A.J. Foyt, winner of both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 in a storied career, has no bigger fan than Tony Stewart. And it was Foyt who presented the winner’s trophy to one of Stewart’s drivers. Kevin Harvick, in Victory Lane on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.
In an earlier question-and-answer session with reporters, Foyt opined that the Aug. 5, 2013 Sprint Car accident that sidelined Stewart for 15 races last season would have no lasting effect on Stewart’s on-track performance.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect him,” Foyt said. “Tony’s a racer. He might limp or be crippled, but, hell—look at me. It never affected me when I got burned or nothing. I don’t think it’s going to affect Tony.
“Once you’re a racer … Tony isn’t going to settle for second or third. Tony will run just as hard for a dollar as he would for a million dollars. I think that’s where him and I have become friends.”
Logano has an anxious moment
Oil-dry on the inside lane didn’t prevent Joey Logano from dropping to the inside of the track on the final restart of Sunday’s race, looking as if he were about to take race winner Kevin Harvick and runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. three-wide into the first corner.
But Harvick was able to clear Logano and Earnhardt and pulled away to win the race.
“It’s all about the win, right?” said Logano, who finished fourth after losing the third spot to teammate Brad Keselowski. “Really, third place doesn’t mean anything. Last year, you may have taken third place and taken the points.
“This year (with a win all but guaranteeing a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup), hey, go for it. Overall, the Shell Pennzoil Ford was fast, just not as fast as the 4 car (Harvick). It said ‘Freaky Fast’ (on the side of the car, for sponsor Jimmy John’s), and it wasn’t lying—that’s for sure. We had nothing for him.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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