Rick Mears had an extraordinary record at the Indianapolis 500. He ran there 15 times and NEVER crashed out except for his last in 92 and it wasn't his fault. Outside of mechanicals and one DNQ, he finished every race in the top 5. His speed in qualifying allowed him to start at the front to avoid the early trouble and then let the race come to him. He won 4, lost 82 by a car length and 86 by 2 secs. That's 6 Indy 500's he could have won. Rick was fast, impeccably clean and respected by all. The best ever at the Speedway.
I grew up watching all of Rick Meats’ victories. He was clearly the best Indy car driver ever and definitely would have won 5 if he was up to it. When Rick retired, a part of the race died and it’s never been the same since.
I watched Rick thru out the years at the speedway...he was one of the greatest I ever saw run at Indy..and I have seen alot of great drivers run at the speedway... Rick was so smooth and calculating...just a really great driver.....🏎️🏎️🏎️
happy thanksgiving mr mears and your fans. i called vegas for a travis pastrana triple jump weekly job for the rest of my life . they never called back. i won a senior olympic swimming championship in indiana i promise i will try for the next 20 years for twenty more first places for the indy crowd and mears family tree. best wishes to all. eric stewart monroe city indiana happy trails
When I was a teenager my dad, uncle and I went to time trials in Indy, think it was in 1981 or so, got to meet him there, super nice guy and very nice, became a fan of his from that moment forever. Thanks Rick for the memories
Rick Mears greatest fan was Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on Home Improvement. Loved the episode where Tim Allen got a signed radio controlled model of Mears Pennzoil Penske. After his kids totalled half of it, the signature now read "Ick Me"
How come now days you don't see anyone in their older years competing like this? In the field you would have rookies in their teens but also had veterans in their 40s and 50s. Drivers like Unser, Mears, Fittipaldi, Andretti, driving in the same races as their sons. Present day F1 and Indycar seem like nothing but teenagers and young 20 years olds.
Because back in the day, getting that top ride took time, owners wanted drivers with a lot of experience behind the wheel of their cars not a youngster pretty much just starting out, Dale Earnhardt & Rick Mears both didn't get full time rides until they were in their late 20's, the only difference between the two is that by the time he was 40, Rick was burnt out. He could clearly still compete for wins & potentially a championship but with 4 Indy wins & 3 season titles he had nothing more to prove to anyone. Earnhardt kept going until his untimely death in 2001...
thanks mr mears. i hope to recycle the sea water for animals and kids. we met at indy in garage area as i was a yellow shirt. wanting to jump motorcycles. praying for ceasers palace to award me a sixty five year contract to repeat travis pastranas triple jump for mr knievel. i want to put on the worlds largest kareoke concert and dance in indiana. set a personal record. i am going to richard petty driving experience this year at talladega. my best friend chris gerhke at the jim russell driving school at laguna seca was in a wreck at talladega the day of moms new wedding. i am driving a log truck now. family ok. spirit good. i want to drive at indy and daytona at age of sixty. lost 45 lb in 2018 on my way to competition weight of one fifty hopefully. trying to find out cost of advertisiing for my grandpa and dad. we built a set of car crushing forks and a high speed tire grinder to promote american builds in the us. thanks for being strong. best wishes . eric stewart american truckdriver biker kareoke singer swimmer monroe city indiana
Dietpepsivanilla he was offered a drive by Brabham in 1980 after testing. It would be interesting to see how that worked out. Competing against the volatile Nelson Piquet as teammate but working with one of the sports greatest designers, Gordon Murray in a championship winning car
Does anyone know what the name of the piece of music starting at 15:43 is? Seemed like SportsCentury used it in all of their auto racing themed episodes.
good morning mr mears. if i get to 150lb or less i am going to try to break the formula 1 record for age to start a race. back in logging industry.hope to go to richard petty driving experience this summer. dad was in worst coal mine deal in indiana. he lost everything. it has been a challenge. i gave my life to christ thru billy graham trying to forgive myself for living against dads rule but now i know how to lose weight. i lost 45 lb in2018. going to one fifty or less.hope to sing national anthem at rodeo or indy circut. hope to be a yellow shirt for you all again if possible with new job. spirit better in logging industry reminds me of grandpa nathan and dad in thier logging days. i will try to keep in touch. thanks for talking to me in garage area as yellow shirt day dreamin motorcycle jumper. eric stewart amerian trucker biker kareoke singer swimmer. rodeo fan. happy trails yeeha
