BRAKE PROBLEM FOILS FOYT'S DEBUT AT POCONO
 Larry
Foyt's debut at Pocono Raceway ended prematurely on Sunday when brake
problems forced him to retire from the race after just 71 laps. Foyt
finished 41st and Tony Stewart won the race.
Foyt entered the event having never set foot inside Pocono Raceway. His
first laps around the 2.5-mile track came in practice before qualifying
on Friday. The two practice sessions on Saturday were cancelled due to
rain, leaving Foyt with little experience around the tricky raceway.
"This was a pretty frustrating weekend," said Foyt. "We had brake
problems all day on Friday and with practice on Saturday cancelled, we
didn't get a chance to see if we had the problem fixed.
"The problem persisted during the race, and rather than risk tearing up
the car and getting hurt, we decided to head home. Pocono is not a place
you want to have brake problems, just ask Ken Schrader."
Schraeder brought out the first caution of the day when his brakes
failed going into turn one. His car backed hard into the wall, rolled
over on its side and caught fire before coming to a stop on the apron.
Schrader was uninjured.
Foyt did lead his first ever Winston Cup race during the caution period
caused by Schrader's brake failure by waiting to pit the No. 14 Harrah's
Dodge. The rookie earned an extra five points.
"I really wish we could have run more laps here," said Foyt. "But, I
learned a lot for what little time I was out there and we'll be better
prepared when we come back in July."
Notes & Quotes: Pocono 500
Broadcast Information:
- Qualifying: Friday, June 6, 3 p.m. on the Speed Channel
- Race: Sunday, June 8, 12:30 p.m. on FX
*All times are EDT
Race Length:
- 500 miles (200 laps)
Track Records:
Qualifying:
- 172.391 mph (52.207 seconds) set by Tony Stewart on 7/21/00
Race
- 144.892 mph set by Rusty Wallace on 8/21/96
Notes:
 -
Larry and the Foyt/Harrah's Racing team finished 28th last weekend at
Dover International Speedway, their best of the season.
- At 3,740 feet, the front straightaway at Pocono Raceway is almost long
enough to land a jetliner.
- Pocono is one of the most unique tracks on the Winston Cup schedule.
It's often described as a combination between a superspeedway and a road
course.
Larry Foyt on Pocono:
"This weekend should be really interesting because I haven't even been
to Pocono before. It's a challenge as a driver and team to adapt to a
new race track.
"The turns are relatively flat, and there are several "flat" tracks that
I have competed on in the Busch Series, like Phoenix and Homestead. This
weekend won't be easy, but the Harrah's team and I are up to the
challenge!"
JONES TO SUBSTITUTE FOR ROOKIE FOYT AT INFINEON
RACEWAY
 MOORESVILLE,
N.C. - Road racing specialist P.J. Jones will drive the No. 14 A.J.
Foyt/Harrah's Racing Dodge at Infineon Raceway on June 22. Jones will
substitute for Larry Foyt, a rookie in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
"We're glad to have P.J. in the Harrah's Dodge at Sonoma," said team
owner A.J. Foyt. "He did a fine job for us on the road course at Watkins
Glen last year."
Jones, son of racing legend Parnelli Jones, raced in the Watkins Glen
event in 2002 for A.J. Foyt Racing and finished fourth, the best finish
in team history.
"A lot of teams have road course specialists come in to drive at these
Winston Cup road course events," Foyt said. "Since Larry doesn't have
any experience on road courses in the stock cars, I didn't think it'd be
fair to him to have to compete against those guys at this point in his
career. I've known P.J. for years -- I used to race against his father
-- and P.J.'s proven he's a strong road racer. I think he'll do a good
job for the team."
"I'm really excited to be back with A.J. and Harrah's," said Jones. "I
hope we can get the same result we did last year. I'm glad that Larry
was able to give me this opportunity."
"I'm 100 percent behind the decision," said Larry Foyt. "I've never even
seen the track and that's a long way to travel to possibly not qualify.
P.J. did an outstanding job for us last year and I think we'll have a
good shot at winning the race."
Weather permitting, Larry and P.J. will each drive the car in a test
session at Virginia International Raceway, a road course near Danville,
Va., in the coming weeks.
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