A.J. Foyt Hires Jeff Simmons To Drive No. 41 ABC Supply Car at Indy
INDIANAPOLIS May 12, 2008 – A.J. Foyt has hired Jeff Simmons to drive the second Foyt Racing entry in the Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to Darren Manning, driver of the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda-powered Dallara.
Simmons will get in the No. 41 ABC Supply car for the first time on Wednesday when the track re-opens for practice.
“It’s great to be back with A.J.’s team,” said Simmons. “I’m looking forward to working with A.J. and Darren and the whole Foyt team. Darren can help me get up to speed quickly and hopefully I can contribute something to the team as we get ready for qualifying next weekend.
“A.J. is taking it on himself to put me in this car so I just want to do the best job I can for his team.”
“I’m glad to be working with Jeff again,” said Foyt. “I like the way he drives and the way he hustles the car pretty hard which is what I look for in young drivers.”
Simmons, 31, drove for Foyt in the Indy Pro Series in May, 2004 when he finished second in the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was that same month that Foyt gave Simmons an Indy car to do his rookie test at the Speedway which allowed him to compete in that year’s Indy 500 driving for Mo Nunn. He finished 16th in his debut after starting 29th as a second weekend qualifier.
Simmons drove for Team Rahal in 2006 and 2007 before being replaced by Ryan Hunter-Reay in July. In 25 starts in the IndyCar Series he has posted 11 top-10 finishes and has led eight laps, including a lap in last years’ Indy 500. His best finish is sixth, which came last year at Texas Motor Speedway where he led twice.
Rain on Sunday washed out Second Day Qualifying and practice at the Brickyard, setting up next Saturday as the day when teams will attempt to qualify for the remaining 22 positions, including Manning, whose qualifying attempt on Pole Day was aborted. Once the field is set next Saturday, the bumping will begin on Sunday as non-qualifiers will try to bump their way into the field by qualifying faster than the slowest car already in the field.
The Indianapolis 500 will be broadcast live on ABC-TV starting with the pre-race show at 12 noon, Sunday May 25th. The race is set to start at 1 p.m.
Indy 500 Update - May 8th
INDIANAPOLIS--Rain has washed out the activities the past two days at Indianapolis Motor Speedway but Darren Manning did get on track when practice opened on Tuesday for the 92nd running of the Indy 500.
Manning saw a top speed of 221.314 miles per hour on his last lap of the day in the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. entry. He turned just 37 laps on the famed two-and-a-half-mile oval in advance of Pole Day qualifying this weekend.
"We're still fighting the car a little bit," Manning said. "But, I think the speed is going to be there, because I'm nowhere near comfortable in the car and we haven't even started trimming out yet.
"We're still getting quite good speeds, really; maybe three or four miles an hour off the top speeds. I'm really, really happy with how fast the car is, but it's just not giving me a very good feeling out there."
Manning said team owner A.J. Foyt, the legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, makes a special effort at the Speedway.
"This is a brand new car we brought here for Indy," Manning said. "We did our first run and it was not very nice to start with. (The car) wasn't enabling me to do anything with it, so we came back in to the pits and got to working on it.
"We had a good last hour and a half in the day and found a bit more speed out of it," he added. "I think we got some good directions for where we need to go the rest of the week, and fortunately we've got lots of testing time."
Weather conditions promise to improve for Fast Friday and Pole Day qualifying where the fastest 11 qualifiers will be locked into the grid.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARREN!!
INDIANAPOLIS April 30, 2008--Darren Manning celebrated his birthday today playing a round of golf with friends; later he'll be cooking dinner at home with girlfriend Lauren Feusner.
Prior to the race at Kansas Speedway, his team surprised him with a birthday cake. He was truly surprised because he thought the cake was for someone else until he read his name on it.
"Sunday wasn't my actual birthday so I had no idea that the cake was for me," he said. After blowing out the candles, he took charge of cutting and dispensing slices.
Tonight Chef Darren will be manning the grill, probably putting to good use some of the tricks he learned during a recent photo shoot at one of his favorite restaurants, Mo's A Place for Steaks.
Tomorrow Manning heads to Kentucky where he will watch his second straight Kentucky Derby Saturday in the company of the Foyts--A.J., Larry and A.J. IV. The weekend will mark an anniversary of sorts for Darren and girlfriend Lauren because that is where they met a year ago.
Don't ask him about placing bets, he figures he has already hit the trifecta!
A.J. Foyt Enterprises and Continental Airlines Offer Indy 500 VIP Weekend to Highest Bidder
HOUSTON (April 29, 2008)--A.J. Foyt Enterprises is offering an Indy 500 VIP Weekend to the highest bidder in the Continental Airlines Frequent Flyer Program’s Onepass Online Auction.
The winner and a guest will receive two Race Tickets and two Bronze Badges for the race weekend. They will meet A.J. Foyt and race driver Darren Manning in the team’s garage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday, May 24th. They will see the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda as it is being prepared for the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500.
After the private meet and greet with the Foyt team, the winner and guest will attend the Drivers’ Meeting held at the track on the front straightaway near the famed Yard of Bricks finish line. They will also be able to tour the garage area as teams make their final preparations.
On Sunday, May 25th the winner and guest will have reserved seats to watch the world’s most famous race.
Bidders can participate by going to www.continental.com and click on the Frequent Flyer tab, then to the Online Auction section. The Indy 500 package is listed in the Sports section. It may also be accessed by clicking on this link:
