![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/05\/FEA200505-p1.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Two Ford engineers key to Foyt\u2019s success were an unsung German named Klaus Arning and a soft-spoken Louisianian, Bob Riley. Arning was a suspension guru instrumental to Ford\u2019s Le Mans program, and the designer of the 427 Shelby Cobra\u2019s rear suspension. He spent a lot of time working with A.J. Riley and was among the first chassis designers to do extensive wind-tunnel testing. As early as 1969, he was flirting with ground effects, but more about that in a moment.<\/p>\n
First, some debunking. The Lotus 38\u2014the basis of the first five Coyotes\u2014was not that great of a racecar. Sure, Jimmy Clark dominated the 1965 Indy 500 driving one, but the fact is the car never won another race, despite the efforts of Dan Gurney, Lloyd Ruby, Al Unser, Joe Leonard and A.J. himself. In 1966, Mario Andretti drove a Lotus 38 in practice at the Speedway and afterwards, in so many words, told his team to dump it in the Wabash. His Brawner-Hawk\u2014with its lower center of gravity and superior grip\u2014was four mph faster at the Speedway.<\/p>\n
Like a lot of people, perhaps Foyt was dazzled by Clark\u2019s 1965 performance. During the race, the Scot passed him easily to take the lead and eventually put him down a lap. For 1966, Foyt purchased two Lotus 38s and made a copy, which was the first Coyote (the \u201cCoyote 38\u201d as Colin Chapman put it). Then disaster struck. At the Speedway, the Texan crashed the Coyote in practice and in the race he and teammate George Snider crashed both Lotus 38s. Clark, the fastest of the Lotus 38 drivers, complained of handling problems most of the month. In the race, he spun twice and was fortunate to finish 2nd. After the race, Foyt purchased Clark\u2019s Lotus and, a week later at Milwaukee, put it in the wall. The car caught fire and he suffered burns on both hands.<\/p>\n
Had Foyt backed the wrong horse?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere were a lot of issues with the Lotus 38,\u201d says Dan Jones, a Ford engineer who worked closely with several Ford-powered teams in the 1960s. \u201cWith the asymmetric suspension, all the suspension arms were of unequal length, from right to left. Wheel travel versus spring travel, from side to side and front to rear, was unique on all four corners, so your wheel rates were very difficult to control.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eventually one of Foyt\u2019s cars arrived in Dearborn for analysis. Bob Riley, who today with his son, Bill Riley, operates Riley Technology, said recently: \u201cI remember when we got in Foyt\u2019s Lotus. The bump-steer was terrible. We could get rid of bump-steer in front, but on the independent rear cars, we didn\u2019t know exactly know how to get rid of it. That\u2019s what drove a lot of them, that rear steer, which was really quite bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Riley continues: \u201cFord had just gotten into the computer age, you might say, when we did the Le Mans cars. I think we went through 60 or 70 computer runs and almost by accident we found out how to get the rear steer out. We put castor in the rear uprights. I really think it was a big element in Ford beating Ferrari at Le Mans.\u201d<\/p>\n Foyt went winless that year. For 1967, he built a second Coyote, updated the 1966 Coyote for teammate Joe Leonard to drive, and changed team colors from the white, red and blue livery he was known for, to a Ford color, warm poppy red (as used on the 1965 Mustang). The Ford blue oval began appearing on his cars as well. That May at Indianapolis, his old nemesis, Parnelli Jones, stole the headlines and very nearly the race driving Andy Granatelli\u2019s turbine car. Leading easily, Jones dropped out three laps from the finish, handing Foyt the lead and his third Indy 500 victory. Two weeks later, driving the Ford Mark IV, Foyt and Gurney won the Le Mans 24 Hours. By the end of the season, the Texan was national champion, capping a remarkable year.<\/p>\n Foyt\u2019s biggest challenge over the next three years was not Andretti or the Unser brothers or some new rising star, but rapidly advancing technology. In 1968, it was Granatelli\u2019s turbines again, this time powering three of Colin Chapman\u2019s wedge-shaped Lotus 56s\u2014and turbocharging. The turbines again got all the headlines, but it was destined to be Bobby Unser\u2019s year. He won the 500 and the national championship driving a turbocharged Offy-powered Eagle. Running a normally aspirated engine, Foyt was an also-ran until late in the season, when he won two races, the latter powered by a turbocharged Ford.