The headline on the AJ Foyt Racing news release said it all: “Foyt 2 – Bees 0.”
Indy car legend A.J. Foyt survived another attack by Africanized killer bees while working on his ranch in West Texas on Wednesday. The Verizon IndyCar series team owner and retired driver with more Indy car race wins (67) than anyone was treated at a local hospital and released once his system had stabilized.
Unfortunately, this most recent attack will cause Foyt to miss this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, where he was to be inducted into its hall of fame tonight and serve as grand marshal of the historic 12-hour endurance race on Saturday. Foyt’s last major victory as a driver was the 1985 12 Hours of Sebring. The car he co-drove to that victory with Bob Wollek is scheduled to be at the race.
“I’m very sorry I can’t be there because I was really looking forward to this weekend,” said Foyt, who is expected to make a full recovery. “I was doing some work on my ranch out west and got attacked by killer bees. I look like I had a fight with Mike Tyson and lost. Right now, I’m on so much medication that I’m not feeling that great so I’ll take the doctors’ advice to rest for the next couple days.”
Foyt, 83, told Robin Miller of RACER.com that he angered the bees when he knocked over a tree on his property with a bulldozer. He was stung in the face, eyes and neck as he tried to escape in a pickup truck.
Foyt was attacked by killer bees in August 2005 when he sustained more than 200 stingers in his head alone. By all accounts, this attack was more severe and more dangerous because he had been sensitized to bee stings from the first encounter.
Andretti’s winning Phoenix cars to be on display race weekend
As part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the final win of Mario Andretti’s illustrious Indy car career, ISM Raceway will showcase four iconic race cars that the racing great drove to victory at the 1.022-mile oval in his career – including the car he used to win in 1993 – during the Phoenix Grand Prix race weekend on April 6-7.
ISM Raceway, the Verizon IndyCar series and Classic Racing Times are working together to honor the cars and drivers from the 1993 race, many of whom will be in attendance race weekend.
The four iconic Andretti cars to be showcased over the special reunion weekend are: the 1965 normally-aspirated Ford V8-powered Dean Van Lines Brawner Hawk that he drove to victory at ISM Raceway in November 1966, when he led 153 of 200 laps; another Dean Van Lines Brawner Hawk Ford that he used to win again in November 1967; the Lola/Chevrolet he drove to victory lane for Newman/Haas Racing in April 1988; and the Newman/Haas Lola/Ford-Cosworth XB he won with in April 1993 to become the oldest race winner (53 years, 34 days) in Indy car history.
It was the last of 52 Indy car wins for the legendary Andretti, ranking second only to A.J. Foyt’s 67 on the all-time chart.
ISM Raceway also announced that multiplatinum rock band Spin Doctors will perform a prerace concert at the track on Saturday, April 7. Spin Doctors found huge success in the early 1990s with hit songs “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” (1991) and “Two Princes” (1993). The band’s 1991 debut album, “Pocket Full of Kryptonite,” was certified gold in 1992, and is now five times platinum in the United States.
Tickets for the Phoenix Grand Prix are available at ismraceway.com, by phone at (866) 408-RACE (7223) or in-person at the ISM Raceway ticket office. The race airs live at 9 p.m. ET April 7 on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
Castroneves, Montoya being added to Long Beach walk of fame
Two previous Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach winners, Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya, will be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame to kick off the race weekend at the famed California street circuit. The ceremony takes place on Thursday, April 12, three days before Indy cars race there for the 35th straight year.
The public is invited to attend the induction ceremony, which will be held at 2 p.m. ET on South Pine Avenue in front of the Long Beach Convention Center. Montoya won the Long Beach race in 1999, on his way to the CART championship. Castroneves won the race in 2001, four years after achieving victory at Long Beach while driving in Indy Lights. Both are now driving for Team Penske’s sports car team that will be competing on the same weekend as the Indy cars.
“It is entirely appropriate that we recognize these two racing legends here at Long Beach this year,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “They have excelled in their performances both here and around the world and this year return to Long Beach both driving sports cars for Team Penske.”
