INDIANAPOLIS – There is only one No. 1 at the Indianapolis 500, and that is A.J. Foyt.
It’s been 23 years since Foyt last drove a race car in the Indianapolis 500 and 38 years since he became the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1977, but the 80-year-old Foyt remains the most popular figure at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
There have been 756 different drivers plus two relief drivers that have participated in the 98 previous Indianapolis 500s. Of those drivers, only 69 different drivers have won the race, 18 have won it more than once, just 10 have won it three times and three of the very best have won it a record four times.
And Foyt was the first.
“I won a few races around the world, but you only know A.J. Foyt from the Indianapolis 500,” Foyt said.
His first two Indianapolis 500 wins in 1961 and 1964 were in the front-engine Roadsters. His last two victories in 1967 and 1977 came in rear-engine cars. He is the only driver to win the Indy 500 in both a front-engine and rear-engine car and is the last driver to win the “World’s Biggest Race” in a front-engine car.
He is also the last driver to win the race when the entire frontstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was paved in brick, in 1961, giving the 2.5-mile oval the nickname of “The Brickyard.”
“People don’t realize how much smoother the racetrack is here,” Foyt said. “When you hit the bricks in 1961, the fillings would shake out of your teeth. To go through them years and be the last driver to win it on the bricks was an honor. But the track is so much smoother today. It was so rough down the straightaway back then and shook a lot of cars apart.”
Rick Mears did more at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a shorter amount of time than Foyt, whose career at the Indianapolis 500 began in 1958 when Dwight Eisenhower was the president of the United States and ended on Pole Day in 1993 when Bill Clinton was the president. Al Unser led more laps in the Indy 500 than Foyt.
But Foyt’s presence continues to loom mightily over the impressive 104-year history of the Indianapolis 500 and is the driver of all time in this race that has stood the test of time.
“Over those 100 years, we have had so many drivers risk their lives to try to win the Indianapolis 500, but there has been nobody as synonymous with the brand as A.J. Foyt,” said Doug Boles, the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “He won four races here as a driver and in 1999 won the Indianapolis 500 as a team owner with Kenny Brack. There has been a Foyt name in the race or owning a car in the race for nearly 60 years.”
Foyt was just a young Texan from Houston when he began his Indy dream. Little did he know he would become the greatest hero the Indianapolis 500 had ever seen.
“I love A.J.,” said rival team owner Roger Penske, whose drivers have won the Indy 500 a record 15 times. “A.J. brought color to the Speedway. He was rough and he was tough but when it was time to go, he was a racer. He was a terrific guy coming to the Speedway, and he really made this place.
“A.J. Foyt was the guy – the one you had to look up to. To me, he was the guy to emulate when you came here yourself.”
The other two four-time Indianapolis 500 winners have tremendous respect for Foyt.
“It’s well-deserved and well-earned,” Mears said. “The length of his career and all the different cars that he drove all of his accolades are well-deserved. A.J. is my hero, too. He was a very clean driver and ran very smart and very clean. You could count on him. He wanted to finish the race, too, because he knew that was the only way you can win it. You could run close, and there were no scary moments racing with A.J. Foyt.”
For as good as Foyt was on the racetrack, he was also known for his legendary temper. Some of his fellow competitors believe he used that to his advantage so that he could move in and around the garage area without being stopped.
Foyt’s historic career began with a dream.
“My dream when I started racing was every day in Memorial Day we would listen to the Indianapolis 500 back in Houston,” Foyt said. “I dreamed of this. In 1955, it was my first year to come up here with friends, and I sat in Turn 2 and watched the race. I thought maybe one day I would be lucky enough to be in this race.
“You have a lot of great racetracks, but you only have one Indianapolis 500. There is only one 500, and I will continue to come here as long as I can.”
Foyt’s first victory in 1961 was the 50th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. He got to know Ray Harroun, the winner of the very first 500 in 1911. That day was the passing of the torch – from the very birth of the Indianapolis 500 to Foyt leading this race into the Golden Age.
“It’s been wonderful years,” Foyt said. “It’s hard to put it into words.”
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