Houston’s Foyt laments Memorial Day without Indy 500.

Busy Foyt laments Memorial Day without signature race

For one of the few times in his adult life, A.J. Foyt will spend Memorial Day weekend back home in Houston rather than at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indianapolis 500.

Foyt, 85, was preparing for his 61st visit to Indianapolis as a driver or team owner when organizers decided in late March to postpone the race until Aug. 23 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m disappointed the race isn’t going to be held, but there are a lot of disappointments right now with all the things happening in the world today,” Foyt said Friday. “The whole world is turned upside down, and you’ve got to go along with what is happening.”

Foyt’s A.J. Foyt Racing team employs about 60 people in Waller and Indianapolis, where team members are preparing for the June 6 resumption of IndyCar racing at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

Charlie Kimball and Tony Kanaan will drive in the Fort Worth race, and rookie Dalton Kellett and Sebastien Bourdais will drive for Foyt in some road and street courses this season.

Despite the economic downturn associated with the sports shutdown since mid-March, Foyt said he has kept all his employees on the payroll.

“We’re losing our butts. We’re losing a

A.J. Foyt, right, added a car owner victory to the four Indianapolis 500 races he won as a driver when Kenny Brack won the Memorial Day event on May 30, 1999. Photos by Associated Press and Getty Images

lot of money,” he said. “But a lot of these people have been with me for years, and they’re great people. We’ve built this team through the years, and we’re not going to let people like that go.”

Foyt drove in 35 Indianapolis 500s between 1958 and 1992, becoming the first driver to win the race four times and adding a fifth victory as a car owner.

He said the August race date will be considerably different for drivers and racing teams.

“It’s going to be a lot different,” he said. “For one thing, it’s going to be hotter than hell up there. I’ve been there in August.

“With the cars being a little bit heavier, it’s very possible you could have a lot of tire problems. Without being able to test, it’s going to be an unknown until they drop the green flag in August.”

With the garage shut down in March and April because of business restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Foyt said he spent most of the time at his ranch in Del Rio.

“I’m not the type who can sit in the house. I’ve got to be doing something,” he said. “I’d get on my bulldozer or one of the big tractors and stayed busy from about 7:30 in the morning until 7 at night.”

Now, however, Foyt said he is as eager as fans and viewers are for live sports to resume.

“People are starving for it, and it will be as big an asset to them as it is to us,” he said. “They’re ready to go to sports events. I know I am.”

While he will watch the Fort Worth race on television while his son, Larry, runs operations at Texas Motor Speedway, Foyt plans to be back in Indianapolis this August

“I’ll be there unless I’m six feet under,” he said.