| From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Career highlights of Rick Mears, who has
announced his retirement from auto racing:
-- Four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500
(1978, '84, '88, '91).
-- Three-time IndyCar national champion
(1979, '81, '82).
-- Won the most poles (6) for the
Indianapolis 500 (1979, '82, '86, '88, '89, '91).
-- Ranks fifth in all-time IndyCar victories with 29 behind
A.J. Foyt's 67, Mario Andretti's 51, Al Unser's 39 and Bobby Unser's
35.
-- Ranks fourth in all-time IndyCar poles with 40 behind Andretti's
65, Foyt's 53 and Bobby Unser's 49.
-- Sixth in all-time laps led with 3,506.
-- Won $11,050,807 in his IndyCar career, second only to Bobby
Rahal's $11,166,578.
-- Only driver to win every road course event in a single IndyCar
season (1981).
-- Started racing motorcycles in the California desert in 1968,
won 60 trophies before switching to dune buggies.
-- Won seven off-road races in 1973 and started racing sportsman
stock cars in California.
-- Drove sprint buggies to wins in the Pike's Peak Hill Climb
in 1973 and '75.
-- Made IndyCar debut in 1976 and finished sixth in the California
500.
-- Joined Penske Racing in 1977 as a substitute driver for
Mario Andretti's Formula One conflicts.
-- Qualified in the front row for his first Indianapolis 500
in 1978 and was named corookie of the year at Indianapolis, sharing
the honor with Larry Rice.
-- In just his second Indianapolis 500, won the pole and the
race in 1979.
-- That same season, Mears finished in the top 10 in all 14
events and was crowned national champion.
-- Won second IndyCar title in 1981 with six victories. That
same season, suffered facial burns during a pit fire at the Indianapolis
500.
-- Won third IndyCar title in four seasons when he won four
races in 1982.
-- Won his second Indianapolis 500 in 1984, but later severly
injured both feet in a crash at St. Pie, Quebec that fall.
-- Despite his injured feet, Mears ran five of six oval races
in 1985 before giving way to teammate Al Unser, who went on to win
the national championship.
-- Won his third Indianapolis 500 in 1988 and became the first
driver in IndyCar history to win the pole at all three 500-mile races
-- Indianapolis, Michigan and Pocono.
-- Won fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1991, joining A.J. Foyt and
Al Unser as the only drivers to accomplish that feat. Also, won the
pole just one day after crashing into the first turn during practice.
-- Crashed at Indianapolis on May 6, 1992 while preparing for
this year's race. The injuries sustained in those accidents ultimately
helped convince Mears to retire.
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| From: clarinews@clarinet.com (BRUCE MARTIN)
Subject: Injuries influence Mears' retirement
United Press International
Rick Mears earned fame and riches by driving an Indy car as well as
anyone in history. His four Indianapolis 500 victories alone made him a
multi-millionaire. He also suffered a burned face during a pit fire at
Indianapolis in 1981, severely mangled feet during a crash at St. Pie,
Quebec,in 1984, broken hands, wrists and ankles during his career.
The latest injuries occurred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on
May 6 when his car flipped upside-down and slid for over 750 feet on its
topside, severely spraining Mears' right wrist and breaking his left
ankle.
The urge to walk through life and enjoy those rewards is one of the
reasons why the 41-year-old Mears decided to end his racing career last
week.
Mears announced his retirement from racing at the Marlboro-Team
Penske Christmas party in Reading, Pa., last Thursday. After spending a
few days in Britain, Mears returned to his home in Jupiter, Fla., and
had a chance to recollect on the events that led to his stunning
decision to leave the sport that made him both famous and rich.
``It was around the beginning of the season that I first started
thinking about it,'' Mears said. ``Indianapolis obviously sped up the
process as far as making the decision.
``It holds true with what I've always said -- one day when I wake up
and I don't feel I'm enjoying it as much as I should, then I'm going to
get out. That is what happened.
``I've always said if you don't enjoy it, it's not worth the risk
involved. My level of enjoyment and enthusiasm had gotten to a certain
point and the risk had become a factor. I started thinking about it a
little bit. When you start thinking about something, that's the first
indicator you shouldn't be out there.''
Before the season started, Mears began to think about life after
racing. The more he thought about it, the more appealing it became.
``I was thinking down the road and what to do later on,'' Mears said.
``Then, the more you think about it, the more it comes to mind. At
first, I started thinking about running another year next year, then see
how I felt. But if I was already thinking about it, it's not right.
``When I woke up in the morning and I wasn't excited about getting
into the car, that was the first thing that started to tell me it was
time. If you don't have the enthusiasm to get into the car, you aren't
going to put 110 percent into it the way you should do it right. If you
are doing that, you are cheating yourself, the sponsors, the team,
everybody.
``I always swore that was not going to happen. If it came to that, I
would step down, first.''
Just one season after becoming only the third driver ever to win four
Indianapolis 500s -- joining A.J. Foyt and Al Unser -- Mears has hung up
his racing helmet for the final time. He had a chance to do something
rare in racing, leave the sport on his own terms, on top.
But there are the constant reminders of the sacrifices he paid to
reach the top -- the aches and pains from feet busted up so badly, the
doctors compared the surgery to put them back together as ``stringing
beads on a line.''
``I'm reminded of that every day,'' Mears said. ``When I get out of
bed in the morning, those first 10 steps are a killer. Feeling that
every morning, thinking about if you are out there and don't do the job
right and get caught up and do something wrong to where you couldn't
enjoy the rest of your life, that was a factor that weighed into it.
``(After a crash) it was never a problem to get back in the car
afterwards. That was part of the territory. But in the back of the mind,
they add up and this late in the game, as far as the career goes, you
stop and think a little more about it.
``As the old saying goes, I don't know whether it's older or wiser or
what, but if you start thinking about it, it's time to get out.
``I was starting to think about it.''
With the realistic prospect of becoming the first driver ever to win
five Indianapolis 500s, Mears gave it a good, hard look, then walked
away while he is still able to walk.
``It would have been great to have won Indianapolis five times, but
I've always said that I never paid that much attention to records,''
Mears said. ``I don't think everybody believed me, but this kind of
proves it.''
So when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens next May, Mears will
walk through Gasoline Alley as a consultant for Marlboro-Team Penske,
not as a driver.
``It's going to be a tremendous relief,'' Mears said. ``It's going to
be a great feeling. As far as the pressure goes, Indianapolis is the
greatest. There will be a relief not having that type of pressure.
``But the feeling of knowing I will never go through the first corner
again at the limit and experiencing that feeling, it will be a tough
one.
``There will be mixed emotions, but I think it's going to be fun.''
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