Eddie Cheever, who drove for Foyt in 1994-95, is among a group of Foyt alums (along with Chip Ganassi, Robbie Buhl and Robby\nGordon) who later became team owners themselves.
Cheever discovered that Foyt often tipped his hand when he was about to lay into his driver. “The clue was that when he called you ‘Cowboy,’ it was time to leave the room,” Cheever said. “The thing with Foyt is, as quickly as his temper comes, it leaves.”
Cheever recalled the day Foyt ripped a TV set out of the wall in a racetrack drivers’ lounge.
“Sparks were flying all over the place. He threw the TV on the floor and walked out,” Cheever said. “Five minutes later he was back talking to me like nothing had happened, like he had just woken up from a nap.”
Those emotional outbursts aside, Cheever summed up the feelings of those who have driven for Foyt, especially in Indianapolis in May.
“Being with him at the 500,” Cheever said, “is like being with the Pope at the Vatican on Easter Sunday.”
Credit Indianapolis Star for the quote.