His career started in 1957 and ended in 1993. 16 January 1935 in Houston, Texas), professional race car driver who between 1957 and 1992 won seven United States Auto Club championships, four Indianapolis 500 races, and France's premier race, the Twenty-four Hours of Le Mans.Foyt was one of three children born to Anthony "Tony" Joseph Foyt, Sr., a mechanic, garage owner, and well-known builder of racing . Some of them were a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans, a unique combination for racing car drivers. In the NASCAR stock car circuit, he won the 1964 Firecracker 400 and the 1972 Daytona 500. A. J. Foyt (American Retired Auto Racing Driver) Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. or A. J. Foyt was the son of an auto mechanic who built midget race cars. ", "He's obsessed with winning," friends say. That happened on Jan. 17, 1965 at the Riverside (Calif.) 500. Who is Cuba Gooding Jr. ex-wife? He was saying, 'Please don't hit me again, Mister Foyt, please don't hit me again. His car refired, and he charged through the field in an attempt to regain lost positions. ", Wait a minute. The surviving cars were pushed and tugged to the main straightaway in front of the grandstand. Actually, he has been in horse racing for a few years, but quietlymaking his move slowly, sneaking up from the back of the pack, but more and more now, he's getting set to stand on it. Foyt has rearranged his life to spend less time with sponsors and more at his lavish Houston residence. His first win came in 1957 at a 100-lap event at Kansas City, and was impressive enough to move up from midget cars to compete in sprint cars and Championship Cars. Foyt, a veteran who had been racing professionally for eight seasons before trying his hand at NASCAR racing, only needed ten races to get his first victory. Late in the race, dueling with Gurney, Foyt spun. Half of the car is reduced to flying pieces of metal and fiber glass. said, cut him off. Foyt's success has led to induction in numerous motorsports halls of fame. Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. And in the countdown to the 65th Indy 500 two weeks ago, Foyt continued unwaveringly to add to his own legend. This is early in the 1981 Daytona 500; Foyt is destined to run only 120 laps before a dropped valve spring will force him out. On August 24, 1956, Foyt outqualified a field of 42 drivers at the Minnesota State Fair and, the following day, he won his first sprint car race, running away with the IMCA feature at the Red River Fair in Fargo, N.D. On June 16, 1957, on the high banked asphalt track at Salem, Indiana, Foyt came out on top in a race-long battle with Bob Cleberg. He ended his career with 20 midget car feature wins. There's so much image-polishing going on these days, such a steady buffing of personality to a high gloss for television and media display that it's a definite comfort to note here, for the record, that the World's Greatest Race Driver hasn't changed. And now the moneyin cash, not creditgoes into horse racing. In the 1964 season, he progressed to a fourth national Indy car title. He was a mechanic who established his reputation building racecars in Texas. Well, along came 1960 and I won my first national title in championship cars, and I said to myself, 'Well, hell, this here is it; I'll never ever again make this much money in one year in my life.' Foyt Jr., grandfather of NASCAR driver Larry Foyt and great grandfather of Indy Racing League Driver A.J. His career started in 1957 and ended in 1993. They keep about 20 2-year-olds in training at their Hockley, Texas ranch, a 1,000-acre spread 35 miles from Houston that Foyt built himself. Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. January 16, 1935 (age 87) Houston, Texas, U.S. Related to: A. J. Foyt IV (grandson) Larry Foyt (adopted son) Championship titles; 1960 1960 1961 1963 1964 . You've provided the thrills at great risk, and they've given you adulation. He is one of only 12 drivers to have completed the Triple Crown of endurance racing (victories in the 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans). That's like Reggie Jackson living on the royalties from his candy bar and socking away everything else. There were a lot of crashes, of course. Well, that's no longer necessary. His body has thickened, as it seemed it wouldnot to fat, but to a broadening through the rib cage, shoulders and neck. In that sense, Foyt was a standout right from the start. It didn't used to be this way, or is it that I'm getting older? Since he is open to working with different . But I'm going about this the same way I got started in automobile racing, that is, pay as you go and do it in cash. The Foyts are also, via marriage, part of the ownership group of the Indianapolis Colts. Foyt began his sprint car career in 1956, at age 21, driving the Les Vaughn Offy with the International Motor Contest Association. It's Gary Coopering a sport that should be pure. Showing barely - if any signs of age, toning, wear or handling. He won the 1977 Indianapolis 500, despite running out of fuel. It's strictly intuitive and hard for him to explain. "Well," Foyt says, "that's why I'm more careful