End of the road for an American legend
Rick Mears surprised the world when he announced at Penske Racing’s Christmas party in Reading, Pennsylvania on 10 December that he was retiring from racing. “It was very tough to get the words out,” commented Mears. “I really had to struggle to say it.
“I wanted to say it there to let the team be the first to know. The team is basically your family and I wanted to let everybody hear it together so it didn’t leak down and pass from one to another. But that didn’t make it any easier. It was very difficult to get the words out.
“Once I had said it, I felt a big weight was off me. You always have a little bit of doubt, but it felt very good to have said it. You know, phew, relief!”
Mears celebrated his 41st birthday a week before announcing his retirement. In what must surely be a record in motor racing, Rick drove for Penske for 15 unstinting years. He won three races in 1978, his first year with the team, as a third-string driver beside Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti. The following year Mears won the Indianapolis 500 and the inaugural CART championship. He won two more championships and a total of 29 Indycar races, including a record-equalling four Indy 500s. His last win came in the 1991 Michigan 500.
As well as being tied with
