By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Imagine this: Three Foyts at next year's Indianapolis 500.
Mind-boggling? Yes. Impossible? No.
Larry Foyt, A.J. Foyt's son, thinks it could happen and that he will be part of such an historic auto-racing occasion. He is working hard trying to make it happen.
Actually, Larry Foyt will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 4. He is the general manager of his legendary father's NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Busch Series teams and also drives the Harrah's Chevrolet in the Busch Series. Stacy Compton drives the team's No. 14 Conseco Chevrolet in Winston Cup.
Larry Foyt not only will be with his father, Compton and crew at the Brickyard, but he also will compete in the Busch race at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park the night before the Brickyard 400. "I've really been working hard to put a deal together to run here," he said about the 2003 Indianapolis 500. "I'd really like to."
That deal possibly would unite Larry with his father and A.J.'s grandson, A.J. Foyt IV, who is driving in the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series this season.
"I think he'd be good with it," Larry Foyt said of his father. "He's got little Anthony (A.J. Foyt IV), my little cousin. He's (A.J. IV) doing really well so he's (A.J. Foyt) probably going to have him in a car here (Indianapolis) next year. So we'll just have to see. Lots of exciting stuff going on for us right now."
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt has been an owner in the Indy Racing League since its inception in 1996 and is fielding cars for drivers Airton Daré, Greg Ray and Eliseo Salazar. As a driver, he had his late father, Tony (the original A.J.), as his chief mechanic during a number of his record 35 Indianapolis 500 starts. A.J. Foyt Jr. will be 68 at next year's Indianapolis 500. Larry, a graduate of Texas Christian University, will be 26. And A.J. IV will turn 19 on Race Day, May 25.
Could the racing world handle three Foyts at one time?
"I don't know if they could take it around here," Larry Foyt said with a laugh during a break in recent NASCAR testing at Indianapolis. "It would be awesome."
His father long has been known for his temper, but Larry Foyt is easygoing.
"Now Anthony, he probably will be (more like his grandfather)," Larry said. "He's pretty close. They said I must have been raised by Mom (Lucy)."
Still, Larry carries the same high regard for the Speedway as his father.
"Just driving in, I get chills every time when I haven't been here for a while," he said. "This place, the guys who drove here are my heroes. That's why I became a race car driver.
"If we can find funding, I'd love for my dad to put me in a car here. It would be awesome."
Larry Foyt tested an Indy Racing car at both Texas Motor Speedway and Pikes Peak International Raceway a couple of years ago and did well.
While he has distant eyes for the Indianapolis 500, Larry Foyt must concentrate on his many duties with his father's NASCAR teams. Larry said it is a difficult assignment handling the myriad duties of a general manager of two race teams, both operating out of the same shop in Charlotte, N.C., and driving the Busch car.
"Especially being a young driver," he said. "There's so much to learn. And also I have to worry about money and other issues like that, all the issues that go into racing. There's a lot on my plate right now, but it's something I want to do.
"I think long term, I'm still NASCAR. It's kind of the career long term now. That's all changed the last few years. I'm real happy there. I'm happy with NASCAR, but I still haven't forgotten about Indy and the Indy 500."
And he wants to race at Indy with his father. After all, Larry never has driven a car owned by anyone other than A.J.
"I've always just done what he's wanted me to do," he said. "Even going to college, that's what he wanted me to do. Right now, he's led me to where I am so I've got a good opportunity. Hopefully he'll put me in a car at the Speedway."
So far, Larry Foyt has started 19 races in the Busch Series and ranks 19th in the standings. He has two fifth-place starting spots, and his best finish was an eighth at the high-banked Talladega track.
Stacy Compton ranks 36th in Winston Cup standings. On Sunday, he finished 30th at New Hampshire and was the last driver to complete all 300 laps. Compton also drives in the Busch series and is 11th in those standings.
"We're still in the small-team stage," said Larry Foyt, the general manager.
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