Everything about A J Foyt totally explained
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. (born
January 16,
1935 in
Houston, Texas), is a retired American
automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His
open wheel racing includes
USAC Champ cars and
midget cars. He raced
stock cars in in
NASCAR and USAC. He won several major
sports car racing events. He holds the all-time
USAC career wins record with 159 victories.
He is the only driver to win the
Indianapolis 500 (which he won four times), the
Daytona 500, the
24 Hours of Daytona, and the
24 Hours of Le Mans. Foyt won the
International Race of Champions all-star racing series in
1976 and
1977. Foyt's success has led to induction in numerous motorsports halls of fame.
Since his retirement from active racing, he's owned
A. J. Foyt Enterprises, which has fielded teams in the
IRL,
CART, and
NASCAR.
Early life
Foyt attended
Pershing and Hamilton middle schools and
Lamar and
San Jacinto high schools, but he dropped out to become a
mechanic.
Driving career
Midget car career
He started his USAC career in a
midget car at the 1956
Night before the 500 in
Anderson, Indiana. His first midget car win was at a 100 lap event at
Kansas City in 1957, and finished seventh in the season points standings.
NASCAR
Foyt only needed 10 races to get his first
NASCAR victory.
Richard Petty dominated the
1964 Firecracker 400 until he went out with engine problems. Foyt swapped the lead with
Bobby Isaac for the final 50 laps of the summer event at the
Daytona International Speedway. Foyt passed Isaac on the final lap to win the race.
The track doctor at a 1965
Riverside International Raceway race pronounced Foyt dead at the scene of a severe crash, but fellow driver
Parnelli Jones revived him after seeing movement. Foyt suffered severe chest injuries, a broken back, and a fractured ankle. Footage of his flipping #00 Ford, owned by
Holman Moody, is featured in the final scene of the movie
Redline 7000.
Foyt ran out of gas near the end of the
1971 Daytona 500, and Petty passed him for the win. Foyt again had the car to beat in the
1972 Daytona 500, but this time succeeded in a dominating performance. Only three drivers led during the race.
Foyt won the 1971 and 1972 races at the
Ontario Motor Speedway for
Wood Brothers Racing. The track was shaped like the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 1972 race was his last NASCAR win.
Career summary
- Foyt drove in the Indianapolis 500 for 35 consecutive years, winning it four times (the first of only three to do so).
- Foyt is the only driver to win the Indy 500 in both front and rear-engined cars, winning twice with both configurations.
- He is the only person to record victories in the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 stock car race, the 24 Hours of Daytona (twice, with co-driver Bob Wollek), the 24 Hours of Le Mans international sports car endurance race in Le Mans, France, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring (his last major professional win, in 1985, with co-driver Bob Wollek). Foyt had never competed in European sports-car racing or driven at LeMans prior to his 1967 winning performance in a Ford GT40 co-driven by Dan Gurney. While being sprayed with champagne on the podium, he's reported to have asked "Do I win Rookie Of The Year?"
- He also has 41 USAC Stock Car wins and 50 Sprint Car, Midget, and Dirt Champ Car wins.
- He has won 12 total major driving championships in various categories.
- His USAC wins tally is a record 138 (The late Rich Vogler is second with 132.)
- Foyt won the 1976 and 1977 IROC championships.
- Foyt won 7 NASCAR races, including the 1972 Daytona 500.
- Foyt holds the closed course speed record driving the Oldsmobile Aerotech at an average speed of over 250 MPH.
- Dispite having won more USAC sanctioned events than any other driver Foyt never won a CART sanctioned event.
Awards
Foyt was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Foyt was named to NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998.
He was named to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1990.
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America as the only open wheel driver in the first class of 1989.
He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1988.
Indianapolis 500 records
Foyt has numerous career records at the Indianapolis 500: the first of to date three drivers to win a record four times, the most consecutive and career starts (35), most races led (13), most times led during the career (39), and most competitive laps and miles during a career (4,909 laps, 12,272.5 miles).
Car owner
While an active driver, Foyt entered into a longtime partnership with Kalamazoo, Michigan businessman Jim Gilmore, and raced under the Gilmore-Foyt Racing name for many years.
After retiring as a driver, he continued his involvement in racing as a car owner of A. J. Foyt Enterprises in the CART series, then the Indy Racing League (IRL) and NASCAR.
Scott Sharp took a share of the 1996 Indy Racing League (IRL) title.
Kenny Bräck won the 1998 IRL title in Foyt's car. Bräck won the 1999 Indianapolis 500 in Foyt's car, putting Foyt in the winner's circle at Indy for the fifth time. The current driver for his IRL team, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, is Darren Manning.
On June 7, 1997, Foyt (as an owner) was involved in an incident that helped shape the history of the Indy Racing League and added to his reputation as a man of little patience. One of his drivers, Billy Boat, had been declared the winner of the inaugural IRL race at Texas Motor Speedway that had been held that night, and his other driver, Davey Hamilton, had come in second. However, driver Arie Luyendyk disputed Boat's win, claiming that he was in the lead when a scoring error by USAC (who had scored all IRL races up until that time) gave Boat the checkered flag. When Luyendyk entered victory lane after the race to confront TMS general manager Eddie Gossage about the finish uttering obscenities, an irate Foyt approached the Dutch-born Luyendyk from behind and slapped and shoved him into tulips (ironically given Luyendyk's Dutch heritage). Luyendyk then requested a review of the race; a few days later, USAC reversed its position and declared Luyendyk the winner; Foyt kept the victory lane-awarded trophy. Following the controversy, the IRL relieved USAC of the scoring duties for its events.
