He won the dash to the finish, arriving a half-length ahead of Isaac.įoyt checks out the cockpit of a Wood Brothers machine in 1965 as Glen Wood looks on. They stayed three wide into Turn 3, where Foyt flirted with the apron to zip into the lead. They went three wide down the backstretch: Foyt inside, Isaac in the middle, Goldsmith outside. Isaac and Foyt took the white flag together, with the lapped car of Paul Goldsmith (in relief of Jim Paschal) right with them. That's the best racing duel I've ever seen.' 'But it sure makes you feel good to know they're running up front. 'It's a heck of a feeling when you worry about two of your drivers getting each other in trouble,' Nichels said after the 160-lap, 400-mile race. But Foyt made a last-lap, three-wide, low-side pass approaching Turn 3 to snatch the victory. Isaac had the better of it most of the time, leading 41 laps to Foyt's 14.

RacingOne // Getty ImagesĪstonishingly, he and teammate Bobby Isaac swapped the lead 16 times in the final 55 laps. 47 Texas Dodge Dealers Dodge on the way to the Firecracker 400 win at Daytona in 1964. Foyt went on to lead eight times for 14 laps in just his 10th career NASCAR start.Ī.J. He started 19th and barely avoided a first-lap accident when 17th-starting Reb Wickersham spun across his nose nearing Turn 1. 47 Dodge owned by Ray Nichels and led by crew chief Crawford Clements. Foyt, 29 at the time, was in a cherry-red No. Except for one road course, all seven were 400- or 500-milers on major superspeedways.Ī.J.'s first NASCAR Cup win came more than 57 years ago, in the July 1964 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. If Foyt has an edge, it's his four Indy 500s, his endurance victories, and yes, those seven NASCAR victories. If Andretti has an edge, it's those 12 Formula 1 victories and his 1978 F1 title. The Case for Mario Andretti: One Indy 500 victory one Daytona 500 victory 12 Formula 1 victories and the 1978 F1 World Driving Championship three 12 Hours of Sebring victories three IROC victories and one title one Pikes Peak International Hill Climb victory four USAC/CART championships 52 USAC/CART victories co-winner (with Foyt) of the AP's Driver of the 20th Century Award American Driver of the Year in 1967, 1976, and 1984 111 total victories across seven series like Foyt, enshrined in every meaningful Hall of Fame except NASCAR's.

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