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Jeff Simmons And A. J. Foyt Race Well Together

INDIANAPOLIS – Connecticut’s Jeff Simmons, 31, is thrilled to have qualified A. J. Foyt’s car for the 92nd Indianapolis 500. The Boston College graduate didn’t have a ride when the Speedway opened in May but when Foyt needed a second driver, the racing legend tapped Simmons for the ride.

“I like the way he drives and the way he hustles the car pretty hard, which is what I look for in a young driver,” Foyt said in the selection announcement.

Said Simmons, “It is an honor to drive for A. J. (Foyt). He’s a legend and a national treasure. As a young driver I followed his career and read books about him. The first time I drove for him he told me I was a real racer. Coming from him I took that as a huge compliment.”

Without an abundance of practice time, Simmons put Foyt’s car into the 24th starting position at a speed of 221.103 miles per hour.

Qualifying at Indianapolis is considered one of the biggest challenges in all of motorsports. A driver knows he or she must not make a mistake of any kind. While it takes less than three minutes to complete the white-knuckle run, anything can and often happens during the 10-miles of excitement.

For Simmons, it happened on the warm-up lap. He had gone out immediately behind teammate Darren Manning, who shocked the Foyt camp with a 14th fastest effort. Foyt was so thrilled with the outcome that he forgot to wave the green flag for Simmons, ending his run before it started.

Simmons pulled in seemingly unruffled and returned to the track a few minutes later to complete four smooth laps. “A. J. made an honest mistake and he apologized to me,” Simmons said. “It didn’t bother me but I am glad it is over.”

Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 will be the fourth for Simmons. His best finish was 11th a year ago in a Rahal Letterman Racing car. Simmons had taken over the car the previous year, replacing the late Paul Dana. But he didn’t perform as well as the Rahal group wanted, so they parted company in July, 2007, leaving him without a ride.

But he did have one positive event during the year when he married Indianapolis TV personality Stephanie Soviar. The newlyweds will move to St. Louis after the “500” as she has taken on a new assignment with KMOV-TV.

Simmons did pick up an occasional Firestone Indy Lights Series assignment but no IndyCar rides were available until Foyt stepped forward. “I had driven his Lights car here in 2004 (finishing 2nd) and we have always gotten along well,” Simmons said.

The Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 takes place Friday afternoon and Simmons is the only “500” driver to do double duty. “It doesn’t hurt to have more track time. To stay sharp is important,” he noted.

Simmons and the other 32 starts will have a final “500” tune-up Friday on Carb Day and they will not be on the track again until race day. “I think our cars should be pretty good and we should have a good 500,” Simmons said confidently.

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