As Foyt retreats, Penske roars on

Indy icons show signs that families will succeed them.

A.J. Foyt and Roger Penske are as much a part of the Indianapolis 500 as the pagoda and Gasoline Alley, icons of such stature that they’re identifiable only by their first names.

“There’s A.J.,” fans say, “and there’s Roger.”

Together, the two men have shaped the race in ways neither could have ever imagined. Foyt has been a presence since the 1950s, winning four times before becoming a team owner, and Penske has been coming since the 1960s, reaching victory lane 16 times with his venerable team.

Foyt turned 82 in January, though. Penske turned 80 a month later. And that begs a question: What will the future hold for two of IndyCar’s iconic teams?

“With any Penske plan,” Team Penske president Tim Cindric said, “it evolves over time.”

Besides, Cindric added, “Roger will be the first to tell you, ‘Don’t get in a line until I’m gone.’”

Foyt is already four years into his succession plan, turning the day-to-day operations over to his son Larry. He acknowledged earlier this year that he would have had to shutter the team otherwise because of his advancing age and declining health.

This year, Larry Foyt put his biggest stamp yet on the team. Chevrolet replaced Honda as its manufacturer, and Conor Daly, Zach Veach and Carlos Munoz have replaced Jack Hawksworth and Takuma Sato as drivers for Sunday’s race. The team even has a new technical director, Will Phillips, after Don Halliday retired at the end of last season.

A.J. still loves being around the track. He still loves the cars and the people and the energy that come with May in Indianapolis. But he no longer has such a hands-on role with the team.

“He loves this place,” Larry said. “I love seeing big A.J. with the grandkids. With them living up in Indy and A.J. in Texas a lot of times, this is a great time for them to see grandpa and hang out.”

Penske is still involved in every aspect of Team Penske, whether it is the fivecar effort for this year’s Indy 500 or his successful twocar NASCAR team.

Penske is even the race strategist for three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.

“I don’t think Roger’s happy if he’s not winning. That’s the whole mentality of Team Penske,” said Simon Pagenaud, one of his drivers. “We’re not here to be second, third or fourth. The goal is win races. That’s why Roger brought five cars this month. It’s because his love of Indy is huge.”

The love for Indy is nearly as big for Penske’s children.

Much like the Foyt family, racing has always been a family affair. Penske’s son Jay has been involved in the IndyCar team for years, while his three other sons and his daughter, Blair, have always supported the racing side of the Penske empire. Greg Penske even had a hand in speedway construction.

Yet trying to discern the exact succession plan is about as fruitless as trying to guess when Penske will retire. Those close to him acknowledge a plan is probably in place — Penske is a meticulous planner, after all — but only his inner circle knows any details.

“As far as a legacy plan,” Cindric said, “I’m confident that will arrive at the right time.”

Whenever the two Indy 500 kingmakers step aside, other owners are ready to step into the void.

Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing are Indy 500 mainstays, and three new owners have brought cars this year. The highlight has been McLaren’s return after decades away, with former F1 champ Fernando Alonso, while local construction magnate Mike Harding has assembled a one-car entry for Gabby Chaves and Indy Lights owner Ricardo Juncos has a two-car effort for Spencer Pigot and Sebastian Saavedra.

“One of our goals is to get new owners and new young teams into the Verizon IndyCar Series,” said Jay Frye, president of operations for the series. “We’re glad they jumped in.”

State lawmakers will give Texas Motor Speedway a major boost if the Fort Worth track decides to pursue the NASCAR All-Star race and the season-ending championship event.

The Texas Legislature approved a bill Thursday that makes those two races eligible for the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Program. That is the same fund Circuit of the Americas tapped to bring Formula One’s U.S. Grand Prix to Austin.

The program also has been used to help lure the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four to Texas.

NASCAR’s All-Star race traditionally is held on the third Saturday night in May in Charlotte, N.C. It serves as a lead-in to the Cup’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte, the home base for most NASCAR teams.

Some drivers and officials have suggested that it makes more sense to move the AllStar race around.

“I think you look at other sports, and their All-Star game venues switch all the time,” driver Kyle Larson told reporters. “I don’t know if racetracks could bid on the All-Star race or bid on the final race of the season, but I think that would be really cool.”

Major league baseball, the NBA and the NHL take their All-Star events to a different city every year.

