DPR Sports & Racing News

 

 A J Foyt Racing

 

Bruno Junqueira Set to Drive for A.J. Foyt at Indy in No. 84 ABC Supply car

HOUSTON April 4, 2011—Veteran Indy car driver Bruno Junqueira has been hired to drive A.J. Foyt Racing’s second entry in the Indianapolis 500, the No. 84 ABC Supply Dallara powered by Honda.

Junqueira, the 2002 Indy 500 pole winner, reached an agreement with Team Director Larry Foyt last Thursday to be a teammate to Vitor Meira, who drives the team’s No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara.

“I am very happy,” said the 34-year-old Brazilian.  “First, because I love the race; second, because the biggest champion in that race is A.J. Foyt – he won as a driver, he won as a team owner, and third, I’m going to have Vitor as my teammate who is a good friend and a good driver so I think it’s a perfect combination.”

Team owner A.J. Foyt is enthusiastic about his son’s newest hire.

“Bruno certainly knows his way around Indy—every time he’s run there, he’s been fast,” said Foyt, adding, “Plus he and Vitor get along well—they’re both from Brazil.  I may have to start learning Portuguese.  Not really, but I think it’ll be great and it will make us a stronger team for Indy.”

Meira, too, is excited about the addition to the team, saying, “Aside from our friendship, which we’ve had for a long time, Bruno is an awesome addition to the team because of the amount of experience he brings with him. This year’s race will be the toughest in a long time and we need to have every tool available to get 100% out of the car.”

Junqueira finished fifth in the 500 for two different teams:  as a rookie driving for Chip Ganassi in 2001 and again in 2004 driving for Newman-Haas.  What was his first impression of the historic Brickyard?

“I loved it,” said Junqueira.  “Indy was actually my second oval race—my first race was in Nazareth (Pa.). So I went from a one-mile track, very tough to a very fast 500! It was one of the biggest experiences of my life.  I had a very fast car that year and I qualified as the fastest rookie.  I did not practice and qualify on pole day, just the second day of qualifying, and I was the fastest second day qualifier.  I had a really fast car but I started 20^th so I was in the middle of the field.  I had Al Unser Jr. on the inside and Michael Andretti on the outside of me and I said to myself, ‘Man, two great drivers, two winners next to me here!’   It was a big experience and I had a great time.”

Junqueira, who is driving for Paul Gentilozzi’s Jaguar team in the American LeMans Series this year, lives in Miami with his wife Luciana and their son Enzo.

Practice for the 100^th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 mile event begins on Sunday, May 15^th with qualifications set to take place on Saturday, May 21^st.

 

2009 Photos

 

The Milwaukee Mile
Photo By Joe Paolella

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Past News....

Vitor Meira is Released from Hospital

Vitor Meira was released from Methodist Hospital today and headed straight for the A.J Foyt Racing garage in Gasoline Alley where the team is preparing the No. 14 ABC Supply car for the upcoming race at Milwaukee.

“I feel pretty good today,” said Meira who sounded chipper on the phone. He did a round of interviews with local TV stations at the hospital before heading out to the Speedway. At the garage, he was talking with his crew guys and gathering his stuff to pack up in his motorcoach.

“I am going to see the doctors tomorrow to make sure it’s okay for me to fly home to Miami this weekend,” said Meira. “ Then I will get an x-ray down there in two weeks to make sure the spine is healing the way it should.

“It’s going to be very hard for me to do nothing for the next two weeks. The doctors said after that, I can do a light workout but nothing that would load the spine. So I can work on my chest and arms and ride a stationary bike. I can’t ride a regular bike because they don’t want me to risk falling.”

Meira’s progress will be monitored by Miami-based doctors who were recommended by Dr. Terry Trammel, the orthopedic surgeon who is in charge of Meira’s case. Meira said that the doctors believe his recovery would be faster if he did it at home rather than staying in Indianapolis and living in a hotel.