<\/p>\n In 1969, it was four-wheel-drive that had teams scrambling. In 1970, it was aerodynamics, with cars assuming lower, wedge-like shapes to increase downforce. Foyt seemed not to notice. Each year, he made updates to the basic Coyote design: increasing fuel capacity from 60 to 75 gallons to meet the needs of the thirstier turbo-Fords; changing and strengthening the tub around the engine area; and having Klaus Arning down from Dearborn to design new uprights and relocate rear suspension pick-up points to take advantage of ever-widening tires.<\/p>\n At one point, Ford presented the Texan with a two-speed automatic transmission for his exclusive use. He might have run it had turbocharging not come along and negated its advantage. The Coyote sprouted various aerodynamic devices but, as late as 1970, still bore the same basic cigar shape of the original Lotus 38 Len Terry had designed over the winter of 1964\u201365. The car was still quick: Foyt put it on the front row at Indy in both 1969 (on pole) and 1970. But the Coyote\u2019s only win those two years was at the inaugural California 500, in 1970. Foyt\u2019s teammate Jim McElreath got the victory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Foyt needed a change and knew it. Ford pulled out of racing in 1970, so he asked Arning to recommend a designer, someone who could deliver the complete package\u2014suspension, chassis, aerodynamics. Enter Bob Riley, late of Kar Kraft and now with Ford styling. Riley had been moonlighting, designing Formula Vees and the like. Ford gave Riley a month off to go to Houston, set up his drawing board, and design Foyt a car for the 1971 season.<\/p>\n The first wholly new Coyote in four years was wedge-shaped and looked very much like the model Riley had been toying with in the wind tunnel at Ann Arbor in 1969. Under certain conditions, the model had developed ground effects, but Riley wasn\u2019t sure how to harness it, not yet anyway.<\/p>\n His immediate concern was Foyt. Sure, the Texan had bought his design, but there was still the matter of whether or not Riley\u2019s car would deliver where it counted\u2014on the track.<\/p>\n Riley: \u201cI made one mistake. I wanted to get the frontal area down and made everything very narrow, including the cockpit. When A.J. first tried out the car, there wasn\u2019t room for him to shift gears. In other words, his hands were straight out, holding the steering wheel, but he couldn\u2019t move his right arm back to shift the gear lever.\u201d<\/p>\n Riley didn\u2019t know what to expect next. The Texan might come storming out of the cockpit and punch him, or at the very least give him a good tongue lashing. For a second or two nothing happened. \u201cI looked at him, and he looked up at me,\u201d says Riley. Then, the Texan reached over with his left hand and grasped the shifter, and said, \u201cWait a minute. I\u2019ll shift with my left hand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked with so many drivers since then who have to move the shifter a quarter inch here, a half inch there,\u201d says Riley. \u201cIt was just remarkable that he ran like that, shifting with his left hand crossed over. I still can\u2019t get over that.\u201d<\/p>\n Working for Foyt meant working with some of the finest fabricators in the business, men like Luigi Lesovsky and Eddie Kuzma. \u201cUp to then, I had to watch what I\u2019d draw or people couldn\u2019t build it,\u201d Riley says. \u201cWith Eddie, anything I could draw he could build. On the 1971 car, we weren\u2019t quite sure of the nose shape, so I think he built three of them out of aluminum\u2014they were just perfect\u2014and we went with the one that worked best.\u201d<\/p>\n Riley proposed a new car for 1972, with side-mounted radiators. The design bore a striking resemblance to Gurney\u2019s 1972 Eagle. \u201cIt was built on the Gurney concept, you might say,\u201d says Riley. \u201cWe did use Eagle rear uprights and Eagle transmission mounts, but the tub was built in Houston, to my drawings. If you saw both cars side by side, you would see the difference.\u201d Development on the 1972 Coyote was set back when Foyt was injured in a sprint car accident and missed four races at midseason. At Ontario in September, he led from the start until sidelined by a broken differential.