The Miami-Homestead track holds the final race of the NASCAR playoffs in November.

“They want to be able to go after those races, just like we try to court a Super Bowl or any other major sporting event,” Rep. Tan Parker, whose district includes Texas Motor Speedway, told The Associated Press. “They will immediately go after them as best they can, and this gives them a tool in their box to be aggressive when competing with other venues.”

Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage declined to comment to AP.

Circuit of the Americas Chairman Bobby Epstein has told the American-Statesman he is interested in bringing NASCAR to the 3.4-mile Austin road course, but there are numerous roadblocks, with Texas Motor Speedway’s strong objection near the top of the list.

The bill still needs to be signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, whose office oversees the major events fund, and he needs to consider that NASCAR has been in steady decline in attendance and TV ratings for years. NASCAR officials point out that NASCAR is still easily the most popular motorsports racing in America.

Texas Motor Speedway already hosts two NASCAR Cup events, one in April and the other in November. This year the second date is Sunday, Nov. 5, for the eighth event in the 10-race playoff.

NASCAR’s 2018 schedule already is set, so the earliest Texas Motor Speedway could go after the All-Star event is 2019. Charlotte retained next year’s All-Star race May 19. Texas’ two races will be April 8 and Nov. 4.

The major events fund is a significant financial weapon. According to state records online, the 2017 Super Bowl at NRG Stadium in Houston was eligible for $25 million, and the 2016 F1 U.S. Grand Prix was eligible for $26 million.

The Warriors were looking like a lottery team in March 2007 when Nelson was asked what he thought they should do if they got the No. 1 pick. He’s one of the innovators of small ball, a coach who seemed more comfortable with a point forward than a power forward, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if he leaned toward Durant.

But he favored Oden, a 7-footer who in his lone season at Ohio State was drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Bill Russell, Nelson’s teammate in Boston.

“I think it’d be pretty simple for us,” Nelson said. “We would probably have to go with the bigger guy at this point.”

Nelson said he might reconsider if he thought Durant would be a superstar, and the forward looked like one as he tore through the Big 12 as a freshman at Texas. But with the Warriors already having Baron Davis, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson, Nelson saw other needs.

“With this team, the center position is one that we’re looking for,” he said. “But I’d say anybody up front. Our backcourt’s pretty solid.”

The Warriors were fined by the NBA for Nelson’s comments about players who weren’t yet draft-eligible. Boston, San Antonio and New Orleans also would be penalized as their coaches made similar comments.

“I don’t think there could have been any more hype than there was,” Memphis guard Mike Conley said. “It was an amazing time to see two great players who have Hall of Fame potential from the beginning. You just know that they could come in and win multiple championships and be All-Stars every year, and you don’t have that in every draft.”

The No. 1 pick became a moot point when the Warriors finished the regular season with a 16-5 run to secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, then pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in NBA playoff history when they ousted the 67-win Dallas Mavericks in the first round.

Later that postseason, the Portland Trail Blazers won the draft lottery and the Seattle SuperSonics were second. The Grizzlies had the league’s worst record and the best odds at the No. 1 pick but fell to fourth — angering West, then the Grizzlies’ basketball operations chief.

West said he would have taken the best player available. He said he considered Durant that player. Many mock drafts had it the other way, given Oden’s potential — he likely would’ve been the top pick a year earlier out of high school, but the 2006 draft was the first with the NBA’s age requirement.

“Everyone is always looking for someone big in the draft because everyone thinks it’s a game-changer. Well, the game has changed,” West said. “Now, they’re not naming big guys unless you’re really versatile. There are very few back-to-the basket centers in the league that are not versatile enough to go out and play on the court. And so when you look at it, I think A, it would have been really interesting to see if another team, except Portland, who they would have taken if they needed a center.”

Oden’s knee injuries ended his NBA career after 105 games, long before he would’ve had to worry about playing away from the basket, the way traditional centers such as Marc Gasol now do. But Conley, Oden’s high school and college teammate who went to the Grizzlies with their No. 4 pick, believes his friend could have handled the transition.

“I think he’s that kind of a talent. He would have reminded me of like a Joel Embiid, how he’s able to stretch it out there and shoot the ball like he is,” Conley said, referring to Philadelphia’s rookie center. “So I think they have similar bodies and similar way they move, so I think he could have done it.”

Instead, Oden himself acknowledged he goes down as a bust.