The Coyote howls: 60 years of AJ Foyt Racing
- Lorenzo Baer
- Jul 24
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 24
Written by Lorenzo Baer, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The team created by Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is synonymous with the spirit that embodies the main American open-wheel category: commencing operations as a garagist, the operation grew to become one of the giants of IndyCar. Below, the reader will follow some of the key moments in the history of AJ Foyt Racing throughout its six decades of existence.
1965: The pillars
Founded in December 1965 as A.J. Foyt Enterprises, by no means does this date signify the introduction of the Foyt name into American motorsports.
On the contrary, Foyt had already demonstrated his great talent on the USAC National Championship Trail (predecessor of the current IndyCar Series) since 1957, facing off against the heavyweights of the time such as Jimmy Bryan and Tony Bettenhausen.
Foyt would not need to wait much to etch his name into the series’ history books, winning his first USAC title in 1960. However, A.J.'s definitive coronation would come the following year, with the long-awaited first victory in the Indianapolis 500.
Despite the successes piling up in Foyt's hands in the early 1960s, the Houston-born driver set his sights on a more ambitious goal to free himself from his position as a team’s driver, and finally race under his own banner, starting his eponymous team.
The opportunity would finally come at the end of 1965, after a combination of personal and external factors encouraged Foyt to pursue his dream. For the first case, we can trace it to the terrible accident that the driver suffered in one of his appearances in NASCAR, which almost cost Foyt his life and made him reevaluate his life goals.
In the second aspect, one can describe the fundamental changes that USAC/Indy was going through, with the end of the dominance of the Roadsters through the decisive “Rear-Engine Revolution”.
Foyt knew that as a contract driver, he would have to guide whatever was offered to him, which didn't necessarily mean the best car on the grid. So, to have a set-up he considered the best, Foyt would have to run his own operations.
The final piece in the puzzle would be the financial incentive from the Sheraton-Thompson hotel chain, Foyt’s loyal sponsor in the USAC for many years and was interested in the Texan driver's proposal to become an independent in the category.
1967: The first howl
After a year of testing and with its headquarters firmly established in Waller (TX), AJ Foyt Racing was looking at what could be improved for what would be an unforgettable 1967. Atop the ‘to-do list’ was improving performance and reliability in the first car produced by Foyt, the Coyote I ‘66.
Built with high expectations, the car proved inconsistent during 1966, with Foyt unable to achieve a single victory during the year – his first winless season since 1959.
Thus, the Coyote I '67 was a rejuvenated car, a necessary evolution of the Type I with substantial adjustments to the mechanical part, but maintaining some of the virtues of the ‘66 model, such as the powerful Ford 255 V8 engine.
However, once again the Coyote proved to be a temperamental machine, with Foyt having to use other cars available in the teams garage throughout the season, such as the old 1966 Coyote, a Lotus 38 and even an Eagle-67, bought in a hurry by the driver in the final stretch of the tournament.
Thus, equipped with this impressive roster of machines, Foyt set out for a redemption season, achieving five victories (including an epic victory with the Coyote in the Indianapolis 500) and three second places during the year.
The results were enough for A.J. to win his fifth USAC Championship Car title – his first driving for his own team.
1977: Four-Four
A decade after that magical 1967, A.J. Foyt Enterprises had already matured into a regular USAC team. Furthermore, Foyt had reestablished his NASCAR operations (albeit in a non-consistent manner) as a way of maintaining a two-pronged effort in the main categories of American motorsports.
Despite this, it was obvious that a large part of Foyt's effort was focused on the USAC project, considered paramount in the pilot's mind.
Since the early 1970s, competition in USAC/Indy had become stiffer, with the rise of names like Al Unser, Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford, who drove a new generation of all-conquering McLaren and Eagle cars.
Thus, it was inevitable that Foyt Racing would go through some ups and downs during the middle years of the 1970s, until 1977 allowed the team to return to the spotlight.
For the season, A.J. would use the Coyote IV ‘75, a car that had been used with reasonable success by Foyt since 1975 - the year in which this vehicle would take him to his sixth title in the category.
Updated for the 1977-spec, the Coyote IV was still an extremely competitive machine, demonstrating its potential in the main race of the year: the Indianapolis 500.
In a gruelling battle that revolved around A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock and Tom Sneva, the trio fought valiantly for the top of the standings, with 'Super Tex' taking the lead in the final moments of the race to take home his fourth Indy 500.
