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Byline: Mike Brudenell
Aug. 4--BROOKLYN -- Racing legend A.J. Foyt will be at Michigan International Speedway today for IndyCar Series practice and qualifying despite his near-fatal bulldozer accident on his ranch near Waller, Texas, on Thursday.
Foyt, 72, was operating the bulldozer when it plunged sideways into a lake when the bank gave way under the weight of the 35,000-pound machine.
"It was such a helpless feeling when the dirt broke away and I was going down and down," said Foyt.
Nursing a bruise on his face and a sore head, Foyt refused doctors' requests to go to the hospital to undergo an MRI.
"They were worried about a blood clot," said Foyt, a two-time Indy car winner at MIS (1975 and 1976) and current Indy Racing League team owner. "But if you're going to die, you're going to die."
Foyt has cheated death many times, including at Michigan in 1981 when he almost had his right arm ripped off in a crash. But he thought his time had come when he had to find his way out of the bulldozer's steel cage while it was fully submerged.