Coyote Red back at Indy

Longtime Indianapolis 500 spectators/fans might do a double take when they see the No. 41 ABC Supply car on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 14 (Opening Day for the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500).

Bruno Junqueira will be driving the A.J. Foyt Racing entry, whose paint scheme hearkens back to Foyt's 1967 and 1977 Indy 500-winning cars with the distinctive Coyote Red color and the car numbers set on a white circle. On the '77 car's nose, the number 14 was centered in the upper half of the small letter 'g' — the logo of Foyt's longtime sponsor Jim Gilmore. A depiction of the car's paint scheme is above.

Foyt's signature color is actually warm poppy red that he first used in 1967 when he won the Indy 500. That was the same year that he used the No. 14 for the first time after finishing 13th in the standings and experiencing his first winless season in 1966. Foyt went on to win the 1967 championship — his first as a team owner and fifth as a driver. His cars remained Coyote Red for 20 years.

Junqueira, who has been competing in the American LeMans Series this year, will get in more laps at the Speedway this weekend than he did in qualifying in 2010 (his initial laps came on Bump Day). After only seven laps, he qualified with a four-lap average speed of 225.6 mph.

Junqueira's teammate and fellow Brazilian, Vitor Meira, is driving the No. 14 ABC Supply car that — although still red, white and blue — pays homage through its design to Foyt's first Indy 500 victory 50 years ago.