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend runs April 13-15. Ticket information is available at gplb.com. The race airs live at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, April 15 on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
Rutherford to be honored by Road Racing Drivers Club in Long Beach
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford will be honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club at the “RRDC Evening with Johnny Rutherford presented by Firestone” in Long Beach, California, on Thursday, April 12. This is the RRDC’s 10th annual banquet honoring auto racing’s most influential leaders and icons, and will be held prior to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend.
Previous honorees were Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Brian Redman, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, George Follmer and Emerson Fittipaldi. The fun-filled dinner and conversation is filled with entertaining stories of the featured guest’s career. Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series, is the RRDC president and hosts the evening.
The dinner’s proceeds support RRDC’s young driver initiatives, rel="noopener noreferrer" including its SAFEisFAST.com program and the Team USA Scholarship, which the RRDC has backed since 1997 and has been providing opportunities for talented young American race-car drivers since 1990.
New Indy 500 premium viewing area offered in Turn 3
With seating demand for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil running high, a new premium viewing area will be constructed outside Turn 3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that offers an all-inclusive race day on Sunday, May 27.
The Turn 3 Club is being offered in response to increased demand for premium seating and hospitality at IMS. Suites are already sold out for Indianapolis 500 race day, while limited availability remains in the Hulman Terrace Club. Hospitality and premium sales are well ahead of the pace from 2017, with demand mirroring that from the landmark 100th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 2016.
Demand for reserved seats also is stronger than for the 101st running last May, won by Takuma Sato before one of the largest race-day crowds in decades.
“The Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil continues in its second century to show its strength as the world’s greatest spectator sporting event,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Demand for this year’s race is very strong, with suites sold out and ticket sales continuing to outpace last year. Adding the Turn 3 Club as a new way to experience the Indy 500 gives another option for our fans who want that traditional race experience with more than just a grandstand seat.”
The Turn 3 Club, located on the outside of the famed 2.5-mile oval, will provide: spectacular views of the track from an elevated Turn 3 location; pairing with a reserved seat in the North Vista for each customer; all-inclusive food, beer and wine, with liquor available for purchase; a tented deck area with tables and limited seating; parking passes in the North 40 Lot, with one pass for every four tickets purchased; dedicated restroom facilities and a live TV and audio feed. Tickets to the Turn 3 Club are $750 each. Existing Indianapolis 500 ticket holders can upgrade to the Turn 3 Club for $700 each.
Prices will increase closer to May, so interested rel="noopener noreferrer" race goers are encouraged to purchase soon at http://www.ims.com/turn3club or the IMS Ticket Office. Fans looking for a ticket to every racing event at IMS can also purchase a limited number of seats left in the Hulman Terrace Club, located on the outside of the front straightaway just past the Turn 4 exit. Fans can email ticketsales@brickyard.com to discuss purchase option in either the Turn 3 Club or Hulman Terrace Club.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway signature ‘green chairs’ available for purchase
Indianapolis Motor Speedway fans can bring a piece of the “Racing Capital of the World” into their homes by buying one of the famous “green chairs” that lined the B Stand and B Penthouse grandstands at IMS from the 1950s until 2015.
Limited rel="noopener noreferrer" quantities of the iconic green, metal folding chairs are on sale now at www.ims.com/green-chairs at two prices: $75 (for chairs installed in 1956) and $50 (installed in the 1960s). Each chair comes with a commemorative plaque and is sold in the same condition as it last appeared in use.
Metal folding chairs were used in the B Penthouse and in the B Stand until 2015, replaced by aluminum bench seats during the Project 100 renovation program of the facility, which opened in 1909.
Race-day ticket holders for any IMS event in 2018 will receive a $10 discount on either chair option if they purchase the chair using the same IMS account with which they bought their tickets. Chair customers are encouraged to pick up their treasured keepsakes at IMS starting March 27 to avoid shipping fees.