Foyt latest Spirit of Ford winner
He’s the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He was the first to win the Indy 500 four times.
As one of the most recognized and legendary American drivers ever, A.J. Foyt has been honoured with the Spirit of Ford Award, the Ford Motor Company’s highest achievement for contributions on and off the track.
Foyt, the 28th recipient of this award, received his accolades during a special presentation in Long Beach recently as part of the Road Racing Driver’s Club dinner, an event which included the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Foyt and Dan Gurney winning the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours. Gurney was also at the event.
The award was presented by Edsel Ford II, great-grandson of the automaker’s founder, Henry Ford.
A Houston native born in 1935, Foyt began his career in 1953 driving Sprint Cars and then started driving USAC Champ cars. He became a superstar in the series, and by the time he retired from driving in 1992 he had 67 Indy series wins and seven national titles as a driver. He continues in the sport today with his ABC Supply Chevrolets two-car team in the Verizon IndyCar Series, and has competed in 59 straight Indy 500s, 35 as a driver.
Started in 1998, the Spirit of Ford Award honours Ford-related racing personalities from most forms of motorsport, including NASCAR, Formula One, and NHRA drag racing. Foyt joins such luminaries as Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Bill Elliott, and John Force.
***** Now heading into its 11th season, the Joe’s Transmission TNT Super Series has released its schedule with 11 weekend events in the Ontariobased Sportsman-style drag race series.
Highlight of the TNT year will be the TNTSS 5K race, to be held at Empire Dragway August 18 and feature $5,000 to win.
The series starts off with its first of five double weekends, racing at Lancaster May 26 and Empire May 27. Then the teams travel for a twoday race at St. Thomas June 24-25, back to Lancaster and Empire July 14-15, and then take to the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park July 29-30. The season finishes off Sept. 8-9 with shows once again at the New York state tracks of Lancaster and Empire. ***** The Canadian Touring Car Championship also announced its 2017 dance card, at it, too, will run double and even triple races over several weekends as part of its 14round schedule.
The CTCC opens up with two rounds May 19-21 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and travels to Calabogie Motorsports Park, Circuit ICAR, and the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières during its six-event season.
CTCC president John Bondar noted that the series has received a welcome addition with the partnership of Pirelli Tire Canada, and added there will be several more teams joining this year to compete in the Touring Class, Super Touring Class, and GT Sports Class.