Final Foyt
Factor
 The NASCAR Busch Series season finished up at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Saturday afternoon under cloudy skies. Once the checkered flag fell,
so did the rain. Fortunately we were able to get in all 200 laps
around the 1.5-mile oval.
We struggled to find a set-up that worked for our Harrah's Chevrolet
the whole weekend. We qualified 33rd on Thursday afternoon.
We qualified a day earlier than usual because the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was also running and their race was
Friday afternoon.
 I knew we needed to make some changes to the car for final practice to
give us a good race set-up but the changes we made didn't work like we
hoped. So we made another round of wholesale changes for the race
which is always a little scary for the driver. Drivers like to know
how the car is going to react when they bury it down in there through
turn one.
I found out pretty quick that they were not the right changes. The car
was handling pretty terrible and we went from 33rd back to
40th. The car was so loose coming off the corner, it was
hard to keep it off the wall. There were times I wish I could've
parked it but these days, there are too many people counting on you.
 My crew made changes to the car during the pit stops, putting rubbers
in the springs, raising and lowering the track bar, adjusting air
pressures. There were a lot of changes going on and it helped, but not
enough. The truth is, if you're not close to the set-up you need when
the race starts, it's hard to get there with the limited opportunities
you have to adjust the car during the race.
We finished the race in 28th spot and finished the year 20th
in the driver's points standings.
I jumped on a plane with about 10 other
NASCAR drivers and headed to
Jamaica for a couple
days vacation (a working vacation because it was a trip for fans who
wanted to mingle with NASCAR drivers).
I will leave the "vacation trip" early because of a prior commitment.
This Thursday I will make the final Meals on Wheels delivery in my
Harrah's race car near the Harrah's Casino in
Atlantic City,
N.J.
Then it's back to the race shop on Friday to start planning for a very
exciting season in 2003.
Notes & Quotes:
 Larry Foyt on Homestead: "Homestead is very different from the
other tracks that we race on. It is more challenging than most because
it has long straightaways and very flat corners. You have to get in
the corner deep and let the car roll for a while through the long
corner before you can get it pointed in the right direction."
Surprise Spotter: When Foyt strapped into the Harrah's
Chevrolet at Phoenix for the race, he was told his spotter would be a
surprise that day. And surprised he was when Robby Gordon came on the
radio. Gordon drove Indy cars for A.J. Foyt in 1993.
On having Robby Gordon as his spotter: "It was a lot of fun
working with Robby. One of the things that he pointed out to me was
that because I came from open wheel rear-engine cars, I tended to get
back in the throttle too quickly, which is what you want to do with
those type cars that have the engine weight in the back and more
overall downforce. With the stock cars, because they are so big and
heavy and the engine is in the front, you have to wait longer and roll
into the throttle or the front end will push towards the wall.
Foyt is 19th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings; he has earned
$564,195.
Last Race (Phoenix): Foyt qualified 28th and had gotten into
the top 20 before he spun between turns one and two while racing Brian
Vickers for position. The car backed into the wall but the Harrah's
crew did a good job making repairs (lost only a lap in the process)
using bungee cords and duct tape. Foyt continued on and finished 25th.
Best 2002 Start: 5th at Nashville (Apr. 13) and Kentucky (June
15)
Best 2002 Finish: 8th at Talladega (Apr. 20) |
