Invigorated Foyt Recalls Humble Indy Beginnings before Becoming Legend of Speedway
May 27, 2017 | By Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
He arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as an unknown, a big, burly dude with a Texan accent, just looking to gain access to Gasoline Alley.
Nobody knew Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. in 1958. So they didn’t let him in.
That’s how the legend of A.J. Foyt began.
“I came here with nothing,” said Foyt, 82, while sitting in the familiar A-1 garage that houses his Verizon IndyCar Series team with three cars entered in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday.
“I couldn’t get in the pits for almost two weeks. I walked around. It was 1958, won’t forget it.”
The man who eventually proved he could drive anything on the planet had to wait until his Dean Van Lines car arrived with someone who could validate the name of the entry’s driver.
“They asked me, ‘How do we know you’re going to drive for Dean Van Lines?’” Foyt said. “‘Well, I’ve got a contract with ‘em.’ ‘When the car gets here, you can come in and sign in.’ They wouldn’t let me in the garage area. I just walked around, had my car parked out there. True story.
“I would sit outside, walk around, look at people where they were working in the garage, watch the cars be pushed out to drive, and go up and sit in the grandstands.”
Imagine that: Foyt, the spectator.
“I stood on the outside, looking in at the cars,” he said. “Couldn’t get in. Yeah, true story.”
Eventually, his car race arrived. and he didn’t have to wait outside any longer.
“My car got here, and I went over and signed in,” Foyt said. “Clint Brawner said, ‘A.J. is our driver.’”
Known for his fierce determination but also his wrench-slamming temper, Foyt said he wasn’t upset by waiting around.
“I was so nervous being here,” he said. “I knew that if you made a mistake, they’d send you home.”
He recalls veteran drivers playing a prank on him.
“After qualifying, and I qualified fourth row outside, pretty good for a rookie, I’ll never forget they had a magnaflux center,” he said. “They said, ‘All rookie drivers, bring your helmets to the magnaflux center to be magnafluxed.’ I didn’t know any better. I came up with a helmet, and they were all laughing at me. I didn’t know. I was somewhere I had never been.”
While other rookies got sent home that month of May, Foyt proved himself ready to race. He qualified 12th and finished 16th. On Lap 148, he spun in an oil slick, blew out the tires and dropped out of the race.
Fifty-nine years later, he’s being honored with a special exhibit at the IMS Museum, an impressive display of cars and memorabilia that celebrates the 40th anniversary of Foyt’s fourth Indy 500 victory in 1977. His Hall of Fame career includes an innumerable list of accomplishments and the highlights everyone in motorsports knows — first four-time Indy 500 winner, all-time Indy car victories leader with 67, Daytona 500 winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.
“I couldn’t believe all of that stuff in there,” he said. “They really busted their butts to do that.
“It was really nice to see some of the stuff I drove back then. I guess I’m still lucky to be talking to you after driving some of that stuff. I’d like to see some of these new guys jump into some of that stuff, like those little midgets or dirt cars. I can’t say they couldn’t, but I’d almost bet my money they couldn’t.”
“Super Tex” sounds invigorated by the exhibit. Despite continual health concerns — which included receiving stem-cell treatment last month in Mexico — he has enough vim and vigor to pontificate on a variety of topics from his garage, stirring up conversation with visitors that included former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.
If the AJ Foyt Racing cars are going to stir it up Sunday, they must do so from the back of the field. Two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up Carlos Munoz qualified 24th in his No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet. Conor Daly will start 26th in the No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet. Rookie Zach Veach rolls off 32nd in the No. 40 Indy Women in Tech Championship Chevrolet.
When the quiet garage atmosphere is interrupted by the loud roar of an engine motor, Foyt can’t help but snicker.
“They warm these cars up more than they run ‘em,” he said, shaking his head.
As soon as it’s quiet again, his upbeat tone returns. He chuckles again about 1958, but it wouldn’t be the Month of May without Foyt gushing about Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s beautiful what Indianapolis did for me,” he said. “Like I say, A.J. did not make the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, like a lot of the guys think they did. Indianapolis made A.J. Foyt what he is. I won a lot of great races, 500-mile races, but the people know me from right here, and that’s what I respect.
“I’m just glad to be named amongst some of the greats who raced here. Could I had beaten them in their days? Who knows? You’ll never know. I was pretty good in my day. But you take some of the great race drivers before and after me, you don’t know and you’ll never know. In my days, I had a lot of fun.”
Foyt sounds like he’s doing just fine.
“I feel a lot better than I was last year. A lot better,” he said. “It takes time. The last four or five years have been pretty rough; I ain’t gonna lie to you. It’s been tough. But I’m feeling better.
“We’re still here, that’s the biggest thing.”
Visit IMS.com to purchase tickets for the 101st Indianapolis 500 Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 28, and for more information on the complete Race Weekend schedule at IMS.