now. www.allmusic.com/artist/aj-foyt-mn0001012115. He remains reflective for the moment. While many athletes have become modishly laid-back, blow-drying their psyches to match the times, Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. remains a constant, if being unstintingly mercurial can be said to be a constant. Now they modify the rules. Foyt survived three major crashes that caused serious injuries, and narrowly escaped a fourth. While angry, the older Foyt did accept the likelihood of A. J. having a future as a driver. "I came boiling out of the car," Foyt .says, "and fwwaaaaap! And over. In 1961, Foyt defended his points championship and won the Indy 500, the first driver to do so. "After all," he says, "it's a new season and we've got a new carand where else can you have such fun at our age?" Foyt grew up in Houston and was educated at Pershing and Hamilton middle schools, and later Lamar, San Jacinto and St. Thomas Catholic high schools, but dropped out because he wanted to be a mechanic not an academic. He grins at that thought. He's the alltime money-winner at Indy, with $1,347,694.97 so far. That brings the pack closer together, all right, and them cars run in a bunch, all right, and it looks exciting to the fans. He returned for a 35th consecutive start at the 1992 Indianapolis 500 and avoided all of the day's numerous crashes to finish ninth. when things is going bad is about like trying to dance with a chain saw. Foyt won the International Race of Champions all-star racing series in 1976 and 1977. He was born as Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. in Houston, Texas. That's it, you see? Thanks to his driving skills Anthony Joseph A. A crash story. IROC III and IV in 1976 and 1977 14 major driving championships Seven NASCAR Grand National victories (now Winston Cup); nine pole positions . During the announcement, Foyt stood with his head bowed, but with his eyes open and his jaw firmly set. There are two grandchildren, Tony's daughter and Terry Lynn's son, in whose presence Foyt turns to Jell-0. Crashes are the percussion section of racing. He partnered legendary driver Dan Gurney to prevail in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A few minutes later A.J. Foyt drove in the Indianapolis 500 for 35 consecutive years, winning it four times (the first of only four to have done so). For A.J., it's enough to race so boldly that your nerves sizzle and your very life is on the line; it is too much to be expected to park that car and immediately be nice to old ladies and God knows who all. I'm just ol' A.J., and you got to take me the way I come.". Certainly he's the only one who has one of Foyt's Indy Coyote race cars, parked in his den, doing duty as a piece of pop-art sculpture. The roar rises to a painful scream of metal. Its driver is yelling angrily even before he tugs off his crash helmet and yanks away the red bandanna covering his nose and mouth. An accident at the Michigan 500 in 1981 nearly cost him an arm. He was born to it, down in Houston to be exact, where his dad operated a garage and campaigned a couple of midget racers on the side. Foyt started his racing career in 1953 in his father- owned midget car, and had his first race at night before the 500 in Anderson, Indiana. His win at Le Mans (lower left) came in 1967. "I was hurt so bad," he quipped to the AP, "that I couldn't enjoy the nurses.". Of course. He throws off his safety harness and climbs out, shouting at the men in his pit crew, chewing them out, with gestures. In the movie, Cannonball, the name of the government official who tries to stop the Cannonball race is a take on this legendary racer's name. A. J. Foyt IV is married to the daughter of Colts owner Jim Irsay. Foyt. III), Terry Foyt, Jerry Foyt, Larry Foyt, USAC National Champion, USAC Stock Car Champion, USAC Silver Crown Series Champion, IROC Champion, USAC Stock Car Champion, USAC Gold Crown Champion, Winner of: 50 Sprint Car, Midget, Dirt Champ Car wins, Winner of total of 7 NASCAR races, including the 1972 Daytona 500,NASCARs 50 Greatest Drivers (1998), National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (U.S.) (1990), Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1989), National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1988), ,, Indianapolis 500: The 70s, 1979 Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500: The 70s, 1979 Daytona 500, 30 for 30 (2010), ESPN 25: Whos #1? In his three IRL races this season, he has finished 17th and 18th and crashed out of one. He took over the lead and beat Sachs by just 8.28 secondsthe second-closest finish in history at the time. 51 Gilmore-Valvoline Oldsmobile, hitting maybe 190 mph, and despite the speed, what happens next seems to freeze on the retina like a camera shot: Foyt glances left at his pit crew, raises his right hand from the steering wheel and daintily waggles his fingertips at them in a cheery hello. Scott Sharp and Kenny Brack were the drivers in the last two winning years. