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Season Preview
By A.J. Foyt
 The
2006 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series is about to open its 11th
season this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway on the 1.5-mile oval
track southwest of Miami.
It's a new season and there have been some big changes at the ABC
Supply Racing Indy car team. We have a new driver--Felipe Giaffone--a
new engine-Honda-and a new look for the Number 14.
For those of you that followed the racing news in the off season,
you already know that everyone in the IndyCar Series will have Honda
power this year. I'm happy about that because I believe with
everyone having the same engine basically, the teams will have a
balance in power and more control over their destiny. In the past
couple of years, if you didn't have a Honda, you weren't as
competitive as those teams that did. Honda definitely had the best
package for the 3.0 liter engine rules that came out in 2004.
Felipe Giaffone joined my team to drive the Number 14 for the entire
season. He moved his family from his home in Sao Paolo, Brazil to an
apartment in Key Biscayne, Florida for the season so he wouldn't
have to commute. He takes over the seat occupied by my grandson A.J.
Foyt IV for the last three years. He moved to North Carolina to
switch to the NASCAR Busch Series where he's competing as part of
Ray Evernham's driver development program.
 Giaffone,
31, drove for me last year when he qualified for the Indianapolis
500 in the final hour on the final day. He started last (33rd) in
that race. Lacking power, the car wasn't as competitive at Indy as
my cars have been in the past but he stayed out of trouble to finish
15th.
When I needed a driver to replace my grandson in the ABC Supply
Dallara this year, I drew up a list of drivers that I thought could
be competitive on the ovals and the road courses. It was a short
list. Had Giaffone said no, there were other drivers to choose but
he was my first choice.
Besides having the right credentials, Felipe's a nice guy. A really
nice guy. The folks from our sponsor ABC Supply met him last year at
Indy and they liked him which was also important to me.
Of course it's going to take us a little time to get our
communication working the way it needs to. He's from Brazil and I'm
from Texas. He's hard to understand some times and, from what I hear
from my crew, so am I. I know that the more we work together, the
better our understanding will be.
We had some testing over the winter that went pretty good. All in
all, I was pretty happy with what we learned. There are some areas
where we need to improve and we're working on that.
The Number 14 has a new look this year which our sponsor ABC Supply
designed using their trademark red, white and blue colors. A couple
times last year there were some cars that looked like ours and it
was confusing. The new design makes it easier to see the car on the
track. I have to tell you, the car looks really sharp.
This year, it'll be different (and a little sad) not working with my
grandson but life goes on. He's had to do a lot of adjusting to his
new team and I'll do the same with my new driver. Over the long haul
though, I'm know it'll work out for both of us.
I also know that I am ready to get this season underway. Let's go
racing!
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