A. J. Foyt IV - Early Career in IndyCar

Early Career in IndyCar

Foyt began racing Junior Dragsters as a nine-year-old and won two titles. He then moved to karts for many years before moving to formula race cars in 2001. In 2001, he won six of nine SCCA events to claim the Southwest Regional championship. He finished third in SCCA's national point championships and was the series' Rookie of the Year. That same year, he competed at the World Karting Association's Dirt World Championships at Daytona Beach, Florida and finished second in the Briggs Heavy feature event. Foyt competed in his first USAC Silver Crown event that August. In 2002, A.J. moved to his grandfather's team, A. J. Foyt Enterprises, in the newly-formed Infiniti Pro Series and won the championship with four wins in seven events. In 2003, he moved up to Foyt Enterprises' IRL IndyCar Series team, finishing 21st in the final standings. Foyt currently holds the record for the youngest driver to race in the Indy 500. His rookie race in 2003 occurred on his 19th birthday. He took the record from Josele Garza who was slightly over 2 months older for his first start in 1981. He continued to struggle in IndyCars, finishing 18th in the 2004 points and 20th in 2005. In the 2005 Indianapolis 500 Foyt was involved in an accident with a top Champ Car driver, Bruno Junqueira, who suffered a broken back. The season did not improve as the team switched from Toyota to Chevrolet power mid-season and Foyt was replaced for the late-season road course events by Jeff Bucknum.