Family
A. J. is the grandfather of A. J. Foyt IV. A. J. is the grandfather and adoptive father of Larry Foyt. He is also the godfather of driver John Andretti.
Indy 500 results
Indy 500 Qualifying Results
| Year |
Att # |
Date |
Time |
Qual
Day |
Car # |
Laps |
Qual
Time |
Qual
Speed |
Rank |
Start |
Comment |
| 1967 |
22 |
05-13 |
22 |
1 |
14 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1967 |
28 |
05-13 |
28 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
— |
166.289 |
4 |
4 |
|
| 1968 |
8 |
05-18 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
— |
166.821 |
8 |
8 |
|
| 1969 |
4 |
05-24 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
3:31.0600 |
170.568 |
1 |
1 |
|
| 1970 |
5 |
05-16 |
5 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
— |
170.004 |
3 |
3 |
|
| 1971 |
2 |
05-15 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
4 |
3:26.5200 |
174.317 |
6 |
6 |
|
| 1972 |
3 |
05-13 |
17:57 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
BLOWN ENGINE |
| 1972 |
30 |
05-20 |
11:30 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3:10.4800 |
188.996 |
5 |
16 |
|
| 1973 |
25 |
05-12 |
14:27 |
1 |
14 |
3 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
WAVED OFF |
| 1973 |
27 |
05-12 |
15:20 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:10.5500 |
188.927 |
32 |
23 |
|
| 1974 |
8 |
05-11 |
11:05 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:07.8600 |
191.632 |
1 |
1 |
|
| 1975 |
4 |
05-10 |
11:38 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1975 |
19 |
05-10 |
16:10 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:05.5900 |
193.976 |
1 |
1 |
|
| 1976 |
12 |
05-15 |
16:55 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:14.3200 |
185.261 |
10 |
5 |
|
| 1977 |
1 |
05-14 |
11:02 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:06.0800 |
193.465 |
— |
— |
ATTEMPT WITHDRAWN BY USAC |
| 1977 |
12 |
05-14 |
12:39 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:05.0300 |
194.563 |
5 |
4 |
|
| 1978 |
14 |
05-20 |
12:47 |
1 |
14 |
0 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1978 |
39 |
05-21 |
13:24 |
3 |
14 |
4 |
2:59.8900 |
200.122 |
3 |
21 |
|
| 1979 |
33 |
05-13 |
16:32 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:09.8600 |
189.613 |
6 |
6 |
|
| 1980 |
24 |
05-10 |
14:24 |
1 |
14 |
0 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
| 1980 |
32 |
05-10 |
16:14 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
FLAGGED OFF; RAIN |
| 1980 |
33 |
05-10 |
17:59 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:14.0700 |
185.500 |
16 |
12 |
|
| 1981 |
2 |
05-09 |
15:49 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
3:03.6000 |
196.078 |
6 |
3 |
|
| 1982 |
25 |
05-15 |
16:23 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
2:57.0500 |
203.332 |
3 |
3 |
|
| 1983 |
30 |
05-21 |
14:59 |
2 |
14 |
4 |
3:00.4000 |
199.557 |
14 |
24 |
|
| 1984 |
25 |
05-12 |
15:23 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1984 |
39 |
05-12 |
17:39 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
2:56.5920 |
203.860 |
12 |
12 |
|
| 1985 |
10 |
05-11 |
11:55 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
2:54.9420 |
205.782 |
27 |
21 |
|
| 1986 |
36 |
05-11 |
12:09 |
2 |
14 |
4 |
2:48.8460 |
213.212 |
5 |
22 |
|
| 1987 |
21 |
05-09 |
17:07 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
2:50.6690 |
210.935 |
4 |
4 |
|
| 1988 |
4 |
05-14 |
— |
1 |
14 |
0 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1988 |
31 |
05-14 |
17:23 |
1 |
14 |
3 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1988 |
47 |
05-21 |
14:35 |
3 |
41 |
4 |
2:51.6770 |
209.696 |
15 |
22 |
|
| 1989 |
15 |
05-14 |
13:24 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
2:45.7950 |
217.136 |
12 |
10 |
|
| 1990 |
24 |
05-19 |
11:32 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
2:43.3210 |
220.425 |
8 |
8 |
|
| 1991 |
1 |
05-11 |
11:00 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
2:41.8390 |
222.443 |
6 |
2 |
|
| 1992 |
23 |
05-09 |
17:57 |
1 |
14 |
3 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
PULLED OFF |
| 1992 |
28 |
05-10 |
12:20 |
2 |
14 |
4 |
2:41.5810 |
222.798 |
16 |
23 |
|
|
FIA World Championship career summary
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. A. J. Foyt participated in 3 World Championship races. He had no poles, wins, or podium finishes. He accumulated a total of 0 championship points.
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