Tim Paul Signs with AJ Foyt Racing for Indy Lights in 2014; Running Both F2000 Series in 2013

Mahopac, NY – Open-wheel racing and former midget and sprint car driver Timothy Paul of Mahopac, New York, has signed an agreement to race in the Firestone Indy Lights Championship in 2014 for AJ Foyt Racing. Prior to the 2014 season, Paul, who has run competitively in the F2000 Championship Series, will spend 2013 competing in both F2000 and USF2000 in a CellMark Paper-sponsored entry to gain the maximum amount of seat time possible.

“2013 is going to be a turning point for me. We really need to focus this year and put our program together in a whole new way to compete where I think we should, near the front of the field,” said Paul.

The 2013 USF2000 schedule features races at Sebring with ALMS, St. Petersburg with IndyCar, the Night before the 500, Toronto and Mid-Ohio with IndyCar, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with Grand-Am, and the Houston Grand Prix at Reliant Park with IndyCar.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We at A.J. Foyt Racing extend our best wishes to everyone for a very Happy Thanksgiving. As families and friends gather to celebrate this very American holiday, it is an opportunity to give thanks for all that we have and to show kindness and generosity to those less fortunate. If you are cooking the big bird at home or traveling to someone else’s home, we hope everyone has a safe holiday! Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

AJ Foyt Racing Hosts ABC Day at the Track

AJ Foyt Racing team principals A.J. and Larry Foyt hosted guests from longtime sponsor ABC Supply at the race shop in Houston this week. The guests received a tour of the shop and watched as the team prepared cars for their upcoming test at Sebring International Raceway in mid-December.

The Foyts then hosted a dinner for everyone at one of A.J.’s favorite restaurants in his hometown of Houston. After an evening of fine food and lots of stories recounted by the legendary driver, guests headed back to their hotel with instructions for the next day’s activities—driving an ABC Supply Indy car at MSR Houston.

As a warmup, the drivers competed in a go-kart race at the motorsports park outside of Houston. Then came the real thrill as a total of nine drivers drove an Indy car on a modified portion of MSR Houston’s road course. Molina’s Cantina of Houston supplied a sumptuous Mexican feast for lunch. It is the fourth year running for the popular program which started with the company’s executives as the race team’s way to express appreciation for the company’s support since 2005.

The Passion of Racing

By Ryan Westman

The roar of the engine as it reverberates off of nearby city buildings, the art of passing as quick as a cobra’s strike, the patience, the persistence, the passion: this is racing. For as long as I can remember, I have been attending racing events around the globe. From Formula 1 to NASCAR, weekend warriors on the dirt track, short ovals in the corn fields of Indiana to F1 greats on the legendary, winding streets of Monaco, I have seen it all. These experiences have not just molded an interest in the sport but have also become the fabric of my life. Racing is my passion.

I grew up in Indiana, and the two hour car ride to Indianapolis was a pilgrimage my father and I made every year. Walking into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, gazing down the 5/8- mile straightaway out onto 300,000 race fans, brings peace to the soul; you realize you are not the only one with the “bug.” Then it happens. Seemingly, out of nowhere, and then gone again for another 40 seconds; the whole place becomes as silent as the early May-morning dew clinging to the infield grass. The howl, the roar, the scream. No adjective does it justice but trust me, it gives you goose bumps. It gets inside you and once it is inside you, you can’t shake it.

Those who don’t understand the allure of racing may just interpret the sport as cars going around in circles. You don’t see what you don’t understand. Non-believers in the sport don’t see the meticulous engineering it takes to trim out the car and generate the down force to run at 230 mph. Did you know that an IndyCar generates enough down force or reverse lift that it could drive upside down at 150 mph? Maybe it’s that they don’t see the fuel conservation and intricate strategy required to win the race. Or perhaps they are unbeknownst to the team aspect and how even a minor mishap on a pit stop can cost a team its chances at victory. Perhaps, if they appreciated the danger every driver assumes when he gets inside the car, knowing that the Speedway has claimed 15 lives. Perhaps, if they were cognizant of the grueling, physical toll that the 2.5-hour race takes on a driver, who stands to lose an average of 5 pounds each race. I once asked Ironman and 10- time Indy 500 participant, Vitor Meira, “what is more difficult: an Ironman or the Indy 500?” Definitive in his answer, he responded, “the 500!”