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Notes & Quotes: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Vitor Meira: No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda

Vitor Meira and the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing team are in their third season together and are making their second appearance in this ‘Heart of Dixie’ race. In the 2010 inaugural event, Meira finished 18th after starting 20th.  Following his eighth place finish in St. Petersburg, FL, March 27^th, Meira is now eighth in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

Vitor Meira on Barber Motorsports Park: “What I like about Barber is that it is like a European track; it has high speed corners and a lot of elevation changes.  But what makes it very challenging is that it has very few opportunities to pass which means qualifying as well as strategy will be very important.”        

Meira on the double file restarts:  “I think in St. Pete it was more hectic than it will be in Barber. In St. Pete you had nowhere to go but at Barber you have grass and the runoff areas.  The first turn at Barber is a faster corner, it isn’t a 2^nd gear corner, it is a 4^th gear corner, so it will be better.  Also everybody is a little concerned about those restarts and the start—so I think everybody is going to take care of each other a little more than we did in St. Pete.  Still we’ll be learning from it…we are far from doing them well like we do single file starts, but we’re adjusting and getting better.”

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LARRY FOYT TO CALL THE SHOTS THIS WEEKEND AS A.J. FOYT RECOVERS FROM STENT PROCEDURE

ST. PETERSBURG, FL Mar 26, 2010—Team Director Larry Foyt will be calling the shots this weekend for the ABC Supply team at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg while his father A.J. Foyt recovers from a procedure to insert a stent in his main artery Friday.  Doctors had discovered a more than 95% blockage in the artery after an angiogram was performed on Monday.

“It was touch and go according to Dr. Civitello,” Foyt said last evening after the procedure. “They had a full surgical team on board with the surgeon [Dr. O.H. Frazier, an internationally renowned heart surgeon who trained under Dr. Denton Cooley] who did my wife Lucy’s triple bypass, prepared to do a bypass if the stent didn’t work. Their challenge was that they had to go through several stents first to get to the blockage and then get the artery opened enough to take the stent. I watched on the machine while they did it. After what seemed an awful long time, my doctor stepped back and said ‘We got it A.J.’ I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I was. I think he was too.”

Foyt, in his typical no-holds-barred style, spent the previous weekend working on his track hoe at his ranch in Del Rio much to his doctors’ dismay. “Well, I had some things I wanted to get finished in case I was laid up for a while,” Foyt explained.

Dr. Andrew Civitello, a leading interventional cardiologist, performed the procedure at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, home of the Texas Heart Institute, a pioneer in innovative approaches to cardiovascular disease.

Foyt is expected to be released from the hospital later today with strict orders to “take it easy for the next three or four days.”

He will be watching as Vitor Meira and the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda team compete in tomorrow’s race which will be televised live on ABC-TV starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Past News....

NOTES & QUOTES: Indianapolis 500

Vitor Meira: ABC Supply No. 14 Dallara/Honda/Firestone

 

• Vitor Meira qualified for his eighth Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average speed of 224.388 mph.  He will start 30^th (outside row ten) in the No. 14 ABC Supply car.  Meira finished second at Indy in 2005 and 2008, driving for two different teams. He joined A.J. Foyt’s ABC Supply team last year. He started 14^th in that race and was running in the top 10 when he had a blazing pit fire on lap 134 during a caution period; it was extinguished without Meira losing a lap! He was then involved in a spectacular accident on lap 174 with Raphael Matos as they entered turn one. Meira sustained two broken lower vertebra ending his season. In his first race back in Brazil in March, he finished third, his best finish to date with the ABC Supply team.
  

 

• The last time the No. 14 started 30^th at Indy was in 2002 with driver Airton Dare, of Brazil. He finished 13^th in that race and went on to win at Kansas Speedway over the Fourth of July that year. The year before, Eliseo Salazar started 28^th in the No. 14 and finished seventh.
  

 

• This race will be A.J. Foyt’s 53^rd consecutive Indy 500. He started out as a driver in 1958, became a driver-owner in 1965 and has been solely an owner since 1993 when he retired from driving Indy cars on Pole Day at Indy. He was the first driver to win the 500 four times and has won it as solely an owner in 1999 with Kenny Brack driving.
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·         For more information on the Foyt Racing program, please check: www.ajfoytracing.com.   

Q & A with Vitor Meira on the Indy 500

What are your expectations for race?

