23 replies to this topic

[Tuboscocca]

Happy birthday A.J.

BTW Simon Taylor had a 'Lunch' with him...

Best Regards Michael

[Collombin]

BTW Simon Taylor had a 'Lunch' with him...

....but unfortunately took many of AJ's recollections at face value.

A true legend of motorsport.

(And so is Foyt)

[JacnGille]

Happy Birthday Super Tex.

[Michael Ferner]

Da man.

[David Beard]

Da man.

Translation?

[Emery0323]

Happy Birthday, A.J. !

 

....but unfortunately took many of AJ's recollections at face value.
 

Can you elaborate on which recollections should not have been taken at face value?

[Collombin]

3 I can recall are the implication that Pat O'Connor burned to death, the claim by AJ that he won the Langhorne race in which Bryan died, and the claim that Herk was on pole for that race. I don't have the mag to check if there were any others though.

[Jerry Entin]

A.J. Foyt arriving at Indianapolis in 1964, when his memory must have been much better.

 

 

Not having seen the Foyt interview, from the comments it seems as though the interviewer dropped the ball a number of times. It is hard to blame Foyt at the ripe old age of 80, after such a long race career. It does show that when interviewing older race drivers, it is important to always check their claims, rather than take them at face value and repeat them in print.

 

This comes from Willem Oosthoek:

"A.J. Foyt was not the only one in this respect. I noticed the same with drivers like Dan Gurney and Jim Hall when recalling certain episodes of their race career. And they did not race virtually every weekend like A.J. did."

 

 

Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 18 January 2015 - 14:24.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Texas-size birthday wishes to one of the most versatile (and perhaps one of the greatest) drivers ever.  I wish he'd had the interest in driving a few seasons in F1....that would have been interesting.

[PCC]

 

Not having seen the Foyt interview, from the comments it seems as though the interviewer dropped the ball a number of times.

 

I'm not sure I agree. An interview is different from a news story, or a feature, or an analysis. The interviewer's job is to enable the subject to tell his story, his way. Readers can dispute the story if they see fit, but that's not the interviewer's job.

[D-Type]

But the journalist recording the interview should ensure that the published facts are correct even if this necessitates obtaining the interviewee's permission to make changes.

[PCC]

But the journalist recording the interview should ensure that the published facts are correct even if this necessitates obtaining the interviewee's permission to make changes.

Part of me agrees with you. But another part thinks that the job of a feature like "Lunch with..." is to help me to get to know the subject. AJ's own stories, his own recollections, in his own words, are what give me the most insight into his character - in spite of, or sometimes even because of, inaccuracies.

[DOHC]

Ah, Mr Texas! Happy belated birthday, AJ!

[Emery0323]

3 I can recall are the implication that Pat O'Connor burned to death, the claim by AJ that he won the Langhorne race in which Bryan died, and the claim that Herk was on pole for that race. I don't have the mag to check if there were any others though.

Those incidents were a little before my time, so good to know.

 

Part of me agrees with you. But another part thinks that the job of a feature like "Lunch with..." is to help me to get to know the subject. AJ's own stories, his own recollections, in his own words, are what give me the most insight into his character - in spite of, or sometimes even because of, inaccuracies.

 

It's an interesting aspect of human nature that people will mis-remember and sometimes inflate/deflate their role in re-telling incidents from their younger days.  For any elderly public figure, like Foyt, remembering events from decades ago is fraught with the risk that people will call him out if he gets something wrong.   Foyt is famously irascible, and the editors of Motorsport explained how they had to get Kenny Brack to intervene with Foyt in order to get the interview.    

 

Inaccuracies must come up with some regularity in any publication that publishes reminiscences like these.   Is there a standard procedure for dealing with it?  Editor's afterwords, or letters from readers?

[Collombin]

Those incidents were a little before my time

Mine too!

Error identification/corrections often turn up in the following issue's letter pages.

[Jerry Entin]

For those for whom the event was "before their time" and for those who are too old to remember.........

