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Forty years ago, A.J. Foyt made his Brickyard debut. In epic fashion, he went on
to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. In celebration of Foyt's remarkable
career, we present excerpts from Sports Illustrated's accounts of each of his
Indy victories.
A New Era Opens At Indy's Golden
Jubilee
The 50th anniversary '500' was a festival of American
superlatives, but even in ninth place Britain's Cooper
carried the flag of
change
by Kenneth Rudeen
Issue date: June 12,
1961
In all its aspects, last week's Indianapolis 500-mile race
was a star-spangled hit. The race itself, on its 50th
anniversary, was a marvel of speed and suspense, with seven
different leaders and a last-act curtain to take one's
breath away. Driver
Eddie Sachs, by stopping to change a threadbare tire just three
laps from the end, snatched defeat from victory, leaving
his pursuer, A.J. Foyt, to claim the $117,975 winner's
purse.
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Indy was an endless stream of superlatives.
(John G. Zimmerman)
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Everything else was measured in superlatives: biggest
crowd (about 250,000 people); fastest, best-prepared field
of cars; largest total purse ($400,000); record average
"500" speed (139,130 mph); and even an
unparalleled outpouring of nostalgia as
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, Ray Harroun and Earl Cooper circled
the speedway in their restored and rackety old Indy
racers.
How apple-pie American, how splendid it was—and how
deceiving. For besides it cornucopia of American good
things, the "500" also contained a small foreign
omen for the future. This was the British Cooper-Climax
car, driven to ninth place by
Australia's World Champion Grand Prix Racer Jack Brabham. The Cooper's
presence almost certainly marked the end of an Indianapolis
epoch and the beginning of a new one, in which a sharp
international rivalry will be added to the Brickyard's
matchless
wheel-to-wheel competitive
spectacle.
FOYT WINS INDY: 1964 | 1967 | 1977
ALSO: What Ever Happened to Indy?
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