Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Debuts New Look At IRL Season Opener
23 January 1998
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"Racing is a business," said Conseco Chairman Stephen C. Hillbert, "and the new design of our Indy car effectively extends the Conseco brand. A.J. Foyt is a tremendous team player. He has been terrific in working with us in launching the Conseco brand into motorsports."
Team Owner A.J. Foyt said, "The new design of the Conseco Indy car is a very classy look. Green has a history in racing, but we plan to start a new tradition with the color."
To carry out this new tradition, the team returns this season with Glendale, Ariz.-native, Billy Boat, who raced for Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing in five events during the 1996/97 Championship. As an Indy-car rookie last year, Boat scored a pole position (Las Vegas), two second-place finishes (Texas and Charlotte), and two fastest race laps (Charlotte and Las Vegas.) This performance encouraged Foyt to give Boat a full-time ride for the 1998 Indy Racing League series.
"Billy is a professional and committed race car driver who runs a very successful business," said Foyt about Boat. "He is a winner and having a winner on the team is all you need to know."
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"I feel more confident going to Walt Disney World than any other race I've been to with the team," said Boat. "We have been testing a lot and we've done really well. This combined with Conseco's new image will give us a fresh start for the '98 season. The new colors of the car give me a chance to make my own identity with the fans. It is so strikingly different from anything that Conseco has ever done and especially anything that A.J. has ever done. It's going to get some attention."
Supporting Boat behind the scenes, the Conseco/A.J. Foyt crew remains virtually unchanged for the 1998 season. Tommy LaMance continues as the team manager and Craig Baranouski will remain as crew chief.
"All of the key personnel are back in place and that is something I am very proud of," said A.J. Foyt, who opened his race shop in Houston, Texas in 1965. The schedule of events for the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway Presented by Aurora starts with practice on Thursday, Jan. 22. Qualifying starts at Noon (EST) on Friday, Jan. 23 and will be televised live on Speedvision. ABC Sports will televise the 200-mile, season-opening race of the 1998 Indy Racing League series live starting at 12:30 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Team Notes
Billy Boat Quote about Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway: (This will be Boat's first race at the one-mile Walt Disney World Speedway. This will be his seventh career IRL race.) "I think Orlando is a very challenging race track. It is strange because it really only has three corners and each one is distinctly different. It makes it very challenging from both a car setup and driver's standpoint in that it may be difficult to pass in the race. It also has some elevation change which is something you don't normally see on an oval race track."
A.J. Foyt Quote about Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway: "Disney World is a race where we just want to keep our nose clean. We want to come out of there in good shape for Phoenix and get the year off to a good start. If everything goes right we will have a good, competitive race and hopefully we will be fortunate enough to come out with a win."
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