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First job:
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"After
working for my father, I worked as a mechanic at an
imported car dealership for $50 a week...it was the only
job I ever had."
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| Favorite
music: |
"Country-western,
that's the only kind of music there is." |
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| Favorite food: |
"Chili
isn't all bad but otherwise, steak." |
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| Favorite
drink: |
"Iced tea
- unsweetened" |
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| Oldest thing
in his refrigerator: |
"That's
hard to answer, nothing stays in it very long." |
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| Favorite race
track: |
"Indianapolis
because that is what made A.J. Foyt what he is
today." |
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| Preferred
wheels: |
"I enjoy
driving a pick-up truck as much as anything. I drive a
one-ton truck most of the time. |
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| Most
thrilling experience in racing: |
"The
first time I qualified for the Indy 500. Then to be the
first man to win it four times and have Mr. Hulman
ride around the track in the pace car with me after I
won. That was the only time he ever did that." |
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| Accomplishment
he's proudest of: |
"The
fact that I've won races in anything I've ever run. I
even won a sulky race with the trotters against Parnelli
Jones at the Hoosier Hundred one year." |
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| Biggest fear: |
"I never
want to see someone hurt in my race cars." |
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| Biggest part
of his job: |
"Just
trying to keep the team together. I like a lot of
horsepower and I've always had fast race cars -
that's the biggest part of my job--making sure it's
being done." |
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| Toughest part
of his job: |
"When
you're not winning and you
know you should be winning. Trying to explain why
you're not winning without sounding like a
crybaby." |
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| Heroes: |
"I
never did meet him but I always thought John Wayne was a
true sportsman and a true American." |
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| Favorite
color: |
"Coyote
red" |
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| Favorite
movie: |
"It
was the first 'Godfather' -- that was the last time that
I've been to a movie." |
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| His answering
machine message: |
"Leave
your name and number. I might return your call." |
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| Things he
cannot do without: |
"Ice
cream." |
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| How he spends
his spare time: |
"I
go to one of my ranches and get on my bulldozer or
grader. I enjoy being outside instead of just going
to the movies or something like that." |
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| What
he likes most about himself: |
"I
don't know, I get mad at myself when I make stupid
mistakes. I think I thrive on driving myself. I
like things to be right and to run right." |
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| Anything he
wishes he could stop: |
"Spending
money." |
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| Best advice
his mother ever gave him: |
"She
always said 'Keep your chin up no matter how low you
ever get.' And that's the thing that's always
brought me back when a lot of people said I was over the
hill and couldn't do this or that. My mother
preached to me to just never give up." |
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| What he's
tried to teach his kids: |
"I
have tried to teach them basically the same thing, to
never give up. I also told my kids and grandkids to get
a college education because it is more important in
today's market than it was in my time. But I
see that it could've made it a lot easier for me. I've
had to work twice as hard on some things but in the
end I probably couldn't have done any better." |
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| Greatest
influence on his life: |
"I
was very close to my mother and father so they were the
greatest influence on my life. I always tried to
make them happy." |
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| His favorite
childhood memory: |
"My
father went off to
Dallas to race midgets one weekend. My friends and I
stole his other midget out of our garage and they
pushed me off and I drove it around the yard. Then it
spit back through the carburetor and caught fire
and burnt the paint off the hood. I remember him coming
in late that night saying, 'I'm gonna kill that
kid.' Whew, I was still wide awake in bed. Boy he was
hot but he didn't really do anything to me." |
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| What drives
him crazy: |
"People
being sloppy and not paying attention, not
listening." |
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| What he
appreciates in others: |
"I
like a person that's honest and square, and that's few
and far between." |
