Indianapolis
By A.J. Foyt


I thought this Indianapolis 500 was going to turn out different than it did.


We’d had a pretty smooth month with Vitor Meira and A.J. Foyt IV driving the ABC Supply cars and I was expecting a pretty smooth race.


It was anything but.


Before I get too far along in this column I want to say upfront that we’re all very grateful that Vitor wasn’t hurt more seriously than he was after taking one heckuva ride.


Vitor got off to a good start, going from 14th to ninth before the first round of pit stops. Anthony didn’t like his car in the beginning, saying it was way too loose in traffic. He throttled it down until he could pit for some adjustments.


Vitor’s car also had some handling problems so he was looking forward to his first stop too. Vitor had a pretty good stop but Anthony’s crew flubbed their first one and he went from 22nd down to 27th. That’s pretty discouraging for a driver but he kept his head in the game.


The No. 14 ABC Supply car was planning to pit when the yellow came out for Graham Rahal’s crash. Vitor had been racing hard with Hideki Mutoh who had pitted the lap before. Unfortunately, Vitor had to pit when the pits were closed to get fuel because the computer said he had enough fuel for just half a lap left in the tank. It was just over 50-something laps into the race so it was better to get the penalty of having to stop again than risk running out of fuel. He lost four spots and dropped to 13th.


The adjustments didn’t seem to work as well for Vitor so I let them know what we did to Anthony’s car which seemed to help the No. 41 ABC Supply car be more consistent throughout the fuel stint. By the halfway point there were another round of pit stops under caution and the No. 14 crew had a good stop which gained Vitor four positions, putting him in 12th. Anthony was running in 20th but he was in good company with the likes of Ryan Briscoe and Scott Sharp.


A lot of drivers, rookies and vets, were having a hard time keeping their cars from bouncing off the walls. For some reason the cars didn’t handle well in traffic. When a guy would get too close, especially in the turns, the car would lose front grip, slide up the track into the marbles and then into the wall.


The next yellow was when all hell broke out in the No.14 pit—well, actually the next pit which was Will Power’s pit because that’s where Vitor stopped with the ABC Supply car on fire! He’d been given the signal to go before the fueler was finished but he didn’t get it from Larry so it was a mistake on the over-the-wall crew’s part…a costly one.


Vitor stayed calm and waited for the fire to be put out which it quickly was, thanks to the quick acting firemen and Penske crew. Our fueler, Rodney Klausmeyer had the worst end of the deal. He got superficial burns on his face and stomach and some cuts and bruises from falling to the ground. He’s from Texas though and refused to leave his job; he stayed in for the rest of the race. Boys from Texas are tough.


So are the boys from Brazil. Vitor rejoined the race after the pit fire and never lost a lap! I know the crowd appreciated it because they let out a big cheer when he got back on track. If only we knew what was coming next.


Vitor was racing with Raphael Matos for 19th. Matos had been running fifth so I’m guessing he had problems in the pits too. Anyway, on lap 174, they were both headed to turn one with Vitor in the groove and Matos trying a high side pass—where there was no groove. It took him way too long to realize he wasn’t going to make it so he turned into Vitor as Vitor was setting up for the turn.


Stupid, plain and simple. Way too aggressive for Indy. And my driver had to pay for it. That’s what really irks me.


Especially at Indy you have to think ahead because the speed is so fast and things develop so fast. It isn’t a physically demanding race but it is mentally demanding and you have to stay sharp every second. Matos tried to outbrave Vitor and anyone who has driven against Vitor knows he won’t be intimidated. He is a gutsy racer and a smart racer, so he figured there was no way that Matos would not have lifted in that situation.


Unfortunately, when he lifted it was too late and he turned down on Vitor’s right rear tire which turned the car to hit the SAFER barrier head-on. The wall gave way as it is designed to do but the energy force was enough to crack two vertebrae in Vitor’s lower back. Then Vitor did a half spin backwards and Matos’ car hit him and got Vitor airborne--he rode the fence in a way that’s never been done.


It looked very nasty so I was very relieved to see him out of the car. They took him to Methodist Hospital and he was fitted with a back brace instead of doing surgery. The doctors said that he’ll be out for four months so being a race driver he’s already cut it down to three. I believe Vitor more than the doctors but I also know that they won’t clear him to drive until he is ready physically which is only right.


He was released from the hospital today. The first thing he did after all the TV interviews at the hospital, was come to the garage to see the guys. He wanted to apologize to them for making them work so hard. He is quite a guy and our team is really rallying around him. I tried to tell him the pit fire wasn’t his fault and he shouldn’t take any blame but he still feels bad.


Getting back to the race, Anthony was still running. We didn’t pit him on the last yellow (for Vitor’s accident) and he was able to conserve fuel and pick up four positions. Briscoe did pass him for 15th so Anthony finished 16th. It was good to see him run all 500 miles on the lead lap. In 2007, he also ran the entire race—which was shortened because of rain—and finished 14th. He said it’s hard to be happy about 16th but when I see guys wrecking like they did this year, I’m happy about his finish, period.


We head to Milwaukee this weekend for the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225. We hired Paul Tracy to drive for us—he’s won there as many times as I have and really likes that track so I think it’ll be a pretty good combination. They say he’s a lot like me and people are wondering if we’ll get along. I think we will because we both want to win. He’s a hard charger who races hard the entire race. He doesn’t give up and you have to do that if you’re going to run with these guys.


See for yourself by tuning in this Sunday afternoon to ABC-TV at 3:30 ET.