FOYT IV MAKES GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION;
HATTORI GETS CLIPPED AT START
 A.J.
Foyt IV, 18-year-old grandson of the Indy 500's first four-time
winner, became the youngest driver ever to compete in the Indy Racing
League's IndyCar Series with his debut in the No. 14 Conseco Dallara
Sunday afternoon.
Young Foyt finished 17th in the IRL season opener Toytota Indy 300
which was won by Scott Dixon. Rounding out the top five were Gil de
Ferran, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Scott Sharp. Defending IRL
titlist Sam Hornish finished 10th.
 Shigeaki
Hattori, of Okayama, Japan, made his debut with the A.J. Foyt Racing
team in the No. 5 Epson Dallara. Hattori's hopes were dashed in the
opening laps when rookie Scott Mayer clipped Hattori's right front
wing as Hattori attempted to pass him. Mayer crashed and Hattori spent
11 laps in the pits as the Epson crew had to replace the nose
assembly. He finished 18th.
"I am disappointed because the No. 18 car clipped my front wing right
in the beginning," Hattori said. "My Epson crew tried to fix it at
first, but when they couldn't, we had to take the nose assembly off
the backup car. We lost a lot of time. During the race, the car was
much better than it was in qualifying, but it still needed more
downforce. We just need more time in the car."
Foyt's race was incident-free but the changing track conditions during
the 200-lap race proved challenging to the rookie driver.
"The more I ran the car, the more the handling changed and I didn't
want to take a chance of driving too hard and tearing up the car,"
Foyt IV said. "I knew it was going to be tough and it was, but at
least I was able to run the whole race and gain experience. It was a
long day. We weren't up to speed where we needed to be, but I just
wanted to finish this race, bring the car home, and we did I learned a
lot and I'm looking forward to Phoenix in three weeks."
The Infiniti Pro Series 2002 champion made a good first impression on
the veterans who praised his alert driving. Brian Barnhart,
vice-president of operations, made it a point to tell Foyt that
several top drivers commented on his heads-up run.
Grandpa Foyt was pleased too.
 "Considering
the problems he had here in testing, I think he did a heckuva job,"
the elder Foyt said. "He drove a solid, clean race and he learned a
lot. He did pit stops for the first time and he hit his marks and got
out fast. The one time he stalled, it was under yellow so it didn't
hurt us at all.
"It was a lot to ask of the kid. The race was three times longer than
any race he'd driven before and it was on a track that is tough for
the veteran drivers. I know he feels like he should have gone faster
but like I told him, he needed to get laps in so he'd know what the
race was all about. He did that and I'm proud of him."
Foyt had crashed at Homestead-Miami Speedway in testing last month. He
crashed again in practice Friday to avoid crashing two-time Indy 500
winner Castroneves. Castroneves apologized to Foyt IV later for the
incident (as did his team owner Roger Penske).
The Conseco crew spent most of Friday night and Saturday morning
repairing the car for Saturday's qualifying session. Foyt qualified at
195.660 mph to start 17th. It was his fastest lap of the weekend.
The next event is the Purex Dial Indy 200 at Phoenix International
Raceway March 23rd. It will be televised live by ABC Sports starting
at 3:30 pm EST.
Infiniti Pro Series "Western Union 100: Report
 Ed
Carpenter's day in A.J. Foyt's No. 14 Futaba/Delphi Dallara ended
shortly after the Western Union 100 Infiniti Pro Series race began
Sunday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The 21-year-old driver lost his brakes very early in the race. After
the crew checked it out in the pits, it was determined that the
repairs would be too lengthy. Team owner A.J. Foyt told Ed to shut
down the engine.
"The crew worked hard putting the car together, but it seems a line on
the brake system wasn't tightened enough so fluid leaked out," Foyt
said. "I'm glad that Ed found out before he really needed to use the
brakes."
It was a disappointment for driver and crew which had worked hard to
repair the car after an accident in practice the day before.