“I expect it to be better than qualifying! Going through the week we didn’t think we emphasized race setup enough but in the two or three days we did it, we did a lot of race setup and I think that hurt us a little bit on qualifying-- nevertheless we are in.  In talking with other drivers, not many people focused on the race. Seldom did you see a lot of people doing full tank runs and we did  do full tank runs and race simulations, so with that, I feel confident for the race. The ABC Supply car is good; we still have to try a couple things on Carb day with the heat but I’m confident.”

How does your accident last year affect you going into the race? Or does it?

“If it affects anything, it is before, you think about it. But when you’re in the car, it’s the last thing that comes to mind. I remember it when I’m out of the car, when I talk about it, but it doesn’t give me any bad memories. It was a bad situation but it doesn’t bring me any bad memories. I’m sure it’s not going to be a problem.”

What are the things you look for on Carb day?

“We have to make sure all the systems work. We changed engines for the race, replaced a bunch of things and so we do a leak check, check the pit speed limiter and so on and so forth. We just make sure everything works like it should. The second thing about Carb Day is that is when the track conditions are going to be the closest to the race that we’ve had all month--or at least the start of the race so you have a good gauge there on how the race is going to start. We’re feeling good.”

What are the challenges you will face starting 30^th?

“I never started that far back--ever! But having said that, even if I’m super careful and lose three positions--well I don’t have much to lose-- but we have a lot to gain. I want to get through the first 15 laps or so, making sure everybody gets through. The potential of our getting in trouble on the race start is very big so the risk is big and the reward can be big but it’s just short term. It’s a short term reward for a big risk. So I’m going to try to get through it. We have a good car and a good crew so we’re going to have good pit stops, and I want to get through it and make sure we have a good race. The race won’t be decided anywhere close to the start so once we go through the first part of the race—obviously I have to be aggressive and start picking off cars because I don’t want to get lapped and the leaders are going to come in a hurry-- but I don’t want to throw it away on the first lap. We’ve had a tough start to the 500 already this year and I don’t want to finish it with a tough day in the race. I want to end on a high note but in order to make that happen I have to be smart about it.”

How does it affect your approach with all of the rookies in this race?

“Before last year, not very much! But this year it will because my accident last year was with a rookie--not because he was a rookie—it just happened. But you have to be careful with everybody and maybe a bit more careful with some rookies, not all of them. I’m going to treat each car as a position to be gained and if it’s a rookie, I’ll make sure I take some extra precautions with them.”

Do you remember your rookie year? What surprised you about the race?

“Just how big the 500 is.  While I was in the race car, every start is not that much different [from other races]. It is very turbulent, there’s a lot of things flying around when you’re back there, a lot of fuel fumes. The first year we ran mostly methanol so in the first laps, my eyes were tearing because there was so much methanol, but then it gets better.  We don’t have methanol anymore but I’m sure it’s going to be pretty dirty back there and we’re going to have to be careful.”

Tony Kanaan is back there with you—have you talked strategy?

“No not really. We’re going to have the same take on things--we’re going to have to be aggressive on situations that we at least know the outcome. Situations that we might not know the outcome, we have to be careful a little bit. He has a good car, I have a good car and we both know—I think he finished second here also—you have to be there at the end. In this race I never tried to be –maybe it’s one of the positive things about my career here in Indianapolis--but I never was really aggressive about things at the beginning. I always thought about everything I was going to do and waited for the last 50 laps. It was worth it. So even with the crash last year, I was told my average finish is 9^th –even with the crash. So it has worked so far so there’s no reason to change it.”

With problems in qualifying, did you get things sorted out in terms of race setup?

“That’s what I hope for. I’m not going to say we focused too much on the race. There are a lot of people who  were struggling—and struggling somewhat—let’s face it, if I was one mile an hour faster than I am right now, we would be starting in seventh. So there’s a lot of people within one mile an hour. Sometimes when you say struggling, people think you’re really far off but you’re just not perfect--and you have to be perfect. The season has proven that, not only at the 500 but at previous races too. If you want to be competitive, you have to be perfect—to get a top-10 or a top-five, you have to be perfect in every  aspect of your race or you won’t get it. It’s just so tough right now with all the competition.”

