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TOUGH WEEKEND AT ATLANTA
 What
a rough weekend it was for the Harrah's team in Atlanta. We
struggled with the car from the moment we rolled it off the
truck all the way through to the race.
I almost wrecked several times during the
first practice session on Friday because the car was so loose.
Every time I tried to get back on the throttle coming out of
the turns the back end of the car would just want to turn
around. We constantly adjusted on it during practice, but the
loose condition would not go away.
When practice was over, the crew and I
threw around a bunch of ideas and we thought we had the
problem solved. However, the loose condition was only the
beginning of our woes on Friday.
 When I went out for the qualifying run everything seemed
fine...until I went into turn three. When I rolled off the
throttle there was no response. That's a pretty hairy
situation at one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. I made
it through fine, but I didn't want to test my luck again so I
tapped the throttle going down the backstretch, with hopes
that it would spring back. It did, but the smart thing to do
was to cancel the qualifying run. We have provisionals to fall
back on, so I didn't see any benefit of potentially destroying
a racecar.
Our struggles continued during practice
on Saturday. The throttle was still sticking, but not as bad
this time. We got it fixed, but the car's loose condition
still persisted.
For our race setup we changed everything
in the car with the hopes that something would work. It
actually helped a little bit, but not enough because we were
still off the pace. Unfortunately, the first part of the race
was caution free so we ended up getting lapped before we could
pit to make adjustments.
 The car handled better after the first
pit stop, but the only place on the track that the car wasn't
as loose was the high side. We started to make some progress
and actually passed a couple cars, but, in fitting fashion,
the camshaft on the car broke on lap 104 which put us out of
the race. We finished 43rd.
I was pretty disappointed with the whole
weekend, but everyone on the crew was still upbeat after the
race. They realize that there are going to be days like this
in this sport and you just have to bounce back the next
weekend.
The next race is at Darlington Raceway -
"The Track Too Tough To Tame." It's an older track that eats
up tires (and cars) so you really have to concentrate on
pacing yourself though the entire race.
I can't wait to hit the track on Friday because the Harrah's
team is looking for some redemption.
- Larry Foyt
Larry Foyt on Atlanta:
 "Despite
being a mile-and-a-half track, Atlanta is one of the fastest
tracks on the circuit because the surface is relatively new
and the banking is pretty steep. On race day there will be a
lot of drivers running different lines in the turns, depending
on how their car handles. This is another track where
aerodynamics and downforce play a big role."
· Larry has
competed twice at AMS in the NASCAR Busch Series. His best
finish was 22nd in 2001.
· The best
finishes for A.J. Foyt racing at Atlanta occurred last season
when they finished 31st in both events.
· The race
will be broadcast live on FOX and MRN Radio starting at 12:30
p.m. EST. |