<\/p>\n Riley was not satisfied. Unlike the turbo-Offy that most teams were now using, the turbo-Ford presented a very large front profile that restricted maximum airflow from reaching the bottom side of the rear wing. After wind tunnel testing various models, Riley proposed a new car for 1973, one with a very low and wide chassis and a tight aero-package around the engine that required rerouting the engine\u2019s bulky induction system. The design didn\u2019t come easily.<\/p>\n \u201cI went down for a month in his shop,\u201d says Riley. \u201cWhen I was finished, I was just not happy with anything, so on the last day I wadded it up and threw the whole thing away. I told them I was going to go back and do it at home. I guess along the way I got the idea of the very low tub. I went home and did it at night and then sent Foyt the drawings.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There was something unique and groundbreaking about the 1973 Coyote: it had skirts. Riley: \u201cWe were looking for more downforce. I had a model we were running at Texas A&M, and I was just trying different things on the model, and I tried bringing the sides down, and that picked up some downforce in front.\u201d<\/p>\n Foyt tested the new car at Phoenix and noticed the difference immediately. That summer, he won two races, his most wins since 1968. Weight distribution, however, was not ideal. For 1974, the radiator was moved to the front, and that solved the problem. Foyt was on top again, the man to beat, and the Coyote widely copied. The Texan put the car on pole at Indy in both 1974 and 1975. In 1975, he won seven races and the national championship, his sixth.<\/p>\n About working with Foyt, Riley says: \u201cI did do the drawings; that\u2019s true. At the time, I had designed enough cars to know that I had to work with someone who really knew what he was doing. I think had I designed an Indy car for someone else\u2014for just an average team\u2014I fiercely doubt it would have worked. I\u2019ve worked for a lot of drivers over a half century, and he really was the best.\u201d<\/p>\n About testing, Riley says: \u201cWhat he would do with a new car at Indianapolis, he would usually take one slow lap, and then kind of take a fast lap. Then he\u2019d come back with a big grin, and he\u2019d say, \u2018Oh, I almost took off in Turn 1,\u2019 or, \u2018I lost steering in Turn 2.\u2019 He\u2019d make about 10 changes and go out again. \u2018Well, that was better, but I don\u2019t know,\u2019 he\u2019d say. But he always had a good time doing it. Usually, by the second day, the car was sorted.\u201d<\/p>\n For 1976, Foyt and Jack Starne, his chief mechanic, modified Riley\u2019s design. The new car looked similar to the previous model, but had several detail changes. Foyt finished 2nd at Indy that year, and in 1977 won his fourth Indy 500. He raced the Coyote throughout 1978, and in 1979 split driving time between it and a Parnelli-Cosworth. Foyt drove the Coyote to its final victory that year, at College Station, Texas, in his own backyard, so to speak.<\/p>\n Foyt raced a Parnelli full time in 1980. In 1981, he returned to building his own car. Once again, Riley was called to Houston. Ground effects were by then standard in F1, but still new to Indy. The new Coyote had a lot of downforce. \u201cWe really didn\u2019t know how to handle it,\u201d Riley admits. \u201cWe had no idea you had to go so high with the springs, how stiff they really had to be. To make the car work, we actually ended up cutting holes in the bottom of the sidepods to let it breathe air out.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Says Starne: \u201cIf we really had understood what the car needed, we would have been on Broadway. The car was mighty good and mighty fast, but then it could have been so much, much better.\u201d<\/p>\n Foyt put the Cosworth-powered Coyote on the front row at Indy (third fastest) and in the race finished 13th after being slowed by mechanical problems. It was the last time a Coyote would compete at the Speedway. That summer, the Texan crashed heavily at Michigan, breaking an arm and suffering a concussion. Foyt would return to race another day, but the Coyote era was over.<\/p>\n Starne: \u201cWe weren\u2019t prepared to get into the car manufacturing business, because we weren\u2019t selling them. We were just doing them for our own race team. By then, you could buy a car a lot cheaper than you could build one.\u201d<\/p>\n The Coyote\u2019s lasting legacy, perhaps, is this: No American chassis-engine combination has won the Indianapolis 500 since Foyt\u2019s 1977 victory, a source of obvious pride for the Texan.