The Indianapolis News from Indianapolis, Indiana • 16

6-8 THE INDIANAPOLIS NEWS Friday, VUy 28, 1993 Race goes on without A 1 (WML mm A hard to give up racing, it's hard to say how it feels. "For 35 years, I've been here, but this has been my life. There were tears running out of my eyes. I hate to get emotional. "Man, it's hard to be in the car.

I just felt real sad. This was hard." By DICK MtTTMAN The Indianapolis News President Clinton was an 11 -year-old fifth-grader when A.J. Foyt drove in his first 500-Mile Race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George was 19 months away from his birth. During the ensuing decades as Clinton and George rose to positions of authority in politics and auto racing, Foyt drove in the 500.

Race after race, year after year, the one constant was Foyt. For 35 consecutive years. All of that comes to an end Sunday when the green flag falls on the 77th race. Foyt will be there, but not in a car. He'll be in the pits directing the team operation mii tip Win A.J.

Foyt 8623 E. Washington St. East of 1-465 (317) 898-0700 Indy's Largest Ford Dealership Plus Freight After Cash Back 'Mari (Speedway chairman Mari Hulman George) asked me, is it really true this I told her, 'Yes, it's true. I had never really done this I had no intention of A.J. Foyt Former race driver with.

There are good people with the team and Mr. (Jim) Gilmore and his organization. "It's like a damn nightmare to do this this way." Dwight David Eisenhower was president when Foyt drove in his first race. There have been wars in Far East and Middle East. Men have walked on the moon, the Titanic was located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the Berlin Wall became pieces for souvenir sales, and Russia rid itself of communism.

Only Foyt and 11 other drivers survive from that initial race. They still were driving roadsters in that day, and cigar-smoking Jimmy Bryan won that year. Three years later, Foyt won the 500 for the first time. The next year, Australian Jack Brabham showed up with his tiny rear-engine Cooper-Climax and started the power move to the rear. In 1964, the Houston charger won for a second time.

It was the final victory for a roadster. In 1965, Foyt stirred the national feelings of a huge pole day crowd by snatching the pole away from Scotsman Jimmy Clark. Then in 1967, he won No. 3 in a rear-engine car, and remains today the only man to win in front- and rear-engine cars. There was a wait of 10 years before he became the first four-time champion.

An indication of how times had changed was that a woman Janet Guthrie started for the first time in that race. Foyt never won again. Al Unser Sr. joined him as a four-time winner, then Rick Mears did the same. But Foyt kept plugging away despite his own personal tragedies over the loss of his parents.

Then came the devastating crash at Elkhart Lake. He spent seven months of the most painful therapy recovering from injuries that shattered his feet. Come May, though, he was back. He made an almost incredible qualifying run to earn a spot in the middle of the front row. The fans were in tears.

He said it would be his last race. But 26 laps into the race a piece of suspension from a crashing car landed on his machine, damaging it to the point he couldn't continue. He said he didn't want to go out like that so he was back again last May and drove to a ninth-place finish. He, nor any of his millions of fans, knew it then, but that was his farewell race. "This was the place that made A.J.

Foyt," he said. "It's hard to give up what you love. It's Lap leaders 1. Al Unser 629 2. Ralph DePalma 613 3.

A.J. Foyt 555 4. Wilbur Shaw 508 5. Parnelli Jones 492 6. Bill Vukovich Sr 485 7.

Mario Andretti 484 8. Bobby Unser 440 9. Rick Mears 429 10. Billy Arnold 410 11. Emerson Fittipaldi 344 12.

Gordon Johncock 339 13. Michael Andretti 337 14. Louis Meyer 332 15. Jimmy Clark 2S8 16. Bill Holland 297 17.

Johnny Rutherford 296 18. Rex Mays 266 19. Rodger Ward 261 20. Mauri Rose 256 21. Jimmy Murphy 237 22.

Tommy Milton 233 23. Jimmy Bryan 216 24. Tom Sneva 208 25. Frank Lockhart 205 26. Jimmy Snyder 181 27.