Carpenter had a problem with the car being too tight on Friday so the
crew made changes that evening. In Saturday's practice, the car was
too loose and they made more changes. Unfortunately, with just five
minutes left in the session, the car got loose on Carpenter going
through turns three and four and he couldn't save it. He hit the wall
with the right side of the car hard enough to require replacing the
entire right side suspension. Fortunately, Carpenter wasn't hurt. The
team was not able to fix the car in time for qualifying two hours
later so Carpenter started at the rear of the 16-car field.
He finished 15th after he withdrew from the event after just nine laps
(and three of those were under caution for Cory Witherill's spin).
Mark Taylor won the race. The next event is the Phoenix 100 at Phoenix
International Raceway on Saturday, March 22nd.
NOTES & QUOTES :
 A.J.
Foyt on the 2003 season: "It's hard to predict but I'm happy with
what we've done in testing. I'm still getting used to the drivers and
they're figuring out how to work with me but we seem to be
communicating pretty good so far. We all have a lot to learn this year
because the chassis/engine packages are different in the Indy cars and
they've changed the Pro Series car a little bit too. A.J. IV has the
most to learn though--everything will be new for him including the
cars, the tracks, the other drivers and pit stops. If I didn't think
he could handle it, he wouldn't be here. It's going to be hard work
but I also think we're all going to have fun. I'm really looking
forward to it."
A.J. Foyt IV will be in a brand new Dallara chassis for the
season opener in Homestead this weekend. "Other teams are running
Dallaras which seem to have more downforce or more grip, which is what
you want on the short tracks and flat tracks like Homestead. I'm
anxious to get my first race in the Conseco 14 under my belt. My goals
are pretty simple: I want to qualify decent, run all day and finish
the race."
Foyt tested the G-Force chassis at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Feb. 17-18 with mixed results. He found a set-up he liked by Monday
afternoon and Shigeaki Hattori tested the car on Tuesday. Foyt got
back in the car late Tuesday afternoon and quickly got up to speed.
However, the next time out, he was on his "out lap" from the pits when
the car ‘bottomed out' twice in turn one. Foyt nearly saved it but the
car did a reverse spin and hit the outside wall with the left side.
Several drivers had trouble there during the test. The team is
repairing the car and will have it ready as a back-up. Team owner A.J.
Foyt ordered a Dallara, feeling it might be a better car for his
grandson's first Indy car race. The team took delivery on the chassis
Saturday and will have it ready for Thursday's inspection. However, it
will not be painted in Conseco's green and white colors because that
process takes three to four days. The black carbon fibre will carry
white decals.
Shigeaki Hattori will drive a brand new G-Force in the Toyota
Indy 300. The No. 5 Epson-sponsored car was still in the paint shop
getting its blue and silver livery when the team tested last week.
Hattori competed at Miami in 2001 driving a G-Force chassis. He
started 21st and finished 15th. He won the Indy Lights race at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in 1998; it was his first victory in the
United States.
Hattori on Miami: "I am very excited about driving the No. 5
Epson car for A.J. Foyt. Although everything is new to me, the team,
the Toyota engine and the G-Force chassis, A.J. has made me feel very
comfortable. Our program got a very late start so we haven't had a
chance for much testing but I do know that the Toyota engine is very
powerful. It is very important for us to finish the race so we can get
more data and more information on the new chassis and engine. I am
looking forward to having a good race in Miami."
Ed Carpenter joins the Foyt Racing stable as the driver of the
Futaba No. 14 Dallara. Carpenter tested the new Infiniti Pro Series
entry at Phoenix during the Test in the West and, most recently, at
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Carpenter on winter testing, working with A.J. Foyt: "I am real
happy, especially after our test at Homestead. We were there a little
over half a day and we left as one of the fastest cars there. I think
we have a good shot at the race. [Working with Foyt] When our deal was
first announced, a lot of people told me I would have a hard time
working with him so I didn't know what to expect. But he's made it
real easy because I tell him what the car is doing and he makes
changes and the car is better. We're communicating real well which
makes it easy to get along. It will stay that way as long as I keep
doing what he asks of me. [Goals for race] I want to get the season
started on the right note. We'll make a run at the pole and hopefully
put ourselves in position to win the race. With 12 races, the season
is longer than it was last year but it is still a relatively short
season so you can't afford to have any blips. I want to get a good
start and keep it consistent." |