<\/p>\n No one at A.J. Foyt Racing is sure how many Coyotes were built over the years. When asked, Indy historian Donald Davidson guessed the number was eight. Even A.J. doesn\u2019t recall. He never assigned serial numbers (or, for that matter, chassis types). Adding to the confusion is the fact that at least one and possibly two Lotus 38s were rebuilt in Foyt\u2019s shop and variously competed as both Lotuses and as Coyotes.<\/p>\n The likely number is 12. Here\u2019s the reasoning:<\/strong><\/p>\n Most years, one car was built and raced by the boss. Foyt\u2019s teammate drove the previous year\u2019s car, which along with the primary backup car was rebuilt and brought up to current model spec. A few examples:<\/p>\n In 1967, Foyt drove a new Coyote, while Leonard drove the 1966 car. The Coyote McElreath drove to victory in the 1970 California 500 was a 1969 model. On the other hand, the Coyote mechanic\/driver Crockey Peterson campaigned in Formula 5000 started life as a Lotus 38 (the very chassis Clark drove to 2nd place at Indy in 1966 and that Foyt crashed at Milwaukee one week later). The Coyote Mel Kenyon drove for owner Lindsey Hopkins in 1970 was a 1966 Coyote. Bottom line: between 1966 and 1970, if Foyt built one new Coyote each year, the total for this period is five.<\/p>\n For 1971\u201381, the numbers are better known. In 1971, the year Foyt switched to a Bob Riley\u2013designed Coyote, two cars were built. In 1972, one was built. In 1973, two Coyotes were built and raced through the end of 1975. In 1976, one was built, plus enough spares for a second car that was never built. Foyt raced this car from 1976 up to winning the 1977 Indy 500, when the car was retired. After this, he raced one of the 1973 cars through the end of 1979. The final Coyote was built in 1981. Counting the cars built 1966\u201370, the total is 12 Coyotes, 13 if you count spare parts.<\/p>\n Where are the Coyotes today? Three are in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum: the 1967 Indy winner, the 1970 California 500 winner, and the 1977 Indy winner. The three remaining Coyotes from 1966\u201370 were sold (one and possibly two went to Lindsey Hopkins) and today are presumed privately owned. Of the two 1971 Coyotes, one was recently restored. The whereabouts of the other is unknown. The 1972 car was sold and crashed in the 1974 Indy 500 (driven by Rick Muther). Recently it, too, was restored. Of the two 1973 cars, one is owned by the Jim Robbins family (a longtime sponsor). The second is presumed to be privately owned. The spares for a second 1976 car were sold and are reportedly in the Indy Museum basement. The 1981 Coyote is thought to have been restored and privately owned.<\/p>\n Roger Penske may have gotten all the ink for his immaculately prepared racecars, but for the month of May no one could top A.J.\u2019s Coyotes for sheer mechanical elegance. Granted, the original Coyote is a Lotus 38 copy, but Foyt made the car his own. Where the Lotus\u2019s fuselage is all rivets and seams, the Coyote\u2019s skin is glass smooth and unbroken. The tapered nose and upswept tail\u2014the result of extensive testing\u2014gives the car better proportion than did the original nose and tail of the Lotus 38, as if someone had taken an airbrush to Len Terry\u2019s design and given it flair. Chrome? If it wasn\u2019t painted warm poppy red, Foyt chromed it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Riley\u2019s 1973\u201379 Coyote looks more purposeful and menacing than the 1966\u201370 Coyote but, of all the Indy cars built and raced in the 1970s, none had a more striking profile. Look how Foyt resolved the bulky intake manifolding. Not even the ex\u2013flower shop owner (and ex\u2013Foyt chief mechanic) George Bignotti could do anything with it. The big Ford four-cammer with all its plumbing\u2014so out of harmony with the Lolas, Colts and Eagles of the day\u2014is neatly integrated into the Coyote\u2019s overall shape.<\/p>\n Also, the Coyotes were never the rolling billboards that so many Indy cars were then and are today. The sponsor\u2019s name never took center stage on Foyt\u2019s cars, was never gaudy but small and in harmony with the overall appearance of the car. Face it. Foyt had taste, and not just for Texas chili.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>The 1971 Coyote was a good car, a quick car, and garnered Foyt his first champ car victory in three years, and a solid 3rd place finish at the Speedway. However, with the arrival that year of the ground-breaking McLaren M16, it came one year too late.<\/p>\n<\/a>
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo: Pete Luongo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>