Foyt IV set to join Vision

[Snips1]

according to today's Indystar, Foyt Iv has signed to dribe for Vision racing in 2007, I'm kind of worried where does this leave Rice?

[Peno]

Foyt IV, TG and Vision will be a match made in Heaven...

[drdisque]

I think either Rice was asking too much money for a team like Vision or that he has a ride elsewhere (hopefully still in the IRL).

He has been mentioned going to D&R, but so have a lot of other drivers and I'm still thinking that Sarah Fisher has the best line on that seat.

[climb]

In any case Foyt jr racing vs his gran daddy is kind of interesting

[Thommy]

Rise to ChampCar (Forsythe?)?

[Alwaysfirst]

Not if the vast line of drivers with very substantial cheques in their hands have anything to do with it.

[Seoigh]

Foyt IV 'shared' a DP at Daytona testing yesterday with Tony George, and managed to keep it out of the wall and turn in respectable times...unlike his esteemed co-driver...

[JohnSSC]

Give the guy credit for going out there in a prototype after a multi-year layoff. Heck, Rob Dyson spent a number of years behind the wheel when his only real contribution was $$. That doesn't make him a laughing-stock in my book. That is your prerogative as a team owner!

As I have noted after falling off the track a time or two: it is a sign you are trying hard! Although in my case it was a sign of a talent deficit...

On Yahoo Motorsports the article intimated that Vision was going to be a 3 car team...has anyone seen anything that would confirm that?

As I have noted in other threads, Foyt IV may not be as bad as the team he was driving for was. AJ's lack of modern conveniences like engineers can make any driver look bad. Foyt IV is not great, but he is not all that bad.

[Team Owner]

Originally Posted by Seoigh

Foyt IV 'shared' a DP at Daytona testing yesterday with Tony George, and managed to keep it out of the wall and turn in respectable times...unlike his esteemed co-driver...

Several other " name " drivers stuck it in the wall in the very same spot.

[ed0409]

Is AJ IV going to run the full season with Vision Racing or only a select few races?

[Snrub]

I was thinking about this, I find it kind of odd. Why does the IRL want AJ IV? He's strikes me as an okay driver, but there are so many drivers out there. Surely be now AJ IV doesn't have any name cache. If a subsidized seat is going to exist, why not put someone who potentially could be a star in the seat? Rice (talent) and Fisher (marketing) make sense.

[stradlin21]

Vision will run a full time third car i'm sure

for AJ

if things go wrong then Townsend Bell will take the car if he doesn't get another drive

Bell was in for the Vision seat anyway but they went for AJ.

[drdisque]

AJ is only 23, he still has tremendous upside. I think that's why they want him in the league. At this age he's still younger than most rookies yet has 3 full years of IRL experience.

[JohnSSC]

IRL wants AJ for some of the same reasons they want Marco. Despite some of the goofy stuff AJ does as a team owner, he is still a known racing "name" that provides a link to the past - continuity if you will.

I know, it is all PR in a sense but I do not think AJ IV is that bad behind the wheel...

[Dudley]

Originally Posted by drdisque

AJ is only 23, he still has tremendous upside. I think that's why they want him in the league. At this age he's still younger than most rookies yet has 3 full years of IRL experience.

Yes but when that's 3 years of stinking up the joint, how valuable is it?

[JohnSSC]

As we have discussed in other threads, AJ IV has been handicapped by grandaddy's unwillingness to hire proper race engineers. The kid has often been driving a poorly dialed-in car.

It is the rare talent that can overcome insufficient engineering input and development. AJ just may not be as "bad" as he is made out to be here. This season will tell the tale.

[climb]

Ditto John

[Snips1]

He did quite well at Daytona, on the 2nd day of testing he was the fastest of the Vision drivers

[BootsOntheSide]

Nobody else has really got the job done in a Foyt car - AJIV could be perfectly reasonable. He's having a good start with the Vision team anyway.

[ed0409]

What some people seem to forget is. How many drivers have won or performed well on a team that is funded like Gnassi, Andretti-Green and Penske. Not very many, AJ IV will be fine. Rice is a good driver but what has he done since he won the INDY 500.

[Xpunk75]

AJ IV is has absolutely no racing talent at all, every time I see him on the track during a race I have to keep all my fingers and toes crossed praying that he doesn't cause "The Big One" or accidently kill someone. He's always 4 to 6 laps behind the leaders and if you want to blame the car you can, but I still feel like he has no business in the IRL, just look at what he did to Bruno Janquira a few years back at the indy 500.

Like it or not IRL is probably the most dangerious racing series and guy like AJ Foyt IV shouldn't be out on the track.

[luke]

Yep, I also still think of Indy '05 when he ended Bruno's chase for the CC championship and also a good shot at maybe winning the Indy 500.
He's experienced in terms of how many IRL races he's done now, its only his name that gives him positive reputation other then he's dangerous, crashing is one thing, but crashing left right and centre more times then not is not what good drivers do.

[JohnSSC]

Xpunk or luke, do either of you care to put up some actual statistics? "Crashing left right and centre more times than not" or "...always 4 - 6 laps behind the leaders..."

If you do not like him, that is fine but if you are going to make a case for how bad he is then perhaps you could back that up with actual results.

Is he worse than Max Papis, for example, who took his own team mate out in two separate races while that team mate (Kenny Brack) was leading the championship?

[luke]

John I applaud for defending AJ, but it would be me trying to defend Ide, he has no talent. I've seen most of his races since his debut. He always caused caution laps after spinning out or crashing and always in the back half of the field. Then his Grand dad got tired of this so he went to Busch and had a similar affect.
AJ has displayed many times now he doesn't have what it takes to be an IRL driver. At first he came in too early with not much experience but he still isn't good enough.

[JohnSSC]

Most drivers who spin out or crash cause a caution. You keep using terms like "always." Please define. Do you mean every time he races? Every other race? Further, what caused the problem? AJ not hiring a proper stadff to help an inexperienced driver set up the car or is it that you have identified that each and every incident was stricly AJ IVs fault? How do you come to that conclusion?

Ide is not, I believe, a comparison as F1 is a different animal. Just the same reason I would not mention A. DeCeasaris here as someone who "crashed a lot."