Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Foyt pleased with dual-win weekend

Friday, July 12, 2002 | 10:41 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

A.J. Foyt never has been accused of being politically correct. But the racing legend was a model of diplomacy when asked to reflect on his dual wins as a car owner during last weekend's Indy Racing League events at Kansas Speedway.

Foyt's grandson, 18-year-old A.J. Foyt IV, won Sunday's inaugural Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series race in an A.J. Foyt Racing entry. Later in the day, Airton Dare scored his first IRL victory in the Ameristar Casino Indy 200.

Foyt was asked which of the wins was more special to the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

"I was thrilled with both of them," Foyt responded. "I'd have to put them on even scale because they're both very young boys and they've both come a long way. I'm just as happy for one as I was the other because a victory is a victory and it would be hard to separate them."

Foyt, 67, said he has become "very close" with the 24-year-old Dare, who has been driving for him only four months.

"It's kind of like when you meet your first girlfriend," Foyt said of his relationship with the Brazilian. "The more you see each other, the more you know how each other works. He's gotten used to me and I've gotten used to him. I kind of know what he wants in a racecar and he knows how to ask me for what he wants and I try to give it to him.

"What we both have is a lot of faith in each other and when you start getting a team built up like that, regardless of who you are, you're going to be tough. We're like one big family ... and we've just come to be a good team."

A.J. Foyt IV, who also is a tire changer on Dare's car, isn't the only driver of note in the developmental series; Arie Luyendyk Jr., son of the two-time Indy 500 winner, finished 10th Sunday, and actor/driver Jason Priestley took second in his open-wheel debut.

Tickets for both races will go on sale Sept. 16. The ticket-renewal process for previous ticket holders is under way. Last year's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 drew an estimated crowd of 135,000.

Busch turned the fastest Winston Cup lap ever at the Brickyard with a speed of 181.777 mph on Wednesday. His lap bettered the official Winston Cup track record of 181.072 mph, set by Brett Bodine in qualifying for the Brickyard 400 in 2000.

"I didn't expect that so soon," Busch said. "But we know the racetrack is much faster than the previous year, with us bringing back more downforce and the racetrack doing its (surface grinding)."

Todd Bodine also bettered his brother's track record with a lap of 181.577 mph. A second round of testing for teams that did not take part this week will be Monday and Tuesday.

Halliday, 23, was listed in stable condition at the Kansas University Medical Center, according to Indy Racing League director of medical services Dr. Henry Bock. The New Zealand native was in good condition Tuesday, but began experiencing shortness of breath and was moved to intensive care.

Halliday also suffered a concussion, a broken left wrist and a fractured right ankle.

"A guy like Tony Stewart says he wants to drive your truck, how can you tell him no?" Petree said. "He wanted to drive the truck and, man, I wanted him to drive it. So we talked and figured we'd go ahead and do it, have a lot of fun."