A.J. Foyt IV made a spectacular debut in the Supermodified Racing League Saturday night at Madera Speedway in Madera, Calif.

Jim Birges won the SRL portion of the Harvest Classic. He battled Regier down to the wire. Bobby Dalton, Foyt IV and Mike McCann rounded out the top five.

"I had a lot of fun, everyone treated me really good and I'd like to do it again," said Foyt IV.

Driving the No. 1 car owned by IndyCar driver Davey Hamilton, Foyt IV served notice by setting quick time along with Troy Regier, a two-time SRL champion. Both drivers lapped at 12.49 seconds around the 1/3 mile banked asphalt oval located about 15 miles northwest of Fresno.

In his heat race, Foyt IV started eighth and had moved into fifth by the second lap. However, he spun coming off turn four and had to restart in the rear. He worked his way back to fourth by the end of the eight-lap event.

"The car was pretty loose," said Foyt IV. "It was the first time the team had raced at the track all year so we had some challenges with it being my first race. It was hot during the day when we practiced but it cooled down pretty good at night and that changed the track a lot. We tried to compensate in our set-up but the car was still loose in the feature."

In the feature, the fastest eight cars were inverted and Foyt IV started eight. Coming down for the green, Foyt IV spun on the front stretch.

"I got on the gas too hard, I just wasn't used to all that power," said Foyt IV.

There was a complete restart so young Foyt was allowed to restart in his original position of eighth. He was fifth by lap 11. Maneuvering through traffic among drivers he had never raced before was a new experience but he adapted very quickly. On lap 37, he moved into fourth which is where he finished.

"I couldn't drive up off the corner, so it was pretty hard to pass," said Foyt IV. "But I had a lot of fun. It was over pretty quick, I wish the race was longer.

"The drivers and the fans made me feel welcome. I met a lot of Foyt fans at the autograph session. It was a good time."

Foyt IV's grandfather, A.J. Foyt was not present but he received reports on how his grandson fared.

"I heard that he ran a really good race," said Foyt. "I think it was good for him to run a different type of race car on a different type of track because he can learn from that experience which I'm sure he did. It's hard to go into someone else's backyard and run against them. He did a good job and I'm proud of him."

At this time, there are no plans for any more extracurricular activities as Foyt IV focuses on competing in the last two races of the IRL IndyCar Series. The next race is the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway in Fontana on October 3rd. The race will be televised live on ABC starting at 3 pm eastern time.

A.J. Foyt IV Firsts (as a professional driver)...

- raced a supermodified
- tied for fast time
- raced on a one-third mile pavement track
- raced against another A.J. (A.J. Russell)
- raced in a heat race
- tied for fast time