Columnist John Sturbin: Foyt taking the road to anywhere but retirement

John Sturbin

Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999 | 4:39 a.m.

FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

He always has been an opinionated man. And because he is Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr., in most instances, A.J.'s darned opinion is the only one that counts.

Just ask Arie Luyendyk about who still has the original winner's trophy from the inaugural True Value 500 Indy Racing League event at Texas Motor Speedway.

A.J. will turn 65 on Jan. 16, 2000, and he certainly cuts a bigger figure than in the days when he used to slide into a Sprint Car or prototype sports car or an Indy-car - preferably one of his trademark "Poppy Red" Coyotes built down in Houston. But at a time when folks A.J.'s age are content to plan their day around the next episode of "Wheel of Fortune", Foyt is doing everything he can to remain forever young.

For that we should be thankful. Because anyone involved with motorsports is going to regret the day when this colorful and complex Texan parks it for the final time.

Apparently, that moment is not yet marked on one of Foyt's Snap-On Tools calendars. Already a championship car-owner in the Pep Boys IRL, Foyt is moving full bore into the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 2000. Cup is racing's toughest arena, tougher now than when A.J. won the 1972 Daytona 500 in the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Mercury. It may be 10 times tougher than the last time Foyt competed at Daytona in 1992, in his No. 14 Oldsmobile.

No matter. Foyt, who dropped his bombshell announcement in the heart of NASCARland at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last month, disclosed on Monday that his Cup car of choice is the Pontiac. Financial giant Conseco, one of Foyt's former IRL backers, will be primary sponsor of the No. 14 Grand Prix. Foyt's Mooresville, N.C.-based NASCAR operation will be set up by Tommy LaMance, who learned about racing by working next to his famous uncle on Indy-cars. NASCAR veteran Waddell Wilson is the general manager and Terry Wooten the crew chief. Gregg Wilson is the engine-builder and Bobby Watson the fabricator.

As the roster fills up, the identity everyone wants Foyt to disclose is that of his first Cup driver. Series regular Johnny Benson is said to be a candidate. And the names of Billy Boat, one of Foyt's current IRL drivers, and Scott Sharp, an IRL championship contender and former Foyt employee, have topped recent reports.

"I would say at the present time, both of them are rumors," said Foyt, referring to Boat and Sharp. "We're evaluating what's out there and trying to decide if we want to bring in a complete rookie or someone seasoned. Ninety percent of the great drivers over there are tied up, and they're successful. We're still evaluating which way we want to go."

Actually, Foyt could be searching for three drivers once the IRL season ends with the Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Foyt prodigy Kenny Brack, the reigning IRL champion and winner of the 1999 Indianapolis 500, reportedly has signed a contract to drive for Bobby Rahal in the rival Championship Auto Racing Teams FedEx Series in 2000.

"Both my drivers' contracts are up at the end of the year," Foyt said. "They're free agents at the end of the race. If they want to go somewhere else, I wouldn't stop 'em. Some drivers like to go and try different things. I know Kenny likes road racing. He's focused right now, but he might want to move on. We've talked two or three times and I told him if he wanted to do something else he's free to.

"Remember when I hired Kenny, everybody laughed. But they're not laughing now."

Under Foyt's tutelage, Brack, of Sweden, has developed into a top-notch oval-track racer. And following a second-place finish to Sam Schmidt in the most recent IRL event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brack is within sight of a second consecutive Pep Boys Million bonus. Brack trails series leader and Plano resident Greg Ray - who drove for Foyt briefly last year in place of an injured Boat - by 13 points with 208 laps of racing to go in Fort Worth.

That will be it for A.J. this year. But same time next year, Foyt will be 65 and staring down the nearest runway at another four Winston Cup races.

Wouldn't it be easier just to plop down into the sofa, and turn on "Wheel of Fortune"?

"I work 24 hours a day, have all my life," Foyt said. "I've always wanted to do this, and that's the reason I'm doing this."

As we have come to expect and enjoy, A.J.'s darned opinion is the only one that counts.

SPOTLIGHT ON...

COMPTON'S POLE PROWESS EARNS PRIZED POWERPLANT

Dodge Ram driver Stacy Compton cashed in on a bet - and won a new "crate" Hemi V-8 - when he bagged his sixth pole position of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Compton already had won Bud Poles at California Speedway and I-70 Speedway in Kansas City when he saw a flyer announcing Chrysler's latest line of 426- cubic-inch and 528-cubic-inch Hemi engines. He approached Ted Flack, manager of prototype service/engineer, and told him he would like to drop one of the powerplants into a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda he was having restored.

"He laughed and told me, 'OK, no problem. You give me six poles and I'll get you one,"' said Compton, driver of the No. 86 Royal Crown Dodge. "I already had two poles, and the next weekend we went to Michigan (July 24) and sat on the pole. The next weekend we went to New Hampshire (Aug. 1) and sat on the pole, so he was starting to get a little bit worried. Then we went to St. Louis (Aug. 20) and sat on the pole, and he came up to me and said, 'I guess I need to be getting your shipping address."'

