Q: Out of these two dirt miles, which was his favorite. DuQuoin or Springfield, Illinois? – Jeff H. (Facebook)
A.J.: “I liked DuQuoin because it was a driver’s race track and that’s where I won my first Indy car race. It was a fun race track and you had to really drive it. Springfield was a great track, don’t get me wrong, but DuQuoin was a challenging race track.”
Q: If you had to pick one track (still standing or gone forever) to put on the IndyCar schedule, which track would it be? – ridin_the_gravy_train (Instagram)
A.J.: “It wouldn’t be for a rear engine car but Langhorne, Pennsylvania. That was a race track you could race on. It was dangerous, but you could race.”
Q: Is your Dad’s hammer still above the door of the barn? – Jerry W. (Facebook)
A.J.: “Yep, I haven’t moved it.” For the story behind the hammer, search in Sports Illustrated’s Vault (vault.si.com) for the feature on A.J. titled “Twilight of a Titan” by the award-winning author William Nack.
Q: Are you upset you didn’t get stuffed mushrooms, lasagna and a couple Coors Lights in St. Pete this year? – @Vanillawilt (Twitter)
A.J.: “Yeah I’m upset about it because it was great food!”
Q: Of all your Indy 500 wins which one was your favorite? – Naya W-E (Facebook)
A.J.: “To be truthful, they were all my favorites, but I’d have to say, probably the last one [1977]. To be the first four-time winner, have your own motor in the car that you built and to drive it and have Mr. Hulman ride around the track with me in the pace car on the victory lap made that one very special.”
Q: I know you had great eyesight and hand/eye coordination. What other sports were you good at while growing up? – Don M. (Facebook)
A.J.: “My whole career I loved racing but I played a little football in high school (offense) and I enjoyed that but I didn’t play that much. I enjoyed cars more than anything since I was a baby. I played basketball but not very much, I did that mostly for benefits or fund raisers where the drivers would get together.”
Q: I live near the Pocono track, I’ve seen you win there four times. What did you like about the “tricky triangle”? – david_p_snyder (Instagram)
A.J.: “It was a man’s race track, you could race on it if you wanted to race. I know a lot of people didn’t like it but it was a race track you had to race on — if you knew how to race. I liked it when I ran stock cars there too. It’s a lot of fun to drive. One thing about it, you had to stay on your toes all day long or you’d get in trouble. It wasn’t a race track where you could just hold it wide open and turn the steering wheel, you had to drive it.”
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