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N0KFQ > TODAY 12.05.16 15:11l 52 Lines 2423 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 93081_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - May 12
Path: IZ3LSV<F1OYP<ON0AR<GB7CIP<N0KFQ
Sent: 160512/1405Z 93081@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1957
Race car driver A.J. Foyt gets first pro victory
On this day in 1957, race car driver A.J. Foyt (1935- ) scores
his first professional victory, in a U.S. Automobile Club (USAC)
midget car race in Kansas City, Missouri.
A tough-as-nails Texan, Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. raced midget
cars-smaller vehicles designed to be driven in races of shorter
distances-and stock cars before moving up to bigger things in
1958, when he entered his first Indianapolis 500 race. Foyt won
his first Indy 500 crown in 1961, when rival Eddie Sachs was
forced to make a tire change in the final laps, giving Foyt the
chance to overtake him and win with a then-record average speed
of 139.13 mph.
The 1964 season saw Foyt earn a record-setting winning percentage
of .769 with 10 wins in 13 races. His most important win that
year came in the Indy 500, which he finished with an average
speed of 147.45 mph. After a near-fatal crash in a stock car race
in 1965-in which he broke his back, fractured his ankle and
suffered severe chest injuries-Foyt came back to continue his
string of impressive achievements. In 1967, he won his third Indy
500 in a car he had designed himself, with his father Tony as
chief mechanic. Two weeks later, he traveled to France and won
the 24 Hours of LeMans international competition with teammate
Don Gurney. With a win at the Daytona 500 in 1972, Foyt became
the first driver to win all three major races in motor sports:
the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans.
In addition to the records for most total victories (67), most
national championships (7) and most victories in one season (10),
Foyt also has the most consecutive Indy 500 starts: He competed
in the race for 35 straight years. His fourth win came in 1977,
when the 42-year-old Foyt screamed around the track at an average
speed of 161.331 mph. Only two other men have equaled his record
of four Indy 500 wins.
In 1989, Foyt became the first driver inducted into the brand-new
Motor Sports Hall of Fame in Novi, Michigan. He practiced at the
Indy 500 track in 1993, but retired on the first day of
qualifying races. Apart from auto racing teams, Foyt's later
business interests have included car dealerships, funeral homes,
oil investments and thoroughbred racehorses.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-Mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
Message timed: 09:04 on May 12, 2016
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