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Dario Franchitti had been injured driving in a historic event in England and Andretti wanted to know if Foyt would drive for him at the IndyCar Series finale at Chicagoland Speedway. Foyt jumped at it.
Foyt had spent three seasons in IndyCar but had decided to switch to NASCAR following ‘05. He signed a deal with Evernham Motorsports and plunged into the Nationwide Series, driving in four races to close out ‘05 and seven to begin ‘06. But, for reasons out of his and Ray Evernham’s control, Foyt hadn’t raced since April.
At Chicagoland, Foyt was solid, qualifying 11th for Andretti Green Racing.
When Vision Racing owner Tony George decided to expand, he hired Foyt, who is now in his second season with the team. He’ll start on the inside of the 11th and last row Sunday in the 92nd Indianapolis 500.
“[Michael Andretti] gave me a chance and it really helped me out getting back to IndyCar,” Foyt said. “I was always willing to come back with a good team.”
You might recognize the name. Foyt IV is the grandson of the four-time Indy 500 winner as a driver and once as an owner and one of the greatest drivers in American history. A.J. Foyt Jr. also won the Daytona 500 and was selected as one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.
Beyond giving Foyt a chance to drive again in IndyCar, Andretti’s decision to hire Foyt was an endorsement of his talent. AGR had plenty of choices.
“He’s got a lot of natural talent,” Michael Andretti said in the release announcing Foyt would drive at Chicagoland.
“Tony has been putting in a great deal of effort, time and money to make us a top-notch team,” Foyt said. “We’ve had top-fives [one by Foyt, two each by Carpenter and Scheckter] and we need to break that barrier and get that first win.
“Obviously, our expectation at Indy is to win the race. We need to stay on the lead lap early and work our way up.”
Foyt and Carpenter are longshots. The smart money is on Gansssi’s Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon, Penske’s Helio Castroneves and AGR’s Danica Patrick, Kanaan and Marco Andretti.
This will be Foyt’s fifth Indy 500 and it coincides with his 24th birthday. He’s got a seat in the game, which means he’s got a shot to win if everything falls right. And if it doesn’t, there’s always next year and the years after that. Time is on his side.
