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A.J. Foyt Celebrates his 72nd Birthday
As His Team Prepares for His 50th Anniversary in Indy Car Racing
 HOUSTON
(January 15, 2007) -- Plans are taking shape to make A.J. Foyt’s 50th
Anniversary Season in Indy Car competition one of his most memorable
ever. Foyt, who celebrates his 72nd birthday January 16th, is
overseeing his ABC Supply Racing team’s preparations for the first
IndyCar Series Open Test on the road course at Daytona International
Speedway at the end of the month.
“It’s hard for me to believe that I’m that old but there are days when
I feel even older,” said Foyt who will spend his birthday working at
the race shop located northwest of Houston.
“I’ve been lucky through the years even though some of my racing scars
seem to say otherwise. All in all, I’ve been able to do what I love
and make a decent living at it, so I think racing has given me more
than I ever hoped for as a kid growing up. I worked hard but it paid
off for me.”
Foyt is looking forward to working with his new driver Darren Manning,
who also worked hard in his quest to become a professional race
driver.
Manning will be very familiar with the road course at the historic
speedway because he’s competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona Jan. 27-28.
Manning is driving the No. 11 SAMAX Pontiac Riley with co-drivers
Patrick Carpentier, Ryan Dalziel and Milka Duno.
Foyt is no stranger to the road course, having won the 24 Hours race
in 1983 and 1985 and finishing second there in 1984 and 1986.
In addition to hiring Manning, Foyt has added a few more new faces to
the familiar ones working on his team this year. His son Larry Foyt
has settled in as team director and is working closely with general
manager Jack Starne and team manager Craig Baranouski as they plan for
a competitive season with the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda-powered Dallara.
Engineer Len Paskus, of Indianapolis, who worked with the team on a
part-time basis midway through last year, has signed on full-time with
the team for 2007. Paskus brings 11 years of IndyCar engineering
experience to the team.
Pat Jordan, of Indianapolis, recently joined the team as chief
mechanic. Jordan has worked with the Kelley, Hemelgarn and Dreyer-Reinbold
teams in the past. Troy Perry, of Cornelius, N.C., has worked with
Larry since 2004. Perry moved to Texas in the fall and joined the team
as a mechanic/truck driver.
Shanyu Yip, of Beijing, joined the team in 2006 and has been promoted
to data acquisition engineer. He will work closely with Paskus and DA
engineering consultant Brad Truax. Randy Baden Jr., a graduate of the
University of Northwestern Ohio for High Performance, joined the team
in mid-July last year and will continue as a mechanic along with
senior mechanics Wade Crews, Ronnie Schultz and Mike Umscheid. Rodney
Klausmeyer, who has been with the team since October 1999, continues
as the electronics specialist and senior truck driver.
Part-timers who will return to the team in 2007 include spotter Larry
Arnold, tire specialists Bob Barnhart and Cecil Taylor and mechanic
Lew Parks.
More information will be forthcoming on the plans for Foyt’s 50th
anniversary celebration as they become finalized. |
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