Lee Wallard 178 28. Danny Sullivan 162 29. Jim Rathmann 153 30. Pete DePaolo 152 Mileage leaders (Number of races in parentheses) 1. A.J.

Foyt (35) 12.272V2 2. Al Unser (26) 10,383 3. Gordon Johncock (24) 7,895 4. Mario Andretti (27) 5. Johnny Rutherford (24) 6,980 6.

Bobby Unser (19) 7. Cliff Bergere (16) 8. Lloyd Ruby (18) 9. Mauri Rose (16) 6,050 10. Rick Mears (15) 5,855 11.

Jim Rathmann (14) 12. Roger McCluskey (18) 13. Tom Sneva (18) 5,450 14. Wilbur Shaw (13) 15. Pancho Carter (17) 5,3522 16.

Louis Meyer (12) 17. Eddie Johnson (13) 5,215 18. Gary Bettenhausen (20) 5,137 19. Rodger Ward (15) 20. Dick Simon (17) 4,885 1 21.

Ted Horn (10) 4,860 22. Al Unser Jr. (10) 4,460 Career winnings 1. Rick Mears $4,299,392 2. Al Unser Sr 3,183,148 3.

Al Unser Jr 2,645,624 4. A.J. Foyt 2,637,963 5. Emerson Fittipaldi 2,589,300 6. Mario Andretti 2,314,466 7.

Arie Luyendyk 2,090,544 8. Bobby Rahal 2,000,166 9. Michael Andretti 1,850,305 10. Tom Sneva 1,772,114 of his drivers Robby Gordon and John Andrew. The four-time champion made an abrupt decision May-15 pole qualifying day to wave the checkered flag over his legendary driving career.

It came as a snap decision "a typical A.J. thing" after Gordon crashed during the morning pre-qualification practice. "I had no idea I was going to do this," Foyt said after taking a final ride around the track in his famed No. 14 race car. "My car was very good and very quick.

Then when Robby went into the wall, as a car owner, I had to make a decision whether or not to sit down. I had to give 110 percent as a driver. I just can't." He said at that moment he knew the time had come to step away. He hadn't intended to do it that way, but always had said when he decided to retire everyone would know. Gordon's crash wasn't the only factor involved in making the decision.

His longtime sponsor, Copenhagen, had been against him driving again since his severe accident at Elkhart Lake, three years ago. Secondly, his health has not been the best. His potassium level was down and he felt he no longer could worry about his well-being and drive at 220 mph at the same time. "Mari (Speedway chairman Mari Hulman George) asked me, is it really true this Foyt said. "I told her, 'Yes, it's true.

I had never really done this I had no intention of quitting." Foyt had been pumped up after running a 221 mph lap the day before. "I've been here at Indy for 35 years and there are two things that make it hard," Foyt said. "Number one, I've got so many fans. That's what kept me here for 35 years. If it weren't for the fans, I probably would have retired 10 years ago.

"Second, the people I've been surrounded cEVERY CAR ORfe Struck sold earn TRUCK SOLD EARN $100 DONATION TO RILEY CHILDRENS. HOSPITAL 11 rili HA i. a '93 TAURUS GL2DR SEDAN 221 3) Per mo. 30,000 24 Total Mileage 30,000 Number of Months 24 Total Mileage Refundable Security Mileage Charge Number of Months Refundable Security Mileage Charge over 30,000 11c per mile Deposit $225 Cash Down $1000 Deposit $275 over 30,000 11c per mile Cash Down $1000 Total of Monthly Total Due at Payments $6456 Inception $1544 Lease End Value $10,745 $5256 $8750 Total Due at Total of Payments Inception $1444 Lease End Value 1 nnnwif iittt 'iiniTnnrrrnT I iijiii ihit iimiKiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiMiiwMiiiniiii it TOrSa SLUJtoirilfoaigl oXUJiriUhr' 92 ERflP 1 '92 TEMPO dr (Mm s..