Fear is the drivers constant companion, and tragedy can be just a step behind. Scarcely a man in the 500 does not carry the scars of ancient crashes. The mark of the plastic surgeon is everywhere, and burned skin is common. Sometimes a drivers scars are invisible, part of his heritage. Two young drivers, Billy Vukovich and Gary Bettenhausen, raced in their first 500 in 1968. Less than 20 years before, their fathers also competed against one another on the Indy trackand died there.
All this the drivers accept. Over the years, they have learned to trust their own techniques, reflexes, and courage. They depend, too, on a trusted servantscientific engineering. Though they may not have had a great deal of schooling , many drivers are gifted mechanics, with a feeling for their engines that amount to kinship.
A few top drivers have become extremely wealthy, with six-figure incomes from prize money, endorsements, and jobs with auto-product manufacturers. Some have businesses of their own. McLaren designs racing chassis . Dan Gurneys California factory manufactured the chassis of three of the first four ears in the 1968 Indy 500, including his own second place car.
Yet money is not the only reason why men race cars. Perhaps it isnt even the major reason. Three-time Indy winner A. J. Foyt, for example, can frequently be found competing on dirty tracks in minor-league races, where money, crowds and safety features are limited, and only the danger is not. Why does he do it? Sometimes Foyt answers, Its in my blood. Other times he says, Its good practice. Now and then he replies, Dont ask dumb questions.
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