Houston Sports - AJ Foyt

AJ Foyt

Born: January 16, 1935

Sports: Auto Racing (14 total national championships, 172 major race wins, Triple Crown of endurance racing, Hall of Fame)

This week, NASCAR was in the news as a settlement was reached in a far-reaching antitrust lawsuit with team owners, including Michael Jordan.  The main figure on the NASCAR side of the dispute was chairman and majority owner Jim France, the 81-year-old son of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr.  It was on this date, December 16, 1947, that Bill Sr. met in a Florida hotel with a group of influential figures in American racing to create the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing.  It would compete for supremacy with open-wheel racing (known as Indy car) over the decades, and many Texans have headlined the sport on both sides.  One driver, however, stands head and shoulders above the rest and has etched his name into history as one of the greatest all-around racers.  So this week we'll learn more about Houston's own AJ Foyt.

Foyt traveled across town to race at Playland Park during the 1950s

Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. was born in downtown Houston to a mechanic who went by the name Tony and his wife, Emma, and was raised in the Heights neighborhood.  Tony owned his own auto shop during the lean years of the Depression but still enjoyed racing midget cars when he could.  He made his son a small racer of his own, powered by a lawnmower engine, before AJ was even five years old.  Before long the son began imitating the father, and when Tony would leave home to race it was a perfect time for AJ to practice his skills on any car left behind.  Such habits by a young man could lead to significant damage, not just to the vehicle but also to the family's property, but it also provided learning opportunities for his mechanical skills and let everyone around him know where his future was headed.  While growing up Foyt did not enjoy attending school, where he frequently had fights with bullies and often skipped class to either run home or participate in street races.  Although he attended multiple high schools in town, including Lamar and St. Thomas, AJ ultimately dropped out in 1953 before graduating.  Despite accepting the reality that his son would pursue a racing career, the elder Foyt refused to allow him to use his car, so at the age of 17 the young man signed on with another car owner and began his career.

With a dream of competing in the Indy 500, known as the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", AJ Foyt began to travel to compete and get his name known.  His first major event took place in Indianapolis, directly across the street from the famed speedway, three years later in 1956.  Despite not having much success to that point, and very nearly running out of funds to continue, the following year AJ finally began to establish himself in sprint car racing, a larger open-wheel vehicle mostly used in short ovals and dirt track racing.  Five years after committing to racing full-time, Foyt won his first Indy car race, which was considered to be the highest tier of competitive racing.  At the same time he continued to race sprint cars and even returned to midget cars periodically as his schedule allowed, showing the breadth of his diverse skill set.  The 1960 season established Foyt as one of the top drivers in America as he won the US Auto Club titles for both sprint and Indy cars, and the following year he became the first driver to repeat as the Indy points champion while also claiming his first Indianapolis 500 victory.  Foyt's legacy was largely shaped at that race, as he qualified for and competed in the event for 35 consecutive years, becoming the first racer to ever win it four times with victories in '64, '67, and '77.  That accomplishment has been matched three times but never broken.  One thing that has been broken on occasion, however, were Foyt's bones.  In 1965 he was involved in such a bad wreck that the doctor at the raceway declared him dead, but another driver was able to revive him.  Just 10 weeks later, without having even fully recovered from significant chest, back, and ankle injuries, Foyt was back on the track.

AJ Foyt had succeeded at a variety of racing forms, but he was almost always ready to tackle a new challenge.  In 1963 it was stock car racing that captured his attention, and he made his first start in a NASCAR event.  It only took him 10 races to capture his first victory, and one of his wins came in the 1972 Daytona 500, the circuit's premier event.  In 1967 he made his only attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race alongside driving partner Dan Gurney, and the pair won en route to Foyt becoming one of just nine drivers to ever win the so-called Triple Crown of endurance racing (he won both of the other two legs, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 1985).  He even competed three times in the NASCAR Truck Series during its early days, but didn't record any wins.  His legendary career includes records that are unlikely to ever be broken, given the modern schedules and constraints on drivers.  Even after his racing career ended Foyt remained active in the sport by leveraging his expert mechanical skills and experiences as a driver to become a dominant team owner.  Fielding cars in the Indy Racing League, NASCAR, CART Series, and others, he has found his way to the winner's circle numerous times since retiring.  Despite being one of the best-known names in racing, however, Foyt has found success and enjoyment in several other facets of life.  He was married to his wife Lucy for 68 years and raised three children.  He has become an author, has a ranch and a wine label, and has beaten numerous medical conditions with the same grit and personality that made him a champion.  AJ Foyt has been honored by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1967), Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1978), Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1989), International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2000), Automotive Hall of Fame (2007), and of course the Houston Sports Hall of Fame (2019).  Now approaching his 91st birthday, Foyt remains a Houston resident and keeps his finger on the pulse on his company in Waller, AJ Foyt Racing.  Few people have done many of the things he's done.  No one has done them all.

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