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars and midget cars. He won the 1961 Hut Hundred after starting last, and finished seventh in National Midget points that year. Hell, I'm the Secretariat of this whole operation.". That's Mister Foyt, the horse-owner, you know.". His first USAC midget car win was at a 100 lap event at Kansas City in 1957, and he stood seventh in the season points table. Foyt was livid with Cogan and famously said "That damn Coogan," on live radio, and when asked by Chris Economaki in a TV interview what had happened, Foyt shouted, "I don't know, he just ran right square into my Goddamn left front! Foyt 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results", "A.J. Foyt ended up racing three times in the early days of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, with a best finish of 18th coming in the 1995 GM Goodwrench / Delco Battery 200, a race for which he qualified ninth. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. In January 1965, Foyt qualified and ran in the front of the pack most of the day with Dan Gurney and Parnelli Jones in the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside. Cogan!" The following year he . They've had shows on TV that are supposed to take place inside a man's head. Foyt has come to be America's, and perhaps the world's, greatest race driver ever. can drive it. His career started in 1957 and ended in 1993. Anthony Joseph A. Foyt's dad and all the crewmen nod in perfect understanding, each one looking down at the naked engine as if he expected it to say rooooiiinnng at any moment. Foyt is the grandfather of A. J. Foyt IV. Foyt's smile doesn't spread across his face; he grins in a quick burst, all at once, flashing strong and white teeth. "You want to know what will make me famous?" [4] A. J. attended Pershing and Hamilton middle schools and Lamar, San Jacinto and St. Thomas Catholic high schools,[5] but he dropped out to become a mechanic and spend more time concentrating on racing. His height is 1.7m tall, and his weight is 72 kg. Sometimes they must think I'm a sorry s.o.b., but there are times when I got to concentrate on my racing, to have some peace and quiet. A couple of times I've fired that kid's fanny, but he works hard and we're actually making a little bit of money. Maybe he'd seen me on television or something, and now he had me live." on the back. The world, as he says, will have to take him as he is. Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2007. But I'll make it. He had entered the track ahead of the pace car and had begun gaining on the field under the yellow light. Attended Hamilton Junior High School in Houston, Texas. And I know I used to take real bad chances now and then, but I don't anymore. Edges are clean and sharp. He has absolutely no nerves at all. He has won 12 total major driving championships in various categories. He earned numerous awards and recognitions, including being the only driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500 the same year (1967), and the only racer ever to win the Indy 500 with both rear and front-engined vehicles. Foyt bulldozes to the fore. At Churchill Downs and other tracks, A.J. In addition to being a famous auto driver, Foyt was also a racing car owner which further improved his wealth. Well then. Foyt won the Indianapolis 500 four times, in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. In the 1982 Indianapolis 500, Foyt started on the front row but on the pace laps he was victimized by a controversial wreck when 2nd-year driver Kevin Cogan suddenly spun out for no apparent reason. Daytona 500 (1979)as Himself - Driver, #51 Oldsmobile, Jim McKay: My World in My Words (2003)as Himself, ABC's Wide World of Sports 30th Anniversary Special (1991)as Himself, Your email address will not be published. He was a mechanic who established his reputation building racecars in Texas. tony foyt iii. A racer from the age of 17 andunlike many driversan expert auto mechanic, Foyt participated in his first IndyCar race in 1957. * Most laps led. He won the Daytona 500, a NASCAR race held at Daytona International Speedway driving a 1971 model Mercury, on February 20, 1972. So Foyt unloaded the Offenhauser-engined dirt track car he had won the 100-mile (160km) race with at Springfield the previous day. You got to get in there and make your own mistakes and learn by them. Foyt remains true unto himself. He had announced his retirement before the race but changed his mind after being caught up in an early incident. "You pay $50,000 or more for a horseand you don't even know if it can run. Foyt 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results", "A.J. But through almost 30 years of competition, A.J. III), Terry, Jerry, Larry . J. Foyt was born on the 16th January 1935, best known for being the most successful driver in the American Championship Racing with 67 wins, Co-Driver of the Century (by the Associated Press), International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2000), Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1989), National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1988), National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (U.S.) (1990). "I'm not drawn back every year by a lot of money from this major company or that one. