Texas Motor Speedway
BOMBARDIER 500

A.J. Foyt IV qualified 14th for his best career start in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series but an ill-handling car caused his early departure from the Bombardier 500 under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night.

Foyt's No. 14 Conseco G-Force/Toyota had a severe understeer ("push") from the start, but the 19-year-old Texan was trying to hold on until the first round of pit stops to make the necessary chassis and tire pressure changes.

Unfortunately, Foyt brought out the first caution on lap 41 when his car kissed the wall coming off turn two and caused damage to his right rear suspension. He finished 21st in his first ever night-time Indy car race.

"I brushed the wall coming off Turn 2," he said afterwards. "We were fighting a bad push since the green flag dropped. I did everything I could inside the car with the bars to adjust the handling but it wasn't enough. I was fighting it real bad in traffic so I really had to slow down so I wouldn't push up into the other cars. When I got by myself, I tried to pick up my speed a little bit and that's when I had the trouble. The Conseco car wasn't badly damaged but it was enough to put us out of the race."

The weekend started off badly when teammate Airton Dare's car suffered a suspension failure in practice and shot him hard into the Turn 4 wall. The impact sheared fuel lines causing the car to catch on fire before it impacted the wall a second time. Dare sustained fractures to his right upper arm (humerus), right hand, right thigh (femur) and right foot. Surgery was performed on his arm and thigh in Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital Thursday evening.

The 25-year-old driver was transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Sunday for further surgery on his hand and foot. He is expected to make a full recovery.

"Something broke and it just shot me into the wall," Dare said. "The IRL Safety Team got to me very quickly but I remembered A.J.'s story when he got hurt at Elkhart Lake--he asked the doctors to hit him in the head with a hammer. I knew what he meant because I was wishing I could be knocked out too. I feel much better today-it only hurts when I move."

"I am very upset about what happened to Airton," said A.J. Foyt, team owner of the No. 5 Indy car that Dare was driving. "But I'm glad they are the type of injuries that he can recover from. When I talked to him on the phone today, he sounded pretty good."

Jaques Lazier drove the No. 5 back-up car in the Bombardier 500. He started last since he did not make a qualifying attempt. He was up to 11th when fuel pressure problems caused him to drop out after 163 laps. He was credited with 19th.

Al Unser Jr. won the race in a one-lap sprint to the checkered. He beat Tony Kanaan by .081 seconds. Tora Takagi finished third.

DARE UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY AT PARKLAND HOSPITAL

Ft. Worth, TX June 6, 2003--Indy car driver Airton Dare underwent successful surgery at Parkland Hospital in Dallas last night to repair fractures in his right upper arm (humerus) and right thigh (femur) sustained in a crash in practice yesterday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway.

Dare is expected to be transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Sunday to undergo surgery to repair minor fractures in his right hand and right foot.

The 25-year-old driver from Bauru, Brazil had just turned laps in the 210-mph range when the suspension failed going through turn four of the 1.5 mile banked oval. The cause of the failure is still being determined.

"Something broke and it just shot me into the wall," Dare said. "The IRL Safety Team got to me very quickly but I remember A.J.'s story when he got hurt at Elkhart Lake, he asked the doctors to hit him in the head with a hammer. I knew what he meant because I was wishing I could be knocked out too. I feel much better today--it only hurts when I move."

"I am very upset about what happened to Airton," said A.J. Foyt, team owner of the No. 5 Indy car that Dare was driving. "But I'm glad they are the type of injuries that he can recover from. When I talked to him on the phone today, he sounded pretty good."

Jaques Lazier will drive the No. 5 back-up car in the Bombardier 500 here at Texas Motor Speedway. He will start at the rear of the field since he did not make a qualifying attempt. He was 10th quickest in his first practice session for the Foyt team this afternoon.

"I'm thrilled to be with A.J. (Foyt)," Lazier said after his first practice in the Toyota-powered car. "It's the whole package, the car, the Toyota engine. I'm finally getting to use gears I only dreamed about until now. I know there's more in the car. We're going to make a gear change and try to free up the car more. It's been a blur since A.J. asked me to drive last night. I came to the track at 10 a.m. and did a final seat fitting. I'm trying to stay calm and cool about everything."

A.J. Foyt IV will start 14th in the Conseco No. 14 G-Force/Toyota in his first IndyCar start at his hometown track where he clinched the Infiniti Pro Series championship last fall.

NOTES & QUOTES: BOMBARDIER 500

A.J. Foyt IV: Conseco No. 14 Panoz G-Force/Toyota/Firestone

Airton Dare: No. 5 Panoz G-Force/Toyota/Firestone


A.J. Foyt IV on Texas: "I am really looking forward to racing at Texas. This will be the first time that I am racing on a track where I have some experience because I ran there in the Pro Series car, and I took my test for my IRL IndyCar Series license there last October. I think we'll have a good weekend in the Conseco car."

Foyt IV will drive the No.14 Conseco Panoz-G-Force/Toyota. He drove that car in practice at Indy several times but the only time he raced the G-Force chassis was at the Indy Japan 300 in Motegi April 13.

Night Vision: The night race at Texas will be A.J. IV's first night race driving an Indy car but the lanky 19-year-old is no stranger to driving race cars at night. Many of his go-kart races would last until the wee hours of the morning because there were so many karts at the race meets. Many times the youngster would take naps in between races.

Foyt IV clinched the Infiniti Pro Series championship title at Texas last September when he won his fourth race in the IRL season finale at his home track.

Airton Dare will drive the No.5 PanozG-Force/Toyota this weekend for Foyt Racing. Driving for Foyt Racing last year, Dare finished third in the very close night race at Texas Motor Speedway. His performance in the 2002 season finale at TMS was hindered by his running over debris which punched a hole in the undertray and affected the car's handling.

Airton Dare on Texas: "I think it will be great because last year we had cars that handled good but the engines were lacking in horsepower. With the Toyota, that isn't a problem this year. I also think it'll be good to work with A.J. IV because we have a good relationship from when he used to change my right front tire last year. We'll be able to exchange information and I think that will help both of us out a lot."