American racing legend A.J. Foyt conquered various racing disciplines during his remarkable career, including IndyCar, NASCAR, and endurance racing, and he's still a keen observer of the US racing scene. But when it comes to Grand Prix racing, the Texan says he "wouldn't cross the street to watch an F1 race".
With a career spanning several decades, Foyt has left an indelible mark in the world of motorsport.
He was the first driver to achieve four wins in the Indy 500, capturing victories at the Speedway in 1961, 1964, 1967 and in 1977.
His outstanding track record at the Brickyard solidified his status as one of the all-time greats in the history of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Although he built his enduring legacy mainly on oval tracks, Foyt was also a handy racer on road courses as he properly demonstrated at Le Mans in 1967 when he and fellow racing legend Dan Gurney crushed the opposition at the wheel of Ford's monstrous Mark IV.
Foyt and the Texan's IndyCar outfit A.J. Foyt Enterprises, managed by his son Larry, are gearing up for next weekend's 107th running of the Indy 500 in which the team has two cars in the 33-car field.
Asked last week in an interview with AutoWeek about his views on Formula 1 given the series' trending popularity in the United States and its rivalry with IndyCar, the 88-year-old began his reply with a stunning revelation.
"I was offered a ride years ago for Ferrari, but when they said you’d be the No. 2 race car driver, even if you could win a race, that’s when I decided to stay with my Sprint Cars and Midgets," Foyt said.
"If I could win the race, I was going to win the race, I wasn’t going to run behind the team’s other car. I don’t believe in racing that way."
It's hard to imagine Foyt's straightforward and no-nonsense demeanor, speaking his mind without hesitation with a Texan twang to Enzo Ferrari, but it certainly would have been a sight to behold as would have been the sight of A.J. manhandling one of the Commendatore's F1 cars around the tight and twisty streets of Monaco.
But what about today's Formula 1 and its increasing footprint in America? Foyt feels that in terms of the competition provided by F1, IndyCar has absolutely nothing to worry about.
"No, I don’t think so," he said. "I wouldn’t cross the street to go watch a Formula 1 race because you know who’s going to win. That’s not racing."
Reverting to IndyCar, Foyt believes that his team's hard work this season is paying good dividends, as Santino Ferrucci's excellent P4 performance in Indy 500 qualifying demonstrated.
Needless to say, Foyt would love to find himself back in victory lane next Sunday as a team owner.
"It would mean a hell of a lot to me and I think we have a good shot this year, to be truthful with you," he said.
"We’ve done a lot of homework since we’ve been running so bad the last couple of years, so I think it’s going to pay off."
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