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/a-j-foyt-4416.php. For two consecutive years from 1971, he won at the Ontario Motor Speedway for Wood Brothers Racing. He is also the godfather of driver John Andretti. Gander RV & Outdoor Series Statistics; Year Rank Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps III serves as his dad's full-time trainer. When not busy with the racing season, A. J. Foyt likes to spend time at the family Ranch, The Foyt Ranches located in Hockley, Texas and Del Rio, Texas. But, well, if he's brave enough to sit there and do that, then I'm brave enough to sit there right alongside him. Foyt's final NASCAR Winston Cup Series race was the 1994 Brickyard 400, the inaugural running of that race. In fact, until three years ago, he confesses, he lived solely on his income from stock-car and midget racing and invested all the rest. Foyt 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results", "A.J. When not involved in racing, Foyt spends time at The Foyt Ranches in Hockley, Texas and Brackettville, Texas. Post-retirement, he continues to work as a team owner. Listen, now I've got a right kneecap that pops out all the damn timeI can just be standing here or walking along real easy and floop! "You want to talk about a sport that's scary," he says. Will somebody please say something appropriate? In 1956, he won his first sprint car race at Salem, Indiana. In 1998, he was included to the list of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers. Ford-powered entries were widely expected to dominate the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It's exactly what I've been telling you. And typically, though he's the owner, he has never cashed a salary check from the place. The race is remembered for the fiery second-lap crash that claimed the lives of Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. He had to make up around 32 seconds on Gordon Johncock. The car veers sickeningly and slashes along the concrete wall. The house is more than big enoughit was built on four lotsand the kids are pretty much raised. A few hundred yards ahead of him, Carl Williams spun out as he exited turn four, triggering a five-car front-stretch accident right in front of Foyt. may have lost in daring, he makes up for in cunning. The 1972 race was his last NASCAR points win; his final win in a NASCAR race was in the first of Daytona's 125-mile qualifying heats in 1978, driving a self-fielded superspeedway Buick. Foyt is coming. He is the only individual to win the "Triple Crown" of professional racing the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the 24 Hour Le Mans. But the NASCAR official, holding his hand up, palm pointed toward Foyt, remains in front of the car, just at the left front fender. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. Seven cars were involved in the incident including Foyt and Mario Andretti, who was unable to continue. Because they can afford it, Foyt and Gilmore will hit selected 1981 major races pretty much on their own, without being tugged and pulled atand definitely not dominatedby major sponsors. Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr., the man called "Super Tex" - Driver of the Century, master of front-engine cars, rear-engine cars, midget cars, sprint cars, oval racing, road racing, dirt racing . First 4-time winner of the Indianapolis 500: . Parnelli retired with mechanical issues, leaving Gurney and Foyt to contest the lead. Showing barely - if any signs of age, toning, wear or handling. I'll get up out of that car and say, 'You just seen ol' A.J. His helmet is bobbing up and down as he yells choice yells; he slams his palms on the steering wheel, and then he draws down his chin and bends his head forward. 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. Jerry Foyt is the son of A.J. ", The Racing Family Foyt is not only serious about this horsey business, but it's also going to pay off one day soon, according to Bill Rudy, director of public relations for Churchill Downs. Son: A. J. Foyt III Son: Jerry Daughter: Terry Lynn Indianapolis 500 Winner 1961 Indianapolis 500 Winner 1964 Indianapolis 500 Winner 1967 Indianapolis 500 Winner 1977 Texas Sports Hall of Fame 1967 In the meantime, Rudy points out, horse racing has additional benefits for Foyt. I been in crashes, in bad crashes. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. And he will, too. If that critter's got wheels, as they say in racing, ol' A.J. Even after he had reached the pinnacle of his sport, Foyt was known to make occasional appearances in small, local events as a way of thanking promoters who had supported him in his struggle up the ladder. The track was shaped like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Foyt pauses and scowls. Which brings us to one final anecdote. You're out there, racing door handle to door handle, and some guys, they'll put a sudden move on you. When the race is over, the rest of it is empty smiles and false marquees and the pretend-modest posturing that's expected of all drivers. We got a lot just like it back in Texas. Foyt has numerous career records at the Indianapolis 500: the first of to date four drivers to have won 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).
Josh Richards Birth Chart, Articles A