Foyt, 58, Takes His Last Lap : Auto racing: After crash by Gordon, four-time winner of the 500 decides to retire.

A.J. Foyt has always said that one day he would drive into the pits, climb out of his race car and call it a career--that no one, not even himself, would know in advance.

Saturday it happened, before 200,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the venue where the 58-year-old legend won the 500 four times and became the most recognizable figure in American motor sports.

Foyt had lapped the Speedway at 221.114 m.p.h.--his fastest lap of the week--in preparation for possibly making a qualifying attempt for his 36th consecutive Indianapolis 500 later in the day.

It was pole day, a day made for Foyt. He had won the pole four times and sat on the front row for the 500 eight times.

Suddenly, Foyt’s driver, Robby Gordon, smacked the wall and brought out a yellow caution flag. It also brought Foyt into the pits for that fateful moment.

He parked the car, walked to his garage and informed his sponsor, Lou Bantle, chairman of the board of U.S. Tobacco, of his plan. Tony George, president of the Speedway, arranged for Foyt to take a final lap around the 2 1/2-mile track to a thunderous standing ovation at every turn.

When Foyt climbed out of the No. 14 car and took off his familiar orange helmet, he was so teary-eyed and choked with emotion that he could barely talk.

“The green (light) had just gone on and I was thinking, ‘A.J., you could be in the race easy,’ when I saw the yellow light. I knew there had been an accident. When I saw it was my driver, it hit me.

“I knew if I was going to have a winning team, I had to stay there with it. It seems like when I’m there with him, he’s fine. I realized, it’s hard to be there with the other car and drive my own car, too.

“Believe me, this wasn’t a planned deal. It all went off in about 10 minutes--bang. bang, bang, bang. All my life, I’ve done things on the spur of the moment, so this was the real A.J.”

Gordon, the 24-year-old rookie from Orange, had been practicing in hopes of qualifying when his Lola-Ford Cosworth brushed the outside wall in the short chute coming off Turn 1 and brushed it again at the entrance to Turn 2. He slid through the turn and down the backstretch about 1,500 feet before stopping.

Gordon was not hurt, but the car had extensive right side and nose cone damage.

“Maybe he did me a favor, getting into the wall,” Foyt said. “I always said when the time came, I’d do it. This was the hardest damn thing I can think of. Damned near as hard as losing Mother and Daddy. It can’t be put in words, it hurt so much.

“I’d have to say the emotions were like when I won in 1961, knowing it was my first win and this is my last ride.”

Mari Hulman George, chairman of the board of the Speedway, asked Foyt, “Is it really true this time?” alluding to the fact that Foyt had retired--and unretired--before.

“Well, Mary, I never did really ever say it’s true before,” Foyt replied. “But yes, it’s true. It’s a very sad day for me, and a very happy day, that it happened here. This has been my life here.”

So ends a career that saw him win his first race in a midget in 1953 at Playland Park in his native Houston. Along the way in 40 years of racing have come victories in four Indy 500s, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of LeMans, seven national championships, 67 Indy car races, the International Race of Champions twice and the 24 Hours of Daytona.

A.J. Foyt * Born: Jan. 16, 1935. * Residence: Houston * Wife: Lucy. * Children: Anthony J. III (Tony), Terry, Jerry, Larry. * Traditional car number: 14. * Victories (all classes): 172 (record 67 Indy car, 41 USAC stock car, 28 USAC sprint car, 20 USAC midget car, 7 NASCAR stock car; 7 sports car; 2 dirt car). * Most victories in season: 10 (in 13 starts) in 1964. * Championships (all classes): 12 (7 Indy car, 3 USAC stock car, 1 dirt champ car, 1 USAC sprint car Eastern division). * First Indy car victory: 100-mile race at DuQuoin, Ill., on Sept. 5, 1960. * Races won from pole: 22. * Victories at Indianapolis: 4 (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977). Foyt is the only driver to have won the Indianapolis 500 in both a front-engine roadster and a rear-engine monocoque. * Other major victories: 1972 Daytona 500, 1967 LeMans 24 Hours, 1983 and 1985 Daytona 24 Hours. * Note: Started Indianapolis 500 a record 35 consecutive years.