Michigan International Speedway
Firestone Indy 400

Race Report: Firestone Indy 400

A.J. Foyt IV drove the ABC Supply Dallara/Toyota to a twelfth place finish in the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday afternoon.

Foyt IV started 21st and avoided the problems of others to post his second best finish of what has been a trying season for the 21-year-old.

"The ABC car handled good all day. We made minor adjustments throughout the race but we didn't have the power to keep up with the draft," he said afterwards. "It was a long day."

The race ran caution-free for the first 120 laps. Then the yellow came out three times over the next 45 laps for blown engines (two Toyotas and one Honda). The final caution came out on lap 181for a four car crash triggered by Townsend Bell's spin in turn two. Kosuke Matsuura, Jaques Lazier and Roger Yasukawa were victims of the chain reaction crash. Fortunately no one was injured.

Bryan Herta won the race after leading seven times for 159 of the 200 laps. His teammate Dan Wheldon finished second over Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan and Sam Hornish Jr.

The next race is Kentucky Speedway Sunday, August 14th at Kentucky Speedway. It will be televised live by ABC at 3:30 pm.

NOTES & QUOTES: Firestone Indy 400

A.J. Foyt IV: ABC Supply/No. 14 Dallara/Toyota/Firestone

A.J. Foyt IV on Michigan: "Michigan is one of those horsepower tracks that if you don't have it, you're in for a long day. The track itself is not bad to get around when you're by yourself in practice or qualifying but in the race, you have to be extra careful. You run very close together which can be pretty exciting but you also have to watch out for the seams on the track. Where those seams meet, there is a slight change in the elevations between the sections of pavement. At over 220 mph, depending on how you hit them, it can upset the car. The other thing that is important here is working the draft. If we have green flag pit stops, we'll try to work it out with some other teams that we pit together so we can have a drafting partner when we get back on the track."

Michigan Ties: Team manager Craig Baranouski hails from nearby Coldwater, Mich. He entered the motorsports business working with racers at the local short tracks. His focus soon zeroed in the Indy cars. Prior to joining Foyt's team in 1986, Baranouski worked with the late Scott Brayton's team and also Pat Patrick's team when Emerson Fittipaldi was driving for him.

At Milwaukee last week, A.J. IV competed in both the USAC Silver Crown race and the ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt 225. After a four-year layoff, Foyt IV returned to drive George Snider's entry and qualified 10th. The 100-lapper race was halted after 19 laps for four hours due to rain. He was running 11th at the time but the track changed when the race was resumed and his car didn't handle as well. He dropped back on the restart and was running 14th when he spun with 11 laps to go; he was credited with 21st. Race day for the Indy cars didn't start out well for Foyt IV who crashed when the car got loose coming off turn two in the morning's final practice session. The ABC Supply team worked until race time repairing the car. However, in the race, Foyt IV dropped back saying the car had no overall grip. Team owner A.J. Foyt told him to park it which he did after 19 laps. He finished 21st.

The Firestone Indy 400 will be televised live Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.