Chicagoland
By A.J. Foyt


The racing weather at Chicagoland Speedway was really cool for the last weekend in August, especially for this Texan. It was cold enough that I thought about putting some PEAK Antifreeze in the radiator of the No. 14 ABC Supply Indy car. Not really.


The PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 was a night race that didn’t start until after 9:00 p.m. Heck that’s usually when we finish our Saturday night races so it was a really late start for us. In fact, I was having trouble staying awake before the race started because I’m usually in bed at 8:30! It’s the price I pay for getting up at 5:30 a.m.


With the new options in the aero package, the racing at the 1.5-mile tracks has gotten a lot closer and more exciting for the fans. It’s pretty exciting for the drivers and owners too because there were a lot of close calls out there. The three-wide racing lap after lap is unbelievable so I think the fans got their money’s worth.


We didn’t have that good of a race though. We got stuck racing with some slower cars right in the beginning for a long enough time that we lost the main draft. Once that happens, it’s tough to make up. We also used more fuel because we didn’t have the advantage of running in the middle of the big draft. The cars that did run in the draft didn’t have to pit until lap 45.


By the time of our first pit stop on lap 42, we were half a lap behind. When we came out of the pits, Scott Dixon (who along with his teammate Dario Franchitti managed to go longer than anyone else) put us a lap down on lap 43. The Ganassi boys didn’t pit until lap 49. They got some incredible fuel mileage or they’ve figured out something that no one else has (including the officials) because they were running hard and getting great mileage.


When the yellow came out on lap 92 for Hideki Mutoh’s accident, the pack pitted. We had pitted on lap 86 so we went to the front of the line and got that second lap back but we were still one lap down which we never did get back. So even though on the restarts we were running with the pack and looking as competitive as everyone else, we were still running between 14th and 18th for the rest of the race. Sarah Fisher managed to get by us with three laps to go so we went from 14th to 15th. I hate it when that happens even if it’s just for one spot.


But looking for that silver lining, we did get out of there without tearing anything up on the ABC Supply car so for that I’m happy. Especially considering how closely packed they were for the whole race. It looked pretty crazy out there.


The next day we flew to Indy. I wanted to see the motorcycle race there. I had planned to go last year but Hurricane Ike got in the way. The weather was beautiful this year. I didn’t go down into the paddock because when I’m not racing, I don’t want to bother the guys who are. I did visit my sponsor’s suite over in the Hulman Terrace. The ABC Supply guests seemed like they were having a real good time. I posed for a few pictures and signed a few autographs. I enjoyed cutting up with them.


There was a parade lap by Kevin Schwantz who is from Houston. He won the world championship the year I retired from driving Indy cars—1993. He’s a good friend of my son Jerry who has a pretty big motorcycle collection himself.


I went back to my suite in Turn 2 before the main race. I had a few guests of my own to entertain. The race was pretty good. The polesitter – not sure if that’s what they call it in moto gp – but the fastest guy of the weekend went down while leading the race. Then Rossi, the six-time champion, went down while running second! That was weird but I guess Indy is as tough for the motorcycles as it is for the Indy cars.


I was watching Colin Edwards for a while because Larry said he was from Texas. He started out pretty good but then he began to fade. I left with 10 laps to go because I didn’t want to get stuck in traffic and Lorenzo had a big lead. I didn’t think he was going to throw it away because he didn’t have any pressure. And I found out later that he won so I didn’t miss anything.


The team will be getting ready for their trip to Japan. It’ll be the first year that I don’t make the trip. I’ve had a problem with one of my legs this last month and the doctors don’t want me to make the trip. They’re worried about blood clots. It’s a 14 hour flight from Houston. So even though I feel I should go, I’m listening to my doc this time. I don’t want to have a problem in Japan. That’d be a helluva note—can you picture me in a Japanese hospital? It’s probably best for Everyone that I stay home this year.


So I’ll be watching the race on TV just like everyone else. Well, I will if Direct TV and Versus come to an agreement. I can’t believe that deal or lack of one. If they don’t get it figured out before Sept. 19th, I might switch providers. Or I might watch it on my computer.


And yep, along with keeping track of my stocks, I have figured out how to watch IndyCar racing on my computer. You don’t have to say it…I’m pretty impressed too!


Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?