A.J. Foyt's Got a Secret
I found this and had to put it on my BLOG. It shows the position of Open Wheel racing in 1961, when they were able to guess who A.J. Foyt and Ray Harroun were in just five questions! I think you'll agree, today it would not go as well. Hopefully we will get to this point again in the future. Notice also at one point, that Ray Harroun is using a speaker in order to hear the conversation. When A.J. says he feels driving at Indianapolis is safe, I think he would admit today it was never safe, maybe more of a calculated risk. In his first race at Indy in 1958, during the first lap, Pat O'Connor was killed in a multi-car wreck. Because of this wreck, metal roll bars welded to the frame were mandated for the 1959 race. Also helmets were mandated to pass safety certification. In fact the number of drivers who died in a race car over his career is significant. Let's face it, he came close a few times himself.
A.J. is celebrating his 75th birthday January 16th of this year!
Copyright MMIX Ed Justice, Jr.