Texas Motor Speedway
BOMBARDIER LEARJET 500

Race Report: Bombardier Learjet 500k

Driving the ABC Supply Dallara/Toyota, A.J. Foyt IV finished 18th in the Bombardier Learjet 500k IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night.

"It was a long night," said young Foyt afterwards. "The car was loose at the beginning and we made an adjustment that didn't work and we lost a lap before we put the car back the way it was."

"In hindsight, I never should have made that change," said team owner A.J. Foyt. "Anthony was losing time on the track and he kept complaining the car was loose but the change was too drastic and it slowed him down too much. By the time we changed the car back, the track had changed and he was able to run competitive times but he had lost too much track position. He did a good job to bring the car home. It was one of those weekends where not too much went right for our team."

The problems started in qualifying when the engine blew before Foyt even took the green flag. Without enough time to install a new engine, he was relegated to the end of the grid and had to start 22nd.

In the final practice on Friday night, he ran both the high and low lines and deemed the car good to go which made the handling problems on Saturday night somewhat puzzling.

"We should have been more patient," said team owner Foyt. "But he was in danger of losing the draft and when that happens on a fast super speedway like Texas, you're dead. It's disappointing because it's our home track and you always want to run good at your home track."

Tomas Scheckter won the race from the pole position in his Chevrolet-powered Dallara. He was trailed by Sam Hornish who tried to challenge for the win in the closing laps but came up short. Third through fifth were Tony Kanaan, Scott Sharp and Helio Castroneves.

The next race for the IndyCar Series is at the shortest track on the circuit, the three-quarter mile Richmond International Raceway. The SunTrust Indy Challenge will be televised live June 25th, Saturday night on ESPN starting at 7:30 pm eastern time.
 

NOTES & QUOTES: Bombardier Learjet 500k

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

A.J. Foyt IV on Texas: "For me the key to this race is being patient. The plan is to try to stay with the lead pack and draft. I won't be pulling out to pass, I just want to draft so we can race hard at the end. Racing at night always seems more exciting but for the drivers there's not too much difference visually because the track is so well lit. It's cooler which is a big plus for the drivers and the cars, especially with the kind of heat that's here this week. This weather reminds me of Houston, Hot and Humid."

Larry Foyt Update: "Every day I feel better," said Foyt who was injured in a crash at Indy. "If I overdo it, I feel it but I think I'm way ahead of schedule from what the doctors told me to expect."

In last year's Bombardier 500k, Foyt IV was running one of the best races of his career when he became the victim of a rookie driver's error. The rookie had closed on his teammate too quickly and was forced to take evasive action which meant veering into Foyt who was on the outside. " I saw that he was closing in fast on his teammate and I saw that it wasn't going to work so I got off the gas and headed to the right to try to get away from him but he got me with his right rear when he went high," said Foyt IV. "That hit shot my car into the wall. Luckily the track had put up the Safer Barriers in the turns so the impact wasn't as hard as it could have been. I walked away."

Fonder TMS Memories: Foyt IV earned his Infiniti Pro Series title when he won the final race of the inaugural season at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2002. A month later that same year he passed his IRL IndyCar Series rookie test at TMS en route to earning his IRL license.

The Bombardier Learjet 500k will be shown live at 8:30 PM eastern time Saturday night, June 11th on ESPN.