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Race Report: ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225 at Milwaukee
 The
ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile may be remembered as
the hottest race of this season for the IRL IndyCar Series. With
temperatures approaching 100 degrees, the drivers, crews and race
fans were subjected to very tough race conditions.
A.J. Foyt IV faced the toughest conditions overall. He crashed in
the final practice on race morning when his car spun as he exited
turn two. The car slid across the track and slapped the inside wall
knocking off the right side suspension.
The ABC Supply crew repaired the No. 14 Dallara/Toyota in time to
start the race named after their legendary team owner. However, A.J.
IV did not have the benefit of a practice lap to sort out the car.
Unfortunately, he was not comfortable in the car and after 19 laps
team owner Foyt told his grandson to park the car.
"The car was slipping and sliding all over and I couldn't hold it
down in the groove so we decided to park it," said Foyt IV
afterwards. "I didn't want to wreck the car or cause someone else to
wreck. I'm really disappointed for our sponsor ABC Supply because we
wanted to give them a much better showing. They had a lot of people
here supporting us today and I'm sorry we let them down."
Without a doubt, the hottest driver Sunday afternoon was Sam Hornish
who set a torrid pace around the flat, one mile oval. Hornish lapped
seventh place finisher Patrick Carpentier. Finishing on the lead lap
were Dario Franchitti, Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon and
Bryan Herta.
"It was a tough deal for our whole ABC Supply team this weekend,"
said the elder Foyt. "We visited with our sponsor on Thursday at
their company headquarters and everyone was excited about the race.
To have it end like it did is just tough. But we have to keep our
heads up and have a solid race at Michigan next week."
The next race for the IRL IndyCar Series is the Michigan 400 at
Michigan International Speedway on Sunday July 31. It will be
televised live on ABC at 3 pm eastern time.
 Quick
Notes & Quotes...
• On Saturday, Foyt IV ran George Snider's entry in the 100-lap USAC
Silver Crown race at the Milwaukee Mile. Driving the No. 111 ABC
Supply Beast/Chevy, he qualified 10th out of 33 cars. At the start,
he dropped back to 16th but climbed back to 11th when the race was
halted for thunderstorms on lap 19. After a four hour delay, the
race was resumed. The track changed and so did the handling on Foyt
IV's car which developed a severe push. He fell back to 20th but as
the fuel load burned off, Foyt IV was able to pick off cars one at a
time. He had climbed to 14th and was closing in on 13th when he did
a half spin in turn one with 11 laps to go. He finished 21st. It was
his second race ever in the Silver Crown Series--his first race was
in 2001 on the one mile dirt track at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
• A.J. Foyt was the Grand Marshal of the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225. He
gave the command, "Lady and Gentlemen, start your engines and have a
safe race."
• Over 1400 ABC Supply Co. employees and customers saw company
founder and CEO Ken Hendricks wave the green flag to start the race.
NOTES & QUOTES: ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Indy 225
A.J. Foyt IV: ABC Supply/No. 14 Dallara/Toyota/Firestone
 A.J.
Foyt IV on Milwaukee: "Milwaukee is the flattest track that we
run on and that makes it a tougher track to drive. You have to find
the right set-up or the car will be horrible all day which is what
happened to us last year. We learned some things from last year that
will help us this weekend. We've just had three two-day shows in a
row and this one is a three-day show so we'll have some extra time
to figure it out."
AJ Foyt 225 race sponsor ABC Supply Co. will entertain nearly
1500 employees and customers at the race this weekend. The roofing
and siding supplier is based in nearby Beloit where the annual
company picnic will be held this Thursday evening. Both A.J. Foyt
and his grandson A.J. IV will visit with the employees. The IRL Fan
Experience will also be set up at company headquarters to complete
the racing themed picnic. ABC Supply Co. inked a multi-year
sponsorship with A.J. Foyt's team starting with the Indy 500. "It's
great to have a sponsor that shows our team so much support and
interest," said Foyt. "Everywhere we've gone they've had a big
turn-out of people which says a lot about the relationship that ABC
has with its customers and employees. We're going to work hard to
give them something to cheer about this weekend."
Camera on board: For the first time this season, the No. 14
car will carry an on-board camera.
Double duty: A.J. IV will be doing double duty this weekend
as he returns to the USAC Silver Crown Series to drive the ABC
Supply/No. 111 Beast/Chevy owned by George Snider. "It's been about
four years since I drove a Silver Crown car but I think I'll get
used to it pretty quick," said Foyt IV. "George's car ran good here
last year so I know the equipment will be good. The Silver Crown
cars are quite different from the Indy cars. Unlike the Indy cars,
if the set-up's not perfect on a Silver Crown car, the driver can
make up for it more--the cars move around quite a bit so you can
drive them more and not get in trouble like you would with an Indy
car. I'm looking forward to it."
Foyt's prior Silver Crown experience was limited to a couple
appearances at the mile dirt tracks including the Hoosier Hundred at
the Indiana Fairgrounds. However, he drove Snider's car at Phoenix
during a private test session in 2001.
The Silver Crown experience will be only the second time in
his professional career that A.J. IV is driving for someone other
than his grandfather. And like Snider, his other owner was a former
Foyt driver--Davey Hamilton. Foyt IV drove Hamilton's supermodified
last September at Madera (Calif.) Speedway where he set quick time
and finished fourth in the feature.
At the Firestone Indy 200: A.J. IV started 20th (based on
practice times because qualifying was rained out) and finished 12th
for his second best finish of the season.
A.J. Foyt's performance at Milwaukee shows that he has 46
Indy Car starts there, the most starts at one track for him in an
Indy car. In 1965, he competed there three times in an Indy car
although the August 22nd event was the most memorable one because he
set fast time driving his dirt championship car. He finished second
in the race against many rear-engine cars. "I felt like I was
driving a greyhound bus against a bunch of sporty cars," Foyt said
afterwards. He has won four times at Milwaukee (1960, 64, 75, 79)
and has finished second there six times. His most serious accident
occurred in 1966 when he burned his hands and face after crashing in
practice. He also competed there 44 times in the USAC stock car
series, winning six races.
The ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt Indy 225 will be televised live
Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. eastern time on ESPN.
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