Foyt IV goes retro

A.J. Foyt IV is wearing an orange helmet at the Indianapolis 500, similar to the one his grandfather wore for many years.

After going winless in 1966 for the first season in his career, the elder Foyt switched to a simple-yet-distinct paint scheme dubbed Foyt Orange (officially Poppy Red) in the hopes of turning his fortunes. That it did; he won his first race with the orange No. 14 car – his third Indianapolis 500 – and five others in 1967. Overall, Foyt recorded 172 victories in all classes. He hung up the helmet in 1993 – at the Speedway.

Foyt IV is hoping for similar results. Foyt, who turns 25 on May 25, has made 82 IndyCar Series starts – including 34 in 2007 and '08 with Vision Racing – but was looking for a ride heading into May.

"I wore it growing up in go-karts and some even in the big cars but went to a more stylish helmet," said Foyt, who qualified 19th on May 10 with a four-lap average of 222.586 mph. "But I figured I'd get back to the basics. I did well with this helmet, and obviously my grandfather did well with the plain orange helmet with the gold A.J. on the side of it. We'll see if we can bring a little luck our way with that helmet."