Race Report: Chevy 500 Start:
11th
Finish: 10th
 Foyt
IV started out his day by meeting Olympic swimmer Dana Vollmer who was part of
the U.S. Olympic relay team that set a new world record en route to their gold
medal. The 16-year-old presented young Foyt with an autographed photo and one of
her Olympic swim caps. Foyt IV gave the medalist one of his driving uniforms. He
then brought Vollmer and her family over to meet his grandfather A.J. Foyt who
spent quite a bit of time with them.
Driving the Toyota-powered No. 14 Conseco Dallara, A.J.
Foyt IV scored his first top-10 finish in the final event of the
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday
afternoon.
 "The
Conseco car was pretty good, not great but we were able to make it
better on the pit stops," said Foyt IV afterwards. "It's our first
top-10 so it was a good way to end the season. Now that we know we
can do it, we can head into next year and set our goals higher."
Foyt IV started 11th in the Chevy 500k and lost several positions in
the beginning stages of the race and dropped back as far as 17th.
After the first round of pit stops, Foyt IV's lap times improved and
he moved into 13th by the time of second pit stop on lap 109.
 Foyt
IV moved into 10th on lap 168 after his final pit stop which took
place under yellow. However, he lost two positions on the restart
and dropped to 12th. He moved back into 10th when the yellow was
brought out a final time for a serious accident involving Dario
Franchitti and Alex Barron.
Franchitti spun entering turn four and collected Barron, and both
cars hit the turn four wall hard.. Franchitti walked away from his
car but Barron, who was knocked out briefly, was awake and alert
when he was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Team Conseco performed well in the pits on all three stops as Foyt
IV never lost a position on the track during the pit stop cycle.
Helio Castroneves won his first race of the season. Tony Kanaan who
won the IRL IndyCar Series title, finished second. Third through
fifth were Dan Wheldon, Vitor Meira and Adrian Fernandez.
NOTES & QUOTES: Chevy 500
A.J. Foyt IV: Conseco No. 14 Dallara/Toyota/Firestone
 A.J.
Foyt IV on Texas: "I'm looking forward to running at Texas.
We're qualifying better because Toyota's made a lot of progress with
their engines. We know this race is going to be close all day long
and we'll be in a pack of cars the whole race. We just have to be
patient for the first three-quarters of the race so we can go for it
at the end. This will be my last race wearing the Conseco colors
because they're not renewing their deal but I appreciate the support
they've given me in the first two years of my IndyCar career. I hope
we can finish on a high note."
This event marks the final IndyCar race for Conseco which has not
exercised its option to renew due to a change in business strategy
for the Carmel, Ind.-based insurance provider which emerged from
bankruptcy in 2003. Conseco's relationship with A.J. Foyt Racing
dates back to 1996 when the then financial services provider
sponsored the Foyt Racing team en route to its first Indy Racing
League championship with driver Scott Sharp. Team Conseco won two
races with drivers Sharp in '96 and Billy Boat in '98. They claimed
eight poles, including the Indianapolis 500 pole in 1998 with Boat.
Conseco sponsored A.J. Foyt's full-time foray into the NASCAR
Winston Cup Series from 2000 through 2002 and then returned to the
IRL to sponsor Foyt IV's first two seasons.
"I'm sorry to see Conseco leave but I understand the circumstances
that led to their business decision," said team owner A.J. Foyt, who
is seeking to replace his longtime sponsor. "It's been a great
relationship. I couldn't have had better people to work with,
they've been a Class A company even through the tough times. I know
they'll get their business turned around and when they do, I hope we
can resume the relationship."
In the two most recent IndyCar Series events, Foyt IV qualified in
the top-10. He started sixth at Chicagoland Speedway and started 7th
at California Speedway. Foyt IV's best finish for the year is 11th
at Richmond in June.
The senior Foyt is recovering from surgery on Thursday, Oct. 7th to
repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder which occurred when Foyt slipped off a Track-hoe, (type of backhoe) and dislocated his
shoulder in the fall. Foyt had fallen the week before (Sept. 29th)
but put off surgery so he could attend the Toyota Indy 400 in
California. "I probably shouldn't have gone to California," Foyt
said afterwards. "I think I injured my shoulder even more while I
was out there. The pain was incredible. My surgeon said it was the
worst case he had seen in many, many years. When I do things, I do
them in a big way." Foyt was told to expect to be in rehabilitation
therapy for several months.
The Foyts will meet Olympic gold medalist swimmer Dana Vollmer
Sunday morning. Vollmer was part of the team that won the 4x200
meter relay which has been deemed one of the greatest relays in the
history of the Olympics. The 16-year-old swimmer from Grandbury,
Texas, will present the Foyt family with a framed autographed photo
while Foyt IV will give her one of his driver's uniforms which he
autographed. That presentation should please her parents, who are
longtime IndyCar fans.
Following the final IRL event of the season, Foyt IV will travel
with his father Tony and team manager Craig Baranouski to Wyoming
where the trio will hunt for antelope. He will be back in time for
the IRL Awards Celebration on the cruise ship, the Disney Wonder the
final weekend in October.
The Chevy 500 IRL IndyCar Series race will be televised live by ABC
starting at 12:30 pm Eastern time. |
