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Race Recap
 Milwaukee
was a case of good news, bad news. The good news was that we had
improved our short track program a lot over the last year, and going
into qualifying, I was looking at a top-10 position for the No. 14
Harrah's Chevrolet.
The bad news was
that I tried too hard to get it. Instead of a top-10 slot, I got the
wall. The first of my two qualifying laps was good enough for 25th
in time, but the next lap I hit the wall so hard--it just swapped
ends in turn three--that we had to use our back-up car for the race.
My car was too
loose for the flat track. I knew I had a good lap going and I didn't
want to leave anything on the table. I tired to get everything out
of it that I could. Normally a loose race car is a fast race car,
but the problem with the radial tires we run nowadays is that they
give you no warning of trouble. To make matters worse, with a flat
track like Milwaukee, there is no banking to help you catch the car.
It was bitterly disappointing for me and my Harrah's team because I
knew it was going to be a good lap, but racing is not about wouldas,
couldas or shouldas.
The reality was
that I would start 41st, nearly last in a car that was
built for the larger tracks like Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet,
which is where I will run it in two weeks. It is a car with less
downforce than the short track car I had. It also didn't have the
air-cooling ducting on the braking system that we had on the primary
car, which became a factor because of the high heat. We tried to
improvise a cooling system by running some extra hoses, but the
brakes faded by the halfway point and I found myself pumping them
for the final 125 laps.
A lot of drivers
had trouble with the heat, and it was one of the hottest races I had
ever run. I was able to extricate myself from the car (some drivers
needed assistance), but I was glad that race was over and not just
because of the heat.
My car wasn't too
bad when I was running by myself, but in a crowd, it wasn't very
sociable. In fact, it it was very uptight, didn't handle itself well
at all. The other cars took what little downforce it had off the
nose and it would just slide up the track. It wasn't something that
we could adjust out of the car on pitstops because it was
aerodynamically designed that way.
I knew it was going
to be a long day when I tried a couple moves and nearly lost it both
times. I decided to settle down and just get through the race
because I needed to keep this car intact for our race in Joliet,
which is where it was supposed to run in the first place. We've got
some big plans for our Meals on Wheels campaign in Chicago as well
as some appearances at the Harrah's casino in Joliet. We are really
focused on having a strong showing there!
We ended up in 23rd
place which matched our finish here last year. And that is not the
only similarity to last year. I spun out qualifying last year too.
The big difference is that last year I was just trying to get it in
the top 36 (I started 33rd) and this year I was trying to
get it in the top-10.
This week we go to
Daytona for our first race under the lights at that historic track.
I love racing at Daytona and I love racing at night, so to have both
in one race is going to be really special!
Thanks for your
support.
Notes & Quotes: GNC Live Well 250
 "I really like Milwaukee because there's a lot of history there
with my dad and because of that, the fans are really receptive to
me," Foyt said. "And I had a lot of fun when I ran my ASA car there
a couple years ago. Last year in the Harrah's car, we had some
trouble dialing it in. You have to get the car to turn in the center
of the corner and also have the forward bite to come off the corner.
That can be an elusive set-up. But our flat track program has
improved quite a bit this year." [Foyt qualified in the top half of
the field at the flat tracks of Richmond, Loudon and Nazareth
earlier this year].
Crew chief Jon Wolfe: "I think the biggest thing in our favor
this year is that we know what to expect and we learned some stuff
at the other flat tracks earlier this year that we can apply to
Milwaukee. Last year we went to Milwaukee with no notes; I had never
been there before. We were just taking a shot in the dark. We both
feel a lot more comfortable going in there this year."
What? No Brat? It's true. Larry Foyt has been to Wisconsin
State Fair Park two times now and has yet to taste a bratwurst! He
promises to rectify that distasteful situation this year. You can be
sure "dad" didn't wait three years to sample the bratwurst in
Milwaukee.
Foyt is participating in the NASCAR Fan Fair Friday night at
Winsconsin State Fair Grounds. He will sign autographs from 6-7 p.m.
at the Wisconsin Products Pavilion; there will be food,
entertainment, driver meet & greets and show car displays. Admission
is $25 with all proceeds benefitting the March of Dimes.
Kentucky Race Recap: Foyt qualified fifth to tie his career
best qualifying effort. He was running in the top-10 when he went to
the grass infield while trying to avoid the accident of Bobby
Hamilton Jr. and Jack Sprague which happened directly in front of
him. Foyt veered back onto the track and hit the outside retaining
wall on the homestretch with the rear of his car. He wasn't injured
but the car sustained heavy damage to the rear. He was credited with
41st.
Foyt is 19th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings; he has
earned $284,435 to date.
Milwaukee 2001: Foyt started 33rd and finished 23rd.
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