IRL: Ray, Schmidt, Third Foyt Car Entered in Indy 500
7 April 1999
By Paul Kellyindy500.com
INDIANAPOLIS,- 1998 front-row phenomenon Greg Ray and Treadway Racing driver Sam Schmidt were entered April 5 for the 83rd Indianapolis 500, and four-time Indy winner A.J. Foyt entered a third car April 6 for a driver to be named.
The entry deadline for the Indianapolis 500, May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is midnight April 9.
Ray will drive the #2 Glidden-Menards Dallara/Aurora/Firestone for Team Menard, which he joined this Pep Boys Indy Racing League season. John O'Gara is the chief mechanic with Thomas Knapp as team manager.
Driving for the low-budget TKM/Genoa Racing team last year, Ray stunned the motorsports world by qualifying second at Indianapolis at 221.125 mph. He led 18 laps of the race before falling out with gearbox problems, finishing 18th.
Ray, from Plano, Texas, will attempt to make his third start at Indianapolis. He finished 25th as a rookie in 1997.
Schmidt, from Las Vegas, will drive the #99 G Force/Aurora/Firestone fielded by Treadway Racing as a teammate to two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Arie Luyendyk, making his final drive at the Speedway this year. Tony VanDongen will be Schmidt's chief mechanic, with Skip Faul as team manager.
Like Ray, Schmidt will attempt to make his third start in the 500. He finished 26th in 1998, eliminated in an accident on Lap 48, after starting sixth. He finished 34th in his Speedway debut in 1997.
The unnamed driver of Foyt's third entry will be a teammate to full-time Foyt drivers 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League champion Kenny Brack and 1998 Indianapolis 500 PPG Pole winner Billy Boat. The third Foyt entry is the #41 A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear, with Tommy LaMance as team manager and a chief mechanic to be announced.
Foyt last fielded three cars at Indianapolis in 1997, when Davey Hamilton finished sixth, Boat seventh and Paul Durant 21st.
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