Is this the most competitive that you’ve seen the series?

This is the most competitive I’ve seen this series by far and it’s not only me—if you ask any driver, any team owner, anybody who is involved with it—they say it’s the most competitive. A weak team today would be a mid to good team four years ago. A strong team four years ago might not be that strong today. So it’s tough which is good, it’s proven that the IRL has been doing a good job having everybody up to speed and giving opportunities to everybody.”

How does your accident last year affect you going into the race? Or does it?

“If it affects anything, it is before, you think about it. But when you’re in the car, it’s the last thing that comes to mind. I remember it when I’m out of the car, when I talk about it, but it doesn’t give me any bad memories. It was a bad situation but it doesn’t bring me any bad memories. I’m sure it’s not going to be a problem.”

 

2009 Notes and News

Paul Tracy Named To Drive No. 14 in the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile

Foyt has won four Indy car races at the Mile (1962, 1964, 1975 and 1979) and six USAC stock car races.

 

About A.J. Foyt Racing

A.J. Foyt Racing, located 20 miles northwest of Houston, has been competing at the top levels of motorsports since 1965, over 40 years. With Foyt driving, his team won two Indianapolis 500s and three national Indy car championships. Since his retirement from driving in 1993, the team has continued to win, claiming two more national titles and the 1999 Indianapolis 500 with driver Kenny Brack.

 

 

 

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Forté Healthy Energy Shot Makes Racing Debut with A.J. Foyt Racing at Indy 500

 

INDIANAPOLIS (May 21, 2009) – Forté Healthy Energy Shot™ will enter its first Indianapolis 500 as an associate sponsor of A.J. Foyt IV’s No. 41 ABC Supply Indy car. Foyt IV will start 19^th in his sixth Indy 500 this Sunday afternoon.

“It’s great to have the Forte Energy Company as an associate marketing partner of our team for the Indy 500,” said Larry Foyt, team director of A.J. Foyt Racing. “We’re proud to be the team to debut their brand here at Indy. With the busy schedule we have during the month of May, Forte’s Healthy Energy Shot is a welcome addition to our garage.”

“Although the Forté Healthy Energy Shot™ is new to the racing circuit, we are very excited to be a part of A.J. Foyt’s team for the 500,” said Elishia Sorensen, Regional Director for Forté Energy Company. “Their mature and established team exudes quality from top to bottom, and that’s consistent with what we have in the Forté Healthy Energy Shot™. Entering this partnership will no doubt help us to reach a new audience, as well as increase brand awareness.”

Forté Healthy Energy Shot™, an energy shot that provides smart nutrition and long-lasting energy, is the flagship product of Forté Energy Company. The organic, açaí-based Forté Healthy Energy Shot™ takes an entirely different approach to functional energy products by offering a nutritious combination of antioxidant-rich superfruits, critical antioxidants, New Vision's world-famous Essential Minerals®, and the company's fast-acting, proprietary energy blend. At just 3 ounces in size, the Forté Healthy Energy Shot is convenient, delicious, low in natural sugar, and a healthier alternative for life on-the-go.

About Forté Healthy Energy Shot

A subsidiary company of New Vision International (founded in March 1995), Forté Energy Company™ was founded in January 2009 and is operated by award-winning entrepreneur, BK Boreyko.  Forté Energy Company™ energizes people's health and life with its physician-formulated organic acai sourced Forté Healthy Energy Shot™.  We are excited to enter the retail channel, bringing a healthy energy shot alternative to the market.  With "Energy for the speed of life" as our slogan, we are excited to partner with the A.J. Foyt Racing Team.  For more information, visit www.drink-forte.com. 

About A.J. Foyt Racing

A.J. Foyt Racing, located 20 miles northwest of Houston, has been competing at the top levels of motorsports since 1965, over 40 years. With Foyt driving, his team won two Indianapolis 500s and three national Indy car championships. Since his retirement from driving in 1993, the team has continued to win, claiming two more national titles and the 1999 Indianapolis 500 with driver Kenny Brack.

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