story short... We didn't run worth a damn. Well the opening laps
went okay. Felipe even passed a few cars but then the car began to
lose the handling and it became loose on entry into the turn. A lot
of drivers complained about their cars being loose. Some guys can
deal with it better than others.
We pitted on the first yellow on lap 53 and gave up a chance to get
our lap back (we got passed by a flying Sam Hornish on lap 42-he
lapped up to sixth place on his way to winning). I figured if we
could get the car better, it was early enough that it'd make a
difference.
We made the ABC Supply Dallara better but it was still too loose for
Felipe so he drove a conservative race. He was a little too
conservative for me but that was probably because I wasn't feeling
great anyway. I didn't understand how he could close on cars and
then not pass them. I got a little frustrated and told him to pit to
change the car again on lap 132. It was under green and we lost
several laps especially since the yellow came out for debris 12 laps
later. In the end we lost two positions but I don't think it makes
much difference whether you finish 15th or 17th. The best thing
about the weekend was that we didn't crash which several other cars
did.
 I
almost forgot to mention that the new Silver Crown car that my good
friend Jim Greer bought from C & R Racing’s Chris Paulsen and Bruce
Ashmore ran really strong with Josh Wise driving Saturday afternoon.
The black No. 14 Greer Special was the quickest car there for the
100-lapper. He started on the pole and easily led the first 19 laps
until a mechanical problem with the throttle linkage forced him to
pit. He lost several laps as the crew made the repair but Josh
managed to climb back to finish fifth. Bud Kaeding won.
I flew home Sunday morning. On Monday, I arrived at the hospital
with my wife Lucy around 5 a.m. and was under the knife by 6:30. The
doctors were pleased with my surgery but said it was more
complicated than expected because of my old injuries from that bad
crash at Road America Elkhart Lake, WI in 1990. My knee had twisted
around during the healing and, according to my Houston surgeon, it
was pretty messed up when he got in there. For as much pain as it's
been giving me, I was kind of glad to hear that.
I can tell you one thing, they don't waste any time getting you
walking; I was up that afternoon! They'll have me walking (with the
help of a walker) quite a bit before they release me later this
week. I know I won't be at Kansas Speedway this weekend because the
doctors don't want me flying just yet-something about risking blood
clots. Nashville is also looking doubtful.
I'm confident my team manager Craig Baranouski can handle it just
fine. He's been with me 20 years now so he knows how I like things
to be run. My son Larry is also going to be there to assist in race
strategy or whatever Craig needs him to do. Felipe ran pretty good
at Texas earlier this month so we'll have a good set-up for the ABC
Supply Dallara/Honda.
Maybe they can bring home another top-five or even a victory! The
last time we won was at Kansas in 2002 with another Brazilian,
Airton Dare, driving for me. Could history repeat itself? It would
sure make my recovery a lot easier.
The race is on ABC-TV starting at 1 pm eastern time. Tune in to see
what happens this Sunday. You can bet I will. |
