We at A.J. Foyt Racing extend our best wishes to everyone for a very Happy Thanksgiving. As families and friends gather to celebrate this very American holiday, it is an opportunity to give thanks for all that we have and to show kindness and generosity to those less fortunate. If you are cooking the big bird at home or traveling to someone else’s home, we hope everyone has a safe holiday! Happy Thanksgiving y’all!
With the 2013 season now in the record books, it is time to review the highlights of the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing team!
When ex-Formula One driver Takuma Sato of Tokyo, Japan joined the team, the news surprised nearly everyone in the IndyCar paddock, especially several seasoned media personalities who questioned the decision. Those questions were quickly put to rest as Sato consistently emerged as one of the fastest drivers in pre-season testing and then confirming those results by qualifying second in the season opener in St. Petersburg.
Two races later, Sato scored his first IndyCar victory in the prestigious Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, turning in a flawless drive which was complemented by equally flawless work in the pits. Next stop was Sao Paulo, Brazil wherein the team was one corner away from scoring a second straight victory. The runner-up finish vaulted Sato and the team into the IndyCar points lead as they headed to Indianapolis.
In advance of the upcoming Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston, IndyCar.com editor Dave Lewandowski visited the AJ Foyt Racing shop in Waller, Texas in mid-September. That visit inspired several stories and a visual tour of the AJ Foyt Racing shop. To check it out, please click on this link: http://www.indycar.com/News/2013/09/9-29-A-visit-with-AJ-Foyt
A.J. Foyt on Dario Franchitti's announcement of his retirement from driving Indy cars:
“I think Dario’s been a great race driver, he’s a fine gentleman and he’s been a great asset to IndyCar racing. If the doctors tell him he should quit then he should listen to them. I’m the opposite and never would listen, but I probably would have been a lot better off if I did. But Dario’s won a lot of races and championships so he has a lot to be proud of. My hat’s off to him.”
WALLER, Texas Sept. 27, 2013—Auto racing lost one of the all-time great chief mechanics today when George Bignotti passed away at his home in Las Vegas. He was 97.
“I’d say he was one of the greatest mechanics that was ever at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had such a close relationship and even though I went on my merry way, we were still close up to his death,” said A.J. Foyt.
Bignotti, whose record shows 85 Indycar victories including seven Indianapolis 500 wins with five different drivers, including Foyt, Indy’s first four-time winner. The other drivers who visited victory lane with Bignotti-tuned cars were Graham Hill (’66), Indy’s second four-time winner Al Unser (who won with Bignotti in ’70 and ’71), Gordon Johncock (’73) and Tom Sneva (’83).
Foyt signed with Bignotti’s Bowes Seal Fast team in 1960, posted his first of a record 67 victories, and went on to win the national championship that year.
“He was such a great mechanic and he had such fast race cars and I was just a snot-nosed kid coming up,” said Foyt, whose first turn at the wheel for Bignotti was in a midget before the Indy car season began. “I drove at Ascot (Speedway in Gardena, Calif.) and drove midgets for him and we won a lot of races at Ascot. About everywhere I drove for him we won."
“Sometimes he would get mad at me when I’d drive the midget, he’d say, ‘You’re gonna kill yourself! Quit being so wild in that damn thing!’ Foyt recalled, laughing at the memory. In the past, Foyt credited Bignotti with teaching him to enjoy salads—quite a feat considering Foyt was (and is) a diehard meat-and-potatoes man.