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Location: Fontana,
Calif.
Shape: D-Shaped Oval
Distance: 2 miles
Banking, Turns: 14
degrees
Front Straight: 3,100
feet
Banking, Front Straight: 11
degrees
Back Straight: 2,500
feet
Banking, Back Straight: 3
degrees |
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California Speedway
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Event: Toyota Indy 400
Date: September 21, 2003
Location: California Speedway
Start: 20
Finish: 17
 With
temperatures soaring into in the low 100s, A.J. Foyt IV survived a tough day in
his office, the No. 14 Conseco G-Force/Toyota Indy car. The 19-year-old rookie
driver finished 17th in the Toyota Indy 400 on a sunny Sunday afternoon at
California Speedway in Fontana, California. Despite temperatures over 107
degrees, 20 of 22 starters finished the 200-lapper around the two-mile oval.
Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish posted his third victory in five starts
since switching to the new generation Chevy engine in August. Scott Dixon
finished second, followed by Tony Kanaan and teammate Dan Wheldon. Dixon's
teammate Tomas Scheckter rounded out the top-five.
 Young
Foyt struggled in the beginning with the No. 14 car's handling, but after the
first pitstop when adjustments were made to the front wings, the car's handling
improved. Foyt ran well until the next stop when a problem with the vent on the
pit fuel tank caused Team Conseco to have a long pitstop. Foyt dropped back
several positions but regained them during the next stint.
 The
Conseco car's handling deteriorated in the latter half of the race. The team
determined that the sway bars were no longer working properly which contributed
to the car's handling problems. Team Conseco owner A.J. Foyt told his grandson
to "just hang in there and try to finish," which he did.Things went better
for the Foyt Racing team on Saturday. Ed Carpenter started and finished second
in the No. 14 Futaba/Delphi Dallara in the California 100 Infiniti Pro Series
race. Carpenter waged a valiant effort, running the outside groove in repeated
attempts to pass Mark Taylor who won the pole and the race.
Towards the end of the race the right front tire on the No. 14 car showed signs
of wear and Carpenter had to slow his pace. Taylor clinched the IPS championship
with his victory. Third in points, Carpenter narrowed the margin between himself
and Jeff Simmons, second in the standings, to 22 points. The series winds up at
Texas Motor Speedway on October 11th.
The Chevy 500, the final race of the season for the IRL IndyCar Series, takes
place Sunday afternoon October 12th at Texas Motor Speedway. The event will be
televised live on ESPN starting at 3:30 pm Eastern time.
NOTES & QUOTES: Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway
A.J. Foyt IV: Conseco No. 14 G-Force/Toyota/Firestone
California 100
Ed Carpenter: Futaba/Delphi No. 14 Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone
 A.J.
Foyt IV on California: "I tested at California in the beginning of
the year and it went pretty good. Of course I have a lot more
experience now than I did then. The track is big and banked so I think
there will be a lot of good racing and there will be another good
close finish like we had at the last race. California is similar to
Michigan and we had a pretty good run going there until we had gearbox
problems."
On the sidelines: A.J. IV went to his first ever NCAA Division I college
football game last Saturday to see the University of Michigan
Wolverines trounce Notre Dame‘s Fightin' Irish 34-zip. Foyt IV watched
from the Wolverines' sidelines courtesy of ABC reporter Jack Arute,
who in addition to reporting from the pits for IRL IndyCar events,
works college football games for ABC. Among those players that Foyt
met, most memorable was running back Chris Perry, who rushed for three
touchdowns and caught John Navarre's pass for a fourth TD. "They had a
huge crowd--over 111,000 people. I think it was the biggest college
football game of the year," Foyt IV said. "I thought Notre Dame would
have given Michigan more of a fight but I really enjoyed being there.
It was pretty cool."
At Chicagoland, A.J. IV finished 17th after starting 21st. Hampered by
the handling of the Conseco Dallara in the beginning of the race, Foyt
IV worked with Team Conseco to make changes to the car which improved
its handling. In the closing laps, Foyt IV was able to run lap times
comparable to those of the leaders.
Ed Carpenter on California: "I haven't run at California Speedway but I
was at the IRL race last year. It's a lot like Michigan just a little
flatter and smoother. We had a pretty good run going at Michigan in
the Futaba/Delphi car this year until we had some electronic problems
with the motor on the restartsHe will be in the same carH. With just
two races left, I'd like to get a couple more wins. Realistically, the
championship is out of the picture but we can still finish second in
the points which I'd really like to do since I was third last year."
Past performance for Foyt Racing at California Speedway: Last year Airton
Dare started 20th and finished 13th while Eliseo Salazar started and
finished 15th.
 A.J.'s
California Experience: Foyt won several races at the former
Ontario Motor Speedway which has since been razed. He won the Ontario
500 Indy car race in 1975 and 1979 while taking the Ontario 200 in
1977. He won qualifying races there in 1974 and 1975. He won the USAC
Stock Car 200 milers in 1977, 1978, and 1979.
The Toyota Indy 400 will be televised live Sunday at 3:30 pm Eastern
on ABC. |