1993: Time for change
Perhaps one of the most important years in the team's history, 1993 was a sudden change of course in the history of AJ Foyt Racing. Since 1990, when Foyt suffered a serious accident at Road America during a CART race, the driver seriously considered the possibility of retiring from the tracks.
Poor results in 1991 and 1992 further served Foyt's purpose of rethinking his role within the team, with the driver leaving the 1993 edition of the Indy 500 the moment to settle his future.
For the race, AJ Foyt Racing had registered three drivers: in addition to Foyt himself, rookie Robby Gordon and experienced John Andretti would represent the colours of the Texas squad.
But the pole day was the pivotal moment in A.J.'s decision. Foyt had already clocked a lap of 221.114 mph (355.85km/h) when Robby Gordon smashed the wall in the exit of turn 1 and brought out a yellow caution flag. It also brought Foyt into the pits for its fateful moment.
He parked the car, walked to his garage and informed his sponsor, Lou Bantle, U.S. Tobacco chairman, of his decision to finally retire, before the 500 event. The news dropped like a bombshell in the paddock, but Tony George, president of the Indianapolis Speedway, arranged for A.J. to take a farewell lap around the track, under a standing ovation from the public.
Talking to the press back in 1993, Foyt said:
“The green (light) had just gone on and I was thinking, ‘A.J., you could be in the race easily!’. But when I saw the yellow light, I knew there had been an accident. When I saw it was my driver, it hit me. Believe me, this wasn’t a planned deal. It all went off in about 10 minutes […]. All my life, I’ve done things on the spur of the moment, so this was the real A.J."
This was the swansong for the old “Super Tex” – but not for AJ Foyt Racing, which now, with its creator in a leadership position, delegated the task of representing the team's colours in CART to a new breed of drivers.
1999: The last 500
1999 would be the crowning of one of the team's best streaks in its history, which would have its origins back in ‘96. A large part of this success was due to A. J. Foyt Enterprises being the only large team to remain faithful to the IRL after its split from CART.
This resulted in two overall titles in the category (1996 and 1998), against a competition that was somewhat not one of the most qualified, but which offered a certain degree of challenge for the Foyt drivers.
However, what eluded the team in all these seasons was a victory in the Indy 500, the race so linked to the team's identity.
Thus, Foyt prepared a general assault on the 1999 edition of the 500, lining up four Dallara IR9 chassis for Billy Boat, Kenny Bräck, Robbie Buhl and Marco Greco. Only Greco would not qualify for the race, with rain compromising his classification.
So, with three cars, AJ Foyt Racing set out to compete in another 500. Initially, it would be Boat who would put pressure for the lead, but undoubtedly the name of the day for Foyt would be that of the Swede Bräck.
Bräck would lead the pack a few times throughout the race, taking definitely the top spot on the penultimate lap, surpassing the fuel-hungry Dallara of leader Jeff Ward.
In the end, the race was one of the most successful participations of A. J. Foyt Enterprises in the ‘Brickyard’: besides Bräck’s win, the team also collected a third with Billy Boat and a sixth with Robbie Buhl. The race also marked Foyt's fifth overall victory - four as a driver and one as a team manager.
2024: An unexpected alliance
Although CART's reintegration with the IRL in 2003 was extremely welcome from a general sporting perspective, with teams from both series once again meeting on the track after years of controversies, this period also meant a steady decline for AJ Foyt Racing.
Between 2003 and 2023, the team's best results would be a handful of second places in some IndyCar races, in addition to a single victory, achieved by Takuma Sato in the 2013 Long Beach Grand Prix.
This fall transformed A.J. Racing from a traditional front-mid runner to one of the category's backmarkers, best known due to its residual failures during much of the 2000s and 2010s.
However, one of AJ Foyt Racing's most traditional rivals in IndyCar emerged as hope to rejuvenate the decaying Texan team: Penske.
In 2024, both teams agreed on a technical and sporting cooperation, which would transform Foyt Racing into a Penske satellite team, and as a laboratory for developing talent in various areas - much of this partnership can be credited to Larry Foyt, A.J.'s son, who since 2015 is the president of Foyt Racing group and handled much of the Penske deal.
Furthermore, through this link, Foyt emerged as a newfound attraction that drew interest from a wider range of drivers and commercial partners.
It can be said that the AJ Foyt Racing/Penske understanding has yielded some impressive results in the last two seasons, including an excellent second place in the 2025 Indy 500, with consistent results rescuing A.J. to stardom in the exact sixty years since its foundation.
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