IT'S A BOY!

Congratulations to Casey and A.J. Foyt IV on the birth of their son Lockey James Foyt who was born at 1:21 p.m. on Monday, July 16 in Indianapolis. The baby weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and measured 20 in. Lockey (or maybe 'L.J'.?)  is the couple's second son with A.J. Foyt V born nearly two years ago on Sept. 18, 2010.

The baby is named after his grandfather Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, and A.J. IV's great-great-grandfather's brother Lockey Foyt. In the AJ Foyt Racing shop there hangs a sepia-colored photo of the Foyt Bros. Garage with a photo of A.J. Foyt's grandfather Tom Foyt and his two brothers, Willie and Lockey, standing in front of the garage in the early 1900s. The couple liked the name Lockey and decided to name their son after his great-great-great-great-uncle.

The baby is the fourth grandchild for Irsay and the sixth great grandchild for A.J. Foyt. His granddaughter (and A.J. IV's sister) Tonia Poe gave birth to a son -- Monte Joseph Poe - earlier this year.

Foyt Family Wines Continues Growth with Upcoming Release of the 2010 No. 67 Chardonnay

SEBASTOPOL, Calif.  May 9, 2012--The month of May brings welcoming weather, beautiful flowers and plans for the upcoming summer.

For the Foyt family, May brings an event that all open wheel racing fans spend each year looking forward to: the annual running of the world’s most famous automobile race, the Indianapolis 500. Foyt family patriarch, A.J. Foyt Jr., labeled the King of Indy, is probably best known for his dominance of that race for decades, starting with his first Indy 500 win in 1961.

So how does this tough Texan, known for his prowess at Indy and on race tracks across America, find his name on bottles of fine wine? Foyt Family Wines was created by Larry Foyt and A.J. Foyt IV because of their passion for fine wine, but it quickly became a means of paying tribute to A.J. and his amazing career. Each wine offering has been labeled with a number significant in A.J.’s career, either a car number (No. 14 was the first) or a year in which he won an important race.

“My dad has done so many things for open wheel racing and ultimately the IndyCar Series, and with so many new drivers and younger fans coming into the sport, it’s important for us to pay respect and acknowledge what he has accomplished and what his name means to American motorsports, the Indy 500 and its fans,” Larry Foyt said.

The response to the brand has been tremendous not only because of A.J.’s success and popularity throughout his 60 years of racing, but also because of winemaker Tom Meadowcroft’s skill and Larry’s and A.J. IV’s palates. When a consumer tries a Foyt Family Wine, their reaction is usually along the lines of, “Wow, I’m impressed, this is not what I was expecting.”

Cunningham Participates in Indy 500 Rookie Orientation Program

INDIANAPOLIS May 10, 2012—Wade Cunningham participated in the Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today in preparation for his bid to compete in the Indianapolis 500 later this month.

Driving the car Mike Conway piloted in the first four races of the year (although with a different Honda engine), Cunningham completed two phases of his rookie test. He will complete the final phase after the track opens for practice for all competitors on Saturday.

Tomorrow the ABC Supply team will finish up preparing two brand new Dallaras (which arrived Thursday) for Conway and Cunningham to drive starting Saturday. Per the rules, the team will have to switch the engine used today into Cunningham’s new car, the No. 41 ECat/ABC Supply car.

“It’s a proud day to be in an Indy car here with the history of IMS,” Cunningham said.  “In terms of getting through rookie orientation, we didn’t finish it but we’re able to do that on the regular days of running, so we can just slide it in with the regular guys and get those laps knocked out and get signed off. We’re going to get out of the backup car now and change the motor over to our primary car and get it prepared and roll out on Saturday.”

Cunningham, the Firestone Indy Lights only three-time winner of this track’s Freedom 100, compared the Lights car to the Indy Car, saying, “The speeds are a bit higher, you’re in the corners for a bit less time than I was used to in the past in the Lights car. The Indy car’s definitely more wind sensitive and maybe a little bit more line dependent than the Lights car just because of the high speed but it’s a race car and it gives similar feedback so you just have to trust your instincts, trust your gut and your hands.”

And the Winner Is…

HOUSTON May 4, 2012--The votes are in and the race fans seemed to have had as hard a time as A.J. Foyt in deciding which A.J. Foyt Legends shirt they liked the most!

As of around 12 pm ET, the tally was:  Shirt 2 with 30% (210 votes) of the vote to win the design contest.  As for the other designs, Shirt 1 (all Coyote Red) and Shirt 4 (all Black) were running neck-and-neck throughout with Shirt 1 edging ahead with 27.7% (193) of the vote to Shirt 4’s 27.6% (192). Shirt 3 (Coyote Red bottom) was fourth with nearly 15% (102) of the vote.

Look for the winning design to be sold at IndyCar official stores at the tracks and online at Indycar.com and ajfoytracing.com later this month. Thanks to all who voted!