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Pole Weekend

Speedway, IN (May 10, 2009) – Qualifying is one of the most stressful moments for a driver at the Indianapolis Speedway. The driver is alone in the car and alone on the track. The crew who has worked endless hours on the car can only watch as do the other teams, media and the fans in the stands. The driver must drive four perfect laps, hitting his marks perfectly on the track to maintain the momentum that is needed to carry speed down the 5/8 mile straightaways. Speed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is typically measured in miles-per-hour, however, it usually comes down to thousandths of a second whether you make or miss the race.

When legendary A.J. Foyt qualified for his first race in 1958, his four-lap average qualifying speed was 143.130 m.p.h. When he qualified for his final race in 1993, his average speed was 222.798 m.p.h. Foyt had the ability to adapt to the differences in car technology. When he started back in the late-1950’s, the modern Indy Car had the engine in the front and skinny tires, when he retired as a driver in 1993, the car was rear-engined with ground-effects and wings that produced high lateral g-forces and wide sticky tires. However in both scenarios, there was one common denominator, the driver always had to turn out precise driving lines to motor around the 2.5-mile Brickyard. Today is no exception. ABC Supply Foyt Racing drivers, Vitor Meira and A.J. Foyt IV have the same consequences that drivers of the past had to contend with, make a mistake at Indianapolis, you’re in the wall.

Super-Tex, A.J. Foyt has had four career poles at Indianapolis (1965, 1969, 1974 and 1975) and has qualified on the front row eight times with his last one in 1991. The front row in 1991 was memorable because not only did it include Foyt who was coming back from his devastating leg injuries he received at Road America the year prior, but also because Rick Mears and Mario Andretti shared the front row with A.J. Between all three they shared nine “500” wins and thirteen National Championships.

This year, although not contending for the pole, qualifying both ABC Supply cars on the first weekend was the goal. Mission accomplished.

After a qualifying attempt was disallowed due to a post-qualifying technical violation, it gave Meira and the Foyt Racing Team the ambition to dig deep and find that extra speed needed for qualifying. In fact, the No. 14 car qualified faster the second time. Meira responded after qualifying 14th (third fastest of the day), “The main thing was getting in the show today. That’s more important than the position you qualified for today. If we are in the race, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. We can start working on the balance of the car. The weather was better today and that helped, but so did a lot of changes that we made. We came back to basics a little bit, and it worked. We got the speed we were looking for on a day like this, but yesterday is where we really wanted to be. Our starting position was secondary to the priority of getting qualified today. Now we have a whole week to think about the race.” This will be Meira’s seventh Indianapolis 500.

Some may have thought the No. 41 car wouldn’t qualify on the second day. Although A.J. Foyt IV may have surprised some doubters, Foyt IV was confident in his car saying, “Since we got here, we knew we had a solid car. We knew it was going to be tough to get into the top 11, but we really knew we had a solid car and especially a solid race car. We figured we’d keep on trimming (out) and get the speed. You know, it didn’t come as easy as expected today to get in (the field). Obviously, the No. 14 car (Vitor Meira) is really stout. That shows that the car’s good and the setup’s good, but we just had to find it. We were scrambling down there to find it. You start getting close to 5 o’clock, and everything starts turning into a rush. But we found it – that’s the big thing.” (What went through your mind during the last couple of hours as you sit and wonder if you will have time to get out there?): “I was so nervous and so stressed out. You know, I haven’t eaten anything all day, and it feels like I just got out of the Golden Corral eating a big buffet. My stomach was in such a knot. I’m just thrilled to be in the ABC A.J. Foyt car here in the Indy 500 again.” This will be A.J. Foyt IV’s sixth Indianapolis 500.

The question that will come up next weekend, will A.J. bring out a third car? When asked, team manager Larry Foyt responded, “We’ve got two really good racecars.” He added, “However, you never know, if it looks like it’d be easy to get in we might do it.” Stay tuned.

Qualifying for positions 23-33 for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 is this Saturday, May 16. Bump day which drivers can bump out slower cars from the field is Sunday, May 17.

The 2009 IndyCar Series season continues May 24 with the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 1 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The ABC Supply A.J. Foyt 225 IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile is scheduled for the following week on May 31. For ticket information on the Milwaukee Mile, go to www.milwaukeemile.com

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