The Official FAIL thread

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by zebra

hey you there... shut your face!!

rules of the road zebra.... pass on the left...lmao

[CamaroSpike23]

[JusticePete]

Excerpt from:
Indy 500 Field of the Century: Row 1
Ed Hinton
ESPN.com
May 27, 2011


A.J. Foyt Indy 500 starts: 35

Best finish (years): First (1961, '64, '67, '77)

Laps led: 555

So this young race driver gets killed about halfway through the Indy 500, see, and he goes straight to heaven.

St. Peter greets the kid and says, "C'mon. I'll take you to our racetrack."

"You got a racetrack here?" says the kid. "Man, this place is great!"

They get out there and right away, wheeeeeYOW! This red car flashes by, leading the race. Next lap the red car comes by again and the kid can see its number, 14, and the guy in the cockpit is wearing a red helmet with a Valvoline logo above the visor.

"Geeez," says the kid. "I didn't know HE was here. It must have just happened. When I left Indy a few minutes ago, he was leading the race down there."

"No, no, you don't understand," says St. Peter. "That's God. He just THINKS he's A.J. Foyt."

It is said that all great humor is based somewhat in the truth.

Thus that old Gasoline Alley joke is in the spirit of the truth about A.J. Foyt at Indy.

For fully half of the 500's hundred-year history, Foyt has been the embodiment of the event. And not just with the flawless driving -- "Foyt never made a mistake," legendary broadcaster Chris Economaki once said of his prime -- that made him the 500's first four-time winner.

Even more, Foyt has been the walking, talking, snorting, cussing, raging, hammer-slinging story of what this race has always been about: guts, fury, danger, survival, tragedy, triumph.

When that old joke -- which jabs at Foyt's ego as much as it recognizes his status -- first surfaced at the Brickyard in the 1970s, just about everybody around Gasoline Alley was scared to go tell it to his face. So they put Parnelli Jones up to it, figuring he had the only jaw tough enough to withstand a punch from that picnic ham of a right fist, mounted on that jackhammer right arm.

It took Foyt a decade from his third win in 1967 to get his fourth in '77, but in between he won the 24 Hours of LeMans in '67 and the Daytona 500 in '72.

After Foyt maneuvered through a cloud of smoke and wreckage on the front stretch toward the checkered flag to win the '67 Indy, he flew off to Le Mans to co-drive with Dan Gurney in a Ford factory effort.

After he and Gurney had dominated and won in their GT40-Mark IV prototype, a French journalist asked Foyt whether winning the world's two greatest races within weeks of each other might make him famous.

Foyt lifted his right foot toward the journalist's face.

"THIS," Foyt said, "made me famous."

Minutes after he finally got his fourth Indy win, Foyt stomped into the then-tiny press room, snatched up a microphone and bellowed, "Gahhddamn, we did it."

Spotting three or four reporters straggling in late, Foyt said, "Some of you boys might not have heard what I said. I said, 'Gahhddamn, we did it.' "

Then he bowed his head like a reverent little boy. "I ought not take the Lord's name in vain like that," he said softly. "He's been awful good to me today."

He referenced his partnership with the almighty again in 1991, in an April test session at Indy, making a comeback from terrible injuries -- splintered and shattered legs and feet -- suffered in a crash at Elkhart Lake, Wis., the previous year.

Foyt thanked the orthopedic surgeons who had pieced his feet and legs back together; thanked the Houston Oilers trainer who had directed his rehabilitation. And then …

"I ought to thank the Good Lord too," Foyt added. "Cause He's been with me every stop of the way." He paused, thought for a few seconds.

"Then again, He couldn't have done this without me, either."

That's pretty much the essence of Foyt's own feelings about his career -- blessed, fortunate, but he damn sure did his share of the work.

For the fourth win, in '77, he became the only man ever to construct his own car, build his own engine and then drive to victory.

"I doubt anyone will ever do that again," he once said.

No one has so far. And more than likely, no one ever will.

In 1981, Foyt's mother had just died and he was in a foul mood. Longtime Indianapolis sportswriter Robin Miller had implied Foyt cheated with his cars -- but that everybody else did too.

Foyt came up to Miller, snatched him by his then-long hair, and dragged him down the pit road, smacking him, in full view of the grandstands.

A year or so later Miller wrote something that infuriated legendary team owner Roger Penske. Penske confronted Miller at Pocono, implying fisticuffs were imminent.

Miller just busted out laughing at the dapper businessman.

"Roger," he said, "I've been beaten up by A.J. Foyt. Do you think I'm scared of YOU?"

