A.J. Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in both a front-engine and a rear-engine car.
Foyt’s four Indy 500 victories came in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. His first two wins were achieved during the era when front-engine roadsters still dominated Indianapolis. His 1967 victory came in a rear-engine Coyote-Ford, marking his success across the sport’s major technical transition.
The shift to rear-engine designs transformed the race. Jim Clark’s 1965 victory in a Lotus 38 was the first Indy 500 win for a rear-engine car, and by the late 1960s the older front-engine layout had effectively disappeared from the front of the field. Foyt’s record thus spans two distinct generations of Indianapolis machinery.
Foyt was also the first four-time winner of the 500, reaching that mark in 1977. That same year, he overcame a fuel-related delay and passed Gordon Johncock after Johncock’s engine failed. His wider résumé includes wins at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring.