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Race Report: AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300 at Kentucky
Speedway
Photo Credit: Steve Snoddy/IRL.
 "A
world of difference," said A.J. Foyt IV after his ABC Supply team switched from
Toyota to Chevrolet power and racked up a top-10 finish in the AMBER Alert
Portal Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
His grandfather's bold move in changing engine manufacturers in mid-season was
overshadowed by the publicity surrounding his attack by killer bees a week ago
Saturday in which he received over 200 bee stings.
At the track this past weekend though, the buzz was definitely about the engine
switch. The ABC Supply team led by Craig Baranouski made the change in just two
days. Receiving the motor on Tuesday, they had to change the wiring, plumbing,
the bellhousing and computer programming to accommodate the new powerplant.
 "My
crew worked their tails off to get this engine installed and they put in some
long nights last week," said Foyt. "It's tough to do that without having a test
session to make sure everything is right but we didn't have that luxury."
With the switch came an immediate improvement in performance at the 1.5 mile
speedway. Foyt IV practiced in the top 13 despite not having tested at the track
earlier this year.
When qualifying rained out, the grid was set according to combined practice
times with the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet in the 13th spot. However, an engine
change by the Panther team for Tomas Scheckter's car relegated the Pennzoil car
to the end of the grid. Foyt IV moved to 12th for his best start this season.
His previous best start in 2005 was 17th at the short ovals of Phoenix and
Richmond.
In the race, he ran in the top-10 most of the time except for a stint from lap
40 to 70, but even at that, he was in the top 14. A problem with his microphone
(thought to be located in the steering wheel) cut the radio communication from
the driver to the crew from lap 50 through lap 180.
"Fortunately Anthony could hear us so we asked him yes/no questions and had him
key the mic for answers," said his grandfather afterwards. "Fortunately, the
car's set-up was good so we didn't have to make any major changes."
 Foyt
IV ran as high as sixth in the final stages of the race but he lost fifth gear
at the end, forfeiting a couple positions. He finished ninth, tying his
career-best finish achieved in the season opener. In that event at
Homestead-Miami Speedway, his top-10 placing resulted from attrition as only 10
cars finished the race. Sixteen cars were running at the end of this event.
"It's a lot more exciting to run at the front," said Foyt IV afterwards. "I have
to hold my breath a little longer. It's great to have Chevy power. I feel it's
the first opportunity I got to race all season. The Chevy engines made all the
difference in the world. We had a couple small problems, like the mic went out
on my radio before halfway, and then I lost fifth gear towards the end. But
overall, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season with this ABC
Supply car."
The next event for the IRL IndyCar Series is the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak
International Raceway which will be televised live by ABC Sports Sunday, August
21 starting at 3:30pm Eastern time.
NOTES & QUOTES: AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300
A.J. Foyt IV: No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone
Foyt Team Switches to Chevy Power: Beginning with this race, the ABC
Supply No. 14 Dallara will be powered by the Chevy Indy V-8. "We're not
satisfied with the performance so we're making a change to Chevrolet," said team
owner A.J. Foyt.
Busy Bees: A.J. Foyt has been known to stir up a hornets' nest in his
career but it was bees that brought him to his knees this past weekend. Clearing
brush with a bulldozer at one of his ranches Saturday afternoon, Foyt disturbed
a beehive and he was immediately swarmed. He hopped off the ‘dozer and made his
way to a creek about 150 feet away but stumbled to the ground twice over the
rough terrain. A ranch hand working in another field rushed to his aid and
called 9-1-1. Indy's first four-time 500 winner was treated by paramedics but he
refused to go to the hospital. He was stung over 200 times mostly in the head
and neck area. Returning to the scene on Monday with members of the Texas A&M
Agricultural Department, Foyt said they collected over 60,000 bees. "I've hired
someone to clear out the rest of that stuff," said Foyt. "I've been hurt pretty
bad in a race car but this was one of the worst things I ever went through. When
I fell the second time, I was ready to give up right then. It's a good thing I
didn't because the Ag guys who came out Monday told me that bees will keep
stinging you until they kill you." Last September Foyt slipped when stepping off
a large backhoe and tore his rotator cuff in his right arm severely enough to
require surgery and a three-month re-hab program. Foyt, 70, last competed in a
race in 1996 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway) but it
appears lately that working on his ranches is proving to be a challenge to his
staying healthy.
Foyt on Tony Stewart's Win at Indy: "I had the race on my TV but it was
hard for me to actually see Tony win because my eyes were so swollen from the
bee attack. But I'm really happy for him because I understand how much winning
at Indy means to him. He left a message on my cell phone about him winning a
race that I didn't, but when I see him, I'll have to remind him that I had won
Indy three times by the time I was his age. Maybe he'll become the first driver
to win at Indy in a stock car and an Indy car, I'd like to see him do that."
A.J. Foyt IV on Kentucky: "I'm looking forward to going back to Kentucky
because we had a good car there last year. We had some bad luck because we
weren't getting the fuel mileage we needed and we got caught out by the yellow
one time and lost a lap. I think we should have a good finish if we have any
luck at all because we have a good set-up for that track and Kentucky is a track
where handling is important."
Kentucky Ties: Driver A.J. Foyt IV was born in Louisville on May 25,
1984. At the time, his father Tony (A.J. III) was training horses which he did
for over 15 years before moving back to Texas to manage his father's cattle
ranches in 1990.
At Michigan last week, A.J. IV started 21st and finished 12th by avoiding
other drivers' mishaps. He is currently 18th in the Drivers' standings.
The AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300 will be televised live Sunday afternoon
at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on ABC-TV.
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