Compton locked up the pole and his new engine by touring the 1.5-mile LVMS trioval at a series-record 161.803 mph. Flack wasn't present when Compton won pole No. 6. But during the award ceremony, longtime Dodge engine-builder Joey Arrington handed Compton an IOU from Flack.

Compton, who started second and finished ninth in the Pronto Auto Parts 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in June, estimated the value of the engine at $12,000.

"I think that's wholesale price," said Compton, who is expected to be one of the pole favorites during qualifying for the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway at 5:30 p.m. today. "Basically, everything's got to be hand-done. I forget how many man-hours are involved in building one of those engines, but it's a whole lot."

Compton, whose family owns a garage and salvage yard in Hurt, Va., said the restoration he started should be completed during the racing off-season this winter. Compton is leaning toward a paint selection that will delight true Mopar fans.

"What is that color called? Plum Crazy?" Compton said. "It may be."

QUICK HITS WELCOME BACK, DODGE BOYS

Dodge Division is expected to announce its return to "a major auto racing series" - NASCAR Winston Cup - in 2000 during a news conference in New York City today.

The presentation is likely to include Ray Evernham, who plans to start a Cup team after resigning as crew chief for three-time and reigning Cup champion Jeff Gordon two weeks ago.

The rumored car of choice? Industry sources indicate Dodge will go the Ford Taurus route and race a version of its four-door Intrepid.

Chrysler's Dodge and Plymouth brands were consistent winners in NASCAR's Grand National division in the 1960s and 1970s before the manufacturer pulled out.

"I think it's too bad that Dodge or Chrysler Corporation hasn't been there since they made such a good showing in the '60s," said Jack Roush, who owns a five-car Taurus team. "It's a shame that they backed away. I think they were misguided when their companies' prospects improved and they didn't get back in. They've apparently made the decision to come back.

"I think it's a great decision for them. I think they'll get good value for their investment and all NASCAR fans, the spectrum of the NASCAR show, will be improved by their participation. I welcome them and I wish them well." PRO STOCK TRUCKS TO RUN

The National Hot Rod Association's Pro Stock Trucks are scheduled to return to Texas Raceway in Kennedale for a two-day event this weekend.

The trucks will run through three qualifying rounds tomorrow, with the top eight advancing into Saturday's eliminations. Racing will start at 7 p.m. Saturday, with admission $15 each day.

Also, fans attending tomorrow night's races will receive a coupon good for $20 for each carload on the spectator side. For more information call (817) 483-8410.

The trucks will move to the Texas Motorplex in Ennis next week to compete in the 14th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals. To order tickets for that event, call (800) 668-6775, or visit the track's Web site (www.texasmotorplex.com).

PENSKE OPTS FOR HONDA

How serious is Roger Penske about re-establishing his team as a CART front-runner?

Serious enough to reach agreement with American Honda to supply Marlboro Team Penske with Honda V-8 engines in the cars driven by Gil de Ferran and Greg Moore starting with the 2000 Championship Auto Racing Teams FedEx Series season.

Honda replaces Mercedes-Benz in the camp of car owner Penske, who will be competing against his own product next season. Penske is a joint venture partner with Mercedes-Benz in Ilmor Engineering.

Penske's drivers have won 99 Champ Car races, including 86 in CART, but only one since 1995.

Honda powered-drivers at Target/Chip Ganassi Racing have won the PPG Cup Driver's Championship for the past three years, and Honda's Juan Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy lead the current points standings.

LAST LAPS

- Adam Petty, nephew of Richard Petty and son of Kyle, has been entered in the O'Reilly 300 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at TMS tomorrow night. It will be Petty's second appearance in the No. 34 Sprint Prepaid PhoneCard Dodge fielded by Petty Enterprises.

- Texas Harley-Davidson will sponsor Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson's Oldsmobile Cutlass during the National Hot Rod Association's O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis next week.

- NASCAR Winston Cup points leader Dale Jarrett will take a 222-point lead over Bobby Labonte into the restrictor plate race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Sunday. Jarrett has posted six finishes of third or better, including one victory, in the last eight Cup races there.

- Travis Carter, co-owner of Hass/Carter Motorsports, has taken over crew chief duties for Darrell Waltrip's No. 66 Route 66/Big Kmart Ford Taurus for the remaining five races of the Cup season. Philippe Lopez, crew chief since May, will remain with the team.

- Citing the national tobacco settlement and young drivers, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has decided to end sponsorship of the short-track NASCAR Winston Racing Series. NASCAR said the weekly series will continue under alternative sponsorship.

LAST WORDS

"You wake up in the morning with a pit in your stomach. It's a difficult way to race."

- Jeff Burton, on competing in the NASCAR restrictor-plate race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway nn

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