Biography
 Up Close
 Sponsor Info
 Photo Gallery
 Related Links
 Season Results

 Larry Foyt Main Page
 Foyt Merchandise
 Home

Indianapolis Raceway Park
Kroger 200
 

Indianapolis Raceway Park

Race Recap: Busy week in Indy

The race weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park was actually just one day – Saturday – but it wrapped up a long and busy week for me.

My week had begun last Tuesday afternoon when I traveled to New Orleans to do a Meals on Wheels event on Wednesday. It was followed up by a "meet and greet" with employees at the Harrah's Casino there.

I went to Indy on Thursday for a meeting with Gary Loveman, the Chief Operating Officer of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. The meeting went very well as we discussed plans for the future of the Foyt/Harrah's Racing team.

On Friday I was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to catch the NASCAR Winston Cup practice for the Brickyard 400. It was hot and steamy in the garages, which is quite different from the climate in May when the 500 runs. I am looking forward to the time when I can compete in both the Brickyard 400 and the Indianapolis 500, and I hope it is sooner rather than later.

My race weekend in the No. 14 Harrah's Chevrolet began Saturday morning with practice at Indianapolis Raceway Park, a small 5/8-mile bullring about 15 minutes from the Speedway.

We fought a tight car throughout practice – it didn't want to turn in the corners which means it was heading for the outside wall. We were able to free it up somewhat, and I qualified 26th which was the same place we started last year.

After qualifying, NASCAR impounds the cars, which means you can't make any changes for the race. And there is no final practice so you better qualify on your race set-up and hope it is the right race set-up.

We could have freed the car up even more because it was still "pushing" towards that outside wall in the race. But my Harrah's team gave me good pitstops and we worked hard to get into the top 15. With less than 30 laps to go, Ron Hornaday got underneath me and made it three wide. He got loose and hit me in the left rear quarter panel sending me spinning. I was pretty upset with him but the last time I got upset on the track, I ended up with a wrecked race car. That turned into more work for my crew so I didn't want to do that again.

I just missed hitting the wall but the spin flat-spotted my tires, which makes for a rougher ride than normal. We couldn't pit that close to the end because then I would lose at least a lap or two and I had already lost a lap with the spin. I stayed out and finished 22nd. It wasn't great but there were a lot of cars that crashed so I knew it could have been much worse.

Sunday I visited with my father A.J.'s Winston Cup team before heading over to his suite in turn two to watch the Brickyard 400. With temperatures in the high 90's, that was the only way to watch the race comfortably at the track.

I felt sorry for my dad who was perched atop the pit box in that sweltering heat. Unfortunately, for him, his race didn't last very long. A cut tire on the No. 14 Pontiac sent Mike Wallace spinning into the wall after 10 laps. Fortunately, Mike wasn't hurt but the car sustained too much damage to continue. I know dad would have preferred sitting in the hot sun rather than have the race end the way it did for his team.

I have yet another busy week ahead of me. On Tuesday, I am going to San Diego, California where I'll participate in the Grand Opening ceremonies of the new Rincon Harrah's Casino, a brand new facility and I think one of the first casinos to open in southernmost California. My race car is carrying a special paint scheme for the next few races to publicize the event.

Afterwards, I am going to take a mini-vacation in the San Diego area because the Busch Series has this coming weekend off. I've been to California quite a few times but this is my first trip as far south as San Diego. I'm looking forward to relaxing on a hot beach even if it's just for a weekend. When it comes to time off, you have to make the most of it in this business and I intend to do just that.

See you at the races!
 

Notes & Quotes

Grand Opening: Foyt will be cutting the ribbon at the new Harrah's Casino in San Diego, California on Tuesday, August 8th. His yellow No. 14 Harrah's Chevrolet features a unique paint scheme with palm trees to highlight the grand opening of Harrah's newest casino in southern California.

Larry Foyt on IRP: "I like IRP and I'm excited about going back there. We're bringing a car with a new body so we're trying some different things this weekend. It will be Saturday night short-track racing at its best and with it being in Indianapolis that just makes it even more exciting."

Crew chief Jon Wolfe: "We struggled at IRP last year but we did some different things to the car this year that should help. It's tough because it's a one day show. You practice, qualify and race all in the same day. They impound your car after qualifying so you have to qualify on your race set-up. Maybe without a Happy Hour we'll do better."

Mark Green to spot...Driver Mark Green will be Foyt's spotter at IRP.

Pikes Peak Race Recap: Foyt qualified 28th and finished 28th. The car was loose in practice and qualifying and they kept making adjustments but could not correct the problem. According to crew chief Jon Wolfe, "We missed on the set-up. It was too loose and then we went too far to correct it and it was too tight in the race. The Busch races are shorter and there just isn't much time to adjust a car throughout a race because you don't pit as many times. It makes it pretty tough when you're off on the set-up."

Foyt is 20th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings; he has earned $383,470 to date.

IRP 2001: Foyt had a tough night at IRP. He stayed on the lead lap for the first half of the race, but got lapped eventually. He tangled with another driver and spun. He kept going but flat-spotted the tires and had to pit to change them. They changed four tires and NASCAR thought only two were bad so they penalized us two laps. They have a rule that you can only change two tires at a time under yellow. He finished 27th.