Jack Arute - Tales from the Indianapolis 500: A Collection of the Greatest Indy 500 Stories Ever Told

Copyright 2004, 2006, 2012, 2016 by Jack Arute and Jenna Fryer

Foreword Copyright 2004, 2006, 2012, 2016 by A. J. Foyt

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit AP Images

Print ISBN: 978-1-61321-874-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-882-2

Printed in the United States of America

For my father, Jack Arute Sr.

You are indeed the original.

Contents

2016 Foreword

I continue to be amazed at the lifespan this book enjoys, as I was a reluctant author when it first hit the shelves in bookstores more than ten years ago.

I now realize that this books longevity has nothing to do with me. Instead, its about the event that I have enjoyed for my entire life.

God has blessed me with opportunities to be part of almost every aspect of the Indianapolis 500. Along the way, I have learned life lessons and made lasting friendships; I have shared laughter and tears; I will always treasure it all.

Each time I am asked to autograph this book, I always write Indy Rocks! It always has and it always will.

Foreword

Anyone who knows me knows that I dont have much love for the news media. Im told they are a necessary evil, but Im not so sure about the necessary part. Still, there are a few people out there who are fair, honest, and know what theyre talking about.

Jack Arute is one of em.

I first met Jackie at a NASCAR race back in the early 1970s when I was driving for the Wood Brothers. Back then NASCARs top division was called Grand National. He was working as a reporter for MRN, the Motor Racing Network. To be truthful, he didnt really stand out, but with me thats probably a good thing.

It wasnt until he worked as a PR guy for Junior Johnson that I got to know him. Darrell Waltrip was Juniors driver back then, so you know I had a lot of sympathy for Jackie. Then Junior made Jackie his general manager, so he got to know what it feels like to be on the other side of the fence. I think thats one thing that makes him a good reporter. He understands the sport from the competitors side.

When I saw him working at Indy in the early 1980s for ABC-TV, I was surprised because I had always associated him with NASCAR. He told me that he got the opportunity to work with ABC because he wasnt afraid to interview me. That didnt seem like enough of a qualification in my mind, but you never know about the news media. Or media news as I like to call them, because theyre more interested in media than they are news.

I guess I can be pretty tough to deal with at times, but I just dont care to be bothered with interviews when Im busy working. Jackie understood that. A lot of guys dont. All they think about is their job, not our job.

Another thing about Jackie is that hes pretty intense about his job. I like that. He takes it real serious, just like I take mine. He knows enough about racing that you cant blow him off with a simple answer. He doesnt just find out what, he finds out why, too. Hes honest, not a phony. I like that too.

As I said, he gives me the credit for him getting his job with ABC. We were at Indy and I gave him a couple interviews, so the head honchos understood that I knew him and would work with him. His big break, as he tells it, was to get me to do The Walk with him from the garage to the grid on race morning.

He kept telling me how important it was to be on time, because it was a live show. I was scheduled to go on at exactly 10:17 a.m.

Well this was Jackies first Indy 500 as a TV broadcaster, so that meant he was a rookie. Or, fair game!

He came by the garage about 10 minutes beforehand. I waited about five minutes and then headed to the mens room for a pit stop. I knew hed follow because TV people are like that, but I pretended not to notice. I took my time, but I also knew when I had to be on camera.

I came out with probably less than a minute to go. Then I felt a little bad because Jackie was really nervous. I mean really nervous. Anyway, we did the interview and it came off right on time just like I knew it would.

He got the job with ABC. And he kept it even though I wasnt done playing jokes on him. One year I got hold of a water gun, it was like a bazooka. I mean it was Texas-big, and when you got hit with it, you were drenched.

Well it was a rainy day at the speedway and I was bored. Jackie was doing some live interviews right outside my garage. It was just too tempting. I let him have it right in the middle of the interview and he got soaked. I laughed my head off and so did he after he got over the shock.

And Ill tell you one thinghe is petrified, I mean really afraid of snakes. Now Im not too crazy about them myself, but hes even more afraid of them than I am. So I always make it a point to get a piece of rope or a fake rubber snake to toss at him sometime during the month of May. It breaks up the tension in my garage to see a grown man holler and scream like a baby.

I think people will enjoy his book. He tells stories that look at Indy from the inside, the kind of stuff the average fan wouldnt know. He has a way of getting people to talk about things that they normally wouldnt talk about. His stories are short, which I also like, and its more like hes talking to you, just like he does on TV.

The Indianapolis 500 has always been very special to me. It is the one race that makes or breaks your season. You run good at Indy, and no matter what happens the rest of the year, you feel like youve had a pretty good season. Winning there changes your life forever. Ive always said, Indy is what made A.J. Foyt famous. People know me from winning there.

So when people write about Indy, Im always a little skeptical, because I dont think they can appreciate it the way I do. But Jackie does and it comes through in his TV work and now in this book. So I hope people will read it and get to know a little more about this very special race and all that it stands for.

Of course, he isnt paying me to write this, so I guess it doesnt really matter to me if people buy the book or not. They can get it out of the library, but they should get it. Theyll be happy they did.

A. J. Foyt Jr.

Four-Time Indianapolis 500 Winning Driver

Introduction

On March 6, 2010, I received a phone call from my agent. Jack, he said. I dont have good news for you. NBC and IndyCar have decided not to bring you back for their telecasts this season.

I was shocked. Following the 2010 IndyCar campaign, my TV bosses told me not to worry. While a few minor changes were anticipated, my spot on the roster was secure.

What did they say? I asked my agent.

They said that you were not in their plans. The fact that my agent accepted that and did not probe any deeper resulted in my seeking new representation, but to this day, that is all I know about why my almost three decade run at the Indy 500 on television ended.