Since Foyt retired after the 500 of 1992, his record 35th start at Indy, awestruck media people usually preface their questions to him with litanies of his accomplishments.

Foyt's standard response to all that worship has often been: "Well, this is all quite true."

Outraged when CART began its boycott of Indy in 1996, claiming it was taking the "stars and cars of Indy" away, Foyt growled a rebuttal, his view of the relationship between Indy and the drivers, down through the decades. "The race makes the drivers," he said. "The drivers don't make the race."

And that is all quite true.

Except for A.J. Foyt.

We learn from history. So we build our own cars the way we want them. Power them the way we want them. Then drive them the way we like to drive. When I say WE it is collective as in the agressive drivers who mod thier own cars so they can drive them the way they want to drive

ZEBRA, your incident is an opportunity to bring your Vette closer to the way you want it so you CAN complete that late pass late brake turn. You already knew that and depending on how long it takes I may be able to help a bit.

[PQ]

Wow. Pete, one of the better post in a while imo.

That makes me feel almost vindicated to do what I do to my car.

Love the spiritual part of the article too. I believe the Lord has a sense of humor.

I do drive the heck out of it but cautiously reckless. LMAO

In 1981, Foyt's mother had just died and he was in a foul mood. Longtime Indianapolis sportswriter Robin Miller had implied Foyt cheated with his cars -- but that everybody else did too.

Foyt came up to Miller, snatched him by his then-long hair, and dragged him down the pit road, smacking him, in full view of the grandstands.

A year or so later Miller wrote something that infuriated legendary team owner Roger Penske. Penske confronted Miller at Pocono, implying fisticuffs were imminent.

Miller just busted out laughing at the dapper businessman.

"Roger," he said, "I've been beaten up by A.J. Foyt. Do you think I'm scared of YOU?"

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zebra]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Yep.

We keep the late in-the-straight pass and tweak the car so you can complete the successful pass with a successful turn

What brake pads are you using?
What are your alignment specs?

stock pads & alignment. seriously, i ain't done anything to the handling stuff yet. i almost grabbed a set of C6 Z51 sways but figured I'd wait & see what y'all came up with. wheels/tires were in the works. i almost bought a set of Hawk HPS pads for the weekend but wanted to see how the stocks did with how i was driving. that turn was one of 2 or 3 times i even activated ABS that weekend (i was taking it pretty easy).

Originally Posted by IRPQ

Well. I didn't think it was necessarily too late in the turn. Dude was pointing jason around. I can't see the speed going into the turn to compare to the previous speeds in that same turn.

for that situation & my car, it was too late. normally, i was braking @ the 125ish from about 100 to 80. that time, i had to go a bit faster to get clear of him in time & by my normal brake point, i was at about 120 and the turn-in point i was using was about 10 ft from where you run out of pavement, so i couldn't really carry it out any more.

come to think of it, i shoulda just passed him going into 9 instead of waving him off. even if i'd went off course, i woulda just hit the gravel & scuffed the front end up a little or i coulda been closer on him through 12... we can play "what if" all day. fact is, my car's still busted for now.

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

rules of the road zebra.... pass on the left...lmao

rules of the track, Spike (especially for HPDE1)... pass on the right

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Excerpt from:
Indy 500 Field of the Century: Row 1
Ed Hinton
ESPN.com
May 27, 2011

...insert EPIC STORY...

ZEBRA, your incident is an opportunity to bring your Vette closer to the way you want it so you CAN complete that late pass late brake turn. You already knew that and depending on how long it takes I may be able to help a bit.

wow! a bit deep for a FAIL thread, huh?
still a great story & reflection point. you're right - it's a definite opportunity to make it my own (this is twice now in a couple years... why's everything gotta blow up for me to end up with what i want?! )

ps - PM coming

Originally Posted by IRPQ

Wow. Pete, one of the better post in a while imo.

That makes me feel almost vindicated to do what I do to my car.

Love the spiritual part of the article too. I believe the Lord has a sense of humor.

I do drive the heck out of it but cautiously reckless. LMAO









AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait... i thought you just did stuff because you saw other people doing stuff at least that's what i saw

[zebra]

somewhat on-topic... and worse than me

[PQ]

Originally Posted by zebra

wait... i thought you just did stuff because you saw other people doing stuff at least that's what i saw

As much to tear it apart and put it back together.

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by zebra

somewhat on-topic... and worse than me

Ouch...

[Needs Exhaust!]

Also listen closely to around 2:40 for an announcer fail

[Needs Exhaust!]

(thumbs up fail)

[B2k4E]

Natural selection at its best.

[shank0668]

This ranks up there.

[ibeck]

Shank!!! Dammit!!!

[shank0668]