Foyt hospitalized for infection

By: JournalNow Staff | Journal wire report
Published: January 28, 2012

A.J. Foyt is in a Houston hospital because of complications from knee surgery and will skip the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Foyt, 77 and a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, had knee surgery two weeks ago, and an infection sent him to the hospital Wednesday.

A Foyt spokeswoman said Friday that Foyt might stay in the hospital through the weekend. She said he had been up and walking since the surgery but developed an infection this week.

Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was scheduled to be the grand marshal for the Rolex 24, which will start at 3:30 today.

Judge throws out verdict against track

A judge has thrown out a verdict that would have required New Hampshire Motor Speedway to pay nearly $1 million to cancel its contract with Motor Racing Network.

A jury awarded MRN $993,724 last September because New Hampshire did not meet a three-year notice of termination when Speedway Motorsports Inc., bought the track in 2008. SMI wanted its network — the Performance Racing Network — to broadcast NASCAR races at the track.

New Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard McNamara presided over the trial, but threw out the verdict, writing that the jury based its award on MRN's projected lost profits and that can't be a basis for damages. International Speedway Corp., which owns MRN, said in a statement it will appeal the ruling.

Kentucky Speedway promising more improvements

Kentucky Speedway officials this week promised more improvements to prevent a repeat of the parking and traffic issues that tarnished last year's inaugural Sprint Cup race. The track expects to accommodate between 12,000 and 18,000 more cars at this year's race.

Parking was problematic at last year's race, and thousands of fans were stuck for hours in traffic. Many never made it to the track, and those who did couldn't find parking.

SMI has offered a ticket exchange to anyone who missed last year's Cup race. The unused Kentucky tickets could be used for entry into any events at SMI tracks last season, or swapped for entry into the race on June 30.

Track officials have committed at least $11 million to infrastructure and parking improvements.