Originally Posted by racephoto1:
Foyt and Mario, the only 2 from that era. Maybe Ruby too. Ol ' Rube drove and won in everything.From dirt tracks to Sebring.
Danica is busy robbbing the crdle!!!!
If Tony had raced in A.J.s era, he would never have a chance at getting on that Cup. He might rate a ride in the Stoye Engineering lead-sled at the Speedway.
Just telling it like it is and was!!!
Tony made a wise move. Had he stayed in the IRL he would be racing USAC and at Bloomington on Fridays. With all due respect to Supertex, had he been in his early 20s and in Smokes spot in the late 1990s AJ would have headed South and would have never looked back, and he knows it.
Both are great champions, AJ when he could race anything and win and Tony racing in the age of specialization.
Think back over the years of the numbers of drivers that "were sure to win" at Indianapolis, but who's face is not on the Borg Warner -- and you can spread that over the 100 years of the race. NOTHING is guaranteed. I remember in the 1970s when it was just a matter time when Pancho Carter would get his win. It never happened. Add Gary Bettenhausen, Lloyd Ruby and a host of others.
But, if you don't enter, you can't win.
Tony WOULD be on the Borg/Warner trophy if he didn't go south. But, He made a good move financially. He would have never have made the money he did down south if he would have stayed in the IRL. Even if he did win the 500!
Originally Posted by chassisman55:
Danica is busy robbbing the crdle!!!!
If Tony had raced in A.J.s era, he would never have a chance at getting on that Cup. He might rate a ride in the Stoye Engineering lead-sled at the Speedway.
Just telling it like it is and was!!!
Haven't heard of the "Stoye" in decades....wonder what became of it?
Can't agree on the Stoye comment. Tony is as close to those guys from Foyt's era we'll see in this generation.Anyone who can win from Rushville to Daytona and all points in between is as old school as they come.
As for the comment about running Indycars and still running Bloomington on the weekend. How's that different then what he does now. I've seen him run MSCS at Terre Haute, indoors at Ft.Wayne, NRA at Eldora. That wouldn't change.
The only real difference between going and staying is the biggest one , M-O-N-E-Y.
I talked to Tony at Volusia County Speedway one night the first year he was down there, I asked him why he would leave INDY to go to Nascar, I flat asked him if it was the money, he looked me IN THE EYES and said no I know that pretty soon no matter what I do I'm not gonna be able to run midgets and sprint cars anymore, If I stay in Indy cars I can run what 10 or 12 times a year? Down here I can race every weekend.
