A.J. Foyt Undergoes Successful Back Surgery
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| One tough Texan |
Motorsports legend A.J. Foyt underwent successful back surgery today in a Houston hospital. Foyt, 78, will be kept overnight as a precaution. Neurosurgeon Dr. David Cech performed the laminectomy procedure in the lumbar region of Foyt’s spine to relieve the sciatic nerve pain he had been experiencing recently. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Although the surgery was originally scheduled to be Wednesday, Foyt asked for the earlier surgery to hasten his recovery period. He is planning to be at Indianapolis next month as his ABC Supply IndyCar team works to continue the momentum gained from Takuma Sato’s victory in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for practice on Saturday, May 11th. Foyt will field two Honda-powered cars for the Indianapolis 500 on May 26th with Sato piloting the No. 14 and rookie Conor Daly making his debut in the ABC Supply No. 41.
04/23/13 Added video of 1965 crash below.
04/23/13 A.J. Foyt is undergoing back surgery today to relieve pain that might be traced to a 1965 stock car crash at Riverside, Calif.
That crash, which included an end-over-end flip, was one of the worst of Foyt’s career. He was initially pronounced dead at the scene.
Foyt tweaked his back during a fall this past winter at his ranch in southwestern Texas. The pain has limited his ability to walk. Foyt has missed the past two IndyCar Series races, including last weekend’s event in Long Beach, Calif. when his team’s driver, Takuma Sato, won the race.
Sato became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race and gave A.J. Foyt Racing its first series win since 2002 at Kansas Speedway with Airton Dare.
Foyt, 78, is having surgery at Methodist Hospital in Houston. He is expected to be out of surgery this afternoon. Indy Star
Here is a video of the crash back in 1965.