 

From: 1960 USAC Yearbook

 

Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 19 January 2015 - 16:36.

[Eaglenindy]

The cleanest, toughest, meanest, most indestructable driver I have ever had the pleasure to see.  Watching AJ in a dirt car was akin to watching the Bolshoi Ballet.  Precise, quick, smooth and repeated.  The sameway in sportscars and stockcars.  He could carry a lesser car to a win or blow the doors off of every one when it was right.    Needless to say, also fast.  Should have died at Riverside, Milwaukee, Michigan or Elkhart Lake. But, like the Ever Ready bunny, kept on.

If you ever get a chance to hear him tell stories, your gut will be sore for days from laughing.  If things are going bad . . . run far away.

 

The Speedway should dedicate this month to him and honor him in everyway possible.  AJ IS the Indianapolis 500.

[Jerry Entin]

Perhaps A.J. Foyt's brilliance is best remembered by looking at his record at Langhorne, a dirt track with a far more challenging [read dangerous] reputation than the Brickyard.

 

Yes, A.J. retired at Langhorne in 1960, but he won in 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964, more than any other driver in the history of this track, which would give most Formula One drivers of the era soiled underpants. Remember Monza in 1957 and 1960?

 

A.J. was truly the King of the Dirt. As for pavement tracks such as Indy, I remember what Bill Krause once told me. Krause started out on the dirt but soon made the change to sports car racing. He mentioned that he rated both A.J. and Parnelli Jones as top drivers, but considered Parnelli the smoother of the two on paved ovals. Parnelli never won at Langhorne, though.

Edited by Jerry Entin, 20 January 2015 - 21:39.

[Jerry Entin]

A.J. Foyt in the Mecom Scarab/Chevy

 

Nassau, December 1963. Super Tex outrunning the sporty car guys with the John Mecom-owned Scarab/Chevy, not once but twice.

 

Photo by Flip Schulke [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

Edited by Jerry Entin, 22 January 2015 - 22:06.

[Jerry Entin]

A.J. Foyt at the Indy Museum listening to Donald Davidson

A.J. Foyt just joined the group listening to Donald Davidson and was glad to shake hands and say Hi to all the fans that approached him. A True Ambassador to Motor Racing.

[63Corvette]

AJ is truly a legend. I met one of his compatriots Parnelli Jones at Indy last year, and although he is in the same age bracket, he is in better shape. One of AJs friends Dale Burt was my mentor, and was "complicit" in bringing me into road racing by selling me "scrub" race tires for $2 to $8 each back in the mid 1960s. AJ used to hang out at Dale's just to talk cars, and he was a wonderful reconteur of racing tales. AJs street car at that time was a Ford Falcon pickup truck............with a 426 Hemi engine. AJ was peerless on dirt and I watched him "clobber" his competition at the Astrodome midget race, but my understanding from John Mecom's crew is that it took 5 men to get AJ into Mecoms (426 Hemi powered) Hussain I CanAm car.......one to fasten his belts and 4 to hold him down cause he didn't want to drive that car

[Regazzoni]

While researching a different matter, I came across an "AJ Foyt Family" professorship/chair in engineering at the Rice University in Houston, held by few people over the years in mechanical engineering, bioengineering and currently it seems by this gentleman:

 

https://ibb.rice.edu...lty-list?page=1

 

https://cee.rice.edu/calvin-h-ward

 

I suppose the result of a generous donation from the Foyt family to the university.

[Jack-the-Lad]

While researching a different matter, I came across an "AJ Foyt Family" professorship/chair in engineering at the Rice University in Houston, held by few people over the years in mechanical engineering, bioengineering and currently it seems by this gentleman:
 
https://ibb.rice.edu...lty-list?page=1
 
https://cee.rice.edu/calvin-h-ward
 
I suppose the result of a generous donation from the Foyt family to the university.

It’s nice to see the Foyt family funding higher education, especially in engineering and not some esoteric discipline. Rice is a highly respected university.

[JacnGille]