Book Review: Rick Mears Thanks. The Story of Rick Mears and the Mears Gang by Gordon Kirby

Rick Mears, one of the preeminent drivers during the 1980s and first half of the 1990s, spent the majority of his time in open-wheel racing with Team Penske. Over his remarkable career in USAC and CART, he had 204 starts, won 29 races including the Indianapolis 500 four times, and had three USAC/CART championships.
Much of the book was derived from interviews with Rick, his brother, Roger, his parents Bill and Skip, and various competitors and teammates including Danny Sullivan and Derrick Walker. What I liked about the book is that not only is it a comprehensive review of his racing career through the various interviews, it provides insight into the importance of his family in shaping his love of auto racing and the type of racer he was. He was known on the track as a fierce competitor who relied upon his skill and knowledge of his car.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Mears grew up in Bakersfield, California. His dad was an auto mechanic who enjoyed building and racing cars, primarily short track modified cars and drag racing. For fun on the weekends, the Mears family would frequently go racing leaving home on Friday evenings and returning Sunday evenings. When they moved to California, Roger, age 9, and Rick, age 4, wanted to participate in go-kart racing. So, their dad built them a go-kart. Roger started racing stock cars at age 18. As Rick and Roger became accomplished at racing, their parents got t-shirts proclaiming “The Mears Gang.”
When Rick wanted to race sprint buggies, he and his father built one. Soon Roger also started racing sprint buggies. When he was 19, Rick won the Ascot racetrack’s sprint buggy championship. Their parents instilled a feeling of cooperation among their two sons and they would talk for hours sharing ideas.. This sense of being part of a team became one of Rick’s trademark qualities.
The next year, Rick won the Japan Grand Prix, an off-road challenge, defeating Parnelli Jones. He also raced at Pikes’ Peak in 1974, 1975, and 1976 in the car he used for the Ascot races while other racers utilized the more powerful V-8 engines. All of the races up to this point were for the fun of it. The moneys they won enabled them to buy things for their cars. Meanwhile, they kept their day jobs.
While they were heading home from an off-road race at Riverside, California, the Mears family stopped to watch the Indy car practice at the Ontario Motor Speedway. Shortly thereafter, Rick dipped his foot into professional racing by testing a F5000 car for Bill Simpson. Simpson was so impressed by Rick’s ability that he offered him a deal to drive an Indy car. He drove three races in 1976 for Simpson finishing 8th or 9th. The next year, he drove two races for Simpson and six for Teddy Yip, Sr. (Theodore Racing). He participated in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 but didn’t make the field of 33. After his qualifying attempt, Rick was sitting on the pitwall when Roger Penske gave him a quick piece of advice. In the fall of 1977, while participating in Wally Dallenbach’s motorcycle ride in the Colorado mountains, he talked to Penske a second time. After Bill Simpson agreed to release him from his contract, Penske hired Rick to fill in for Mario Andretti when Andretti was racing in F-1.
He got his second shot at making the field for the Indianapolis 500 in 1978 and stared from the third position. While an engine failure resulted in a 23rd place finish, Mears was named co-rookie of the year with Larry Rice. The very next year he started from the pole, won the Indianapolis 500 and Ontario 500 and won the CART championship.
In 1981, he repeated as CART champion with six wins in eleven races and in 1982 with four wins in twelve races. He picked up his second Indianapolis 500 victory in 1984 (Penske’s fourth). Later that season, he had a disastrous crash at Sanair where both of his feet were crushed. While the doctors in Montreal thought his feet should be amputated, a consult with Dr. Terry Trammell resulted in Rick being transferred to Indianapolis’ Methodist Hospital where both feet were saved. He ran a limited schedule (ovals only) in 1985 including a win at the Pocono 500.
He returned to full time racing in 1986. He picked up his third Indianapolis 500 in 1988 (Penske’s seventh). In 1991, Mears crashed during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 where he suffered a couple of broken bones in his foot. Despite searing pain, he got back into the car and qualified 9th. He won his fourth Indianapolis 500 (Penske’s eighth).
While practicing for the 1992 Indianapolis 500, a water line broke and he crashed in the second turn. The car hit the wall and flew into the air landing on its roof. Mears’ injuries appeared to be not terribly serious…another broken bone in his foot, a concussion and a sprained wrist. The next day, Mears earned a spot on the starting grid in ninth. He was involved in a four-car crash on the 75th lap of the race. His wrist was broken and some ligaments were torn. He missed the next race at Detroit and started the three following races. Despite wearing a brace, his wrist was causing pain and he had difficulty turning the car. He sat out the Toronto race. After qualifying fifth for the Michigan 500, he finished 92 of the race’s 250 laps before pulling into the pits. He could not go any further and was afraid of crashing the car.
He had been thinking about retiring for several months. The fire in his belly had gone out. The crashes in 1992 became the deciding factor. He announced his retirement to Team Penske at the team’s Christmas party. Penske would retain Mears as a consultant for the team.  
Rick Mears was a unique racer. He would say that he could feel the car’s movements through the steering wheel before feeling it in his seat which is how most racers feel a car. He had the ability to tell the engineers what the car needed to improve its performance. Most of all, Mears’ reputation as a racer was one who was a great team player and a strong but fair competitor. This book is well worth a read….and it has plenty of pictures.
 
My book, Racing with Roger Penske, has been released and is available in both paperback and electronic versions. You can order it from your favorite bookseller, my publisher McFarland & Co., Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. To thank you for purchasing the book, I have written a supplement for the 2021 racing year, The Importance of Deep Pockets and Earned Credibility. To receive, please send a copy of your receipt to racingwithrogerpenske@gmail.com.
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