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Fittipaldi, Emerson

Auto racing

b. Dec. 12, 1946, Sao Paulo, Brazil

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The son of a sportswriter who primarily covers auto racing, Fittipaldi fell in love with the sport at an early age and was racing before he was old enough to have a driver's license. He began Formula One racing with England's Lotus team in 1970 and two years later he became the youngest winner of the world driving championship. He won that title again in 1974, driving for Team McLaren.

In 1976, Fittipaldi and his brother Wilson to formed a Brazilian-based Formula One team, and he retired from driving in 1980 to devote all his time to designing and manufacturing race cars. The extremely high inflation rate in Brazil made the project impractical, however, and Fittipaldi decided to try Indy-car racing in 1984.

He finished fifth in his first race and finished second to Roberto Guerrero as rookie of the year. Fittipaldi's first Indy-car victory came in the 1985 Michigan 500.

Fittipaldi won the Indy 500 in 1989 and 1993 and was national driving champion both years.

In 1996, Fittipaldi was injured at the U. S. 500 in Michigan and later suffered back injuries in the crash of a small plane, forcing his retirement.

Fittipaldi is tied with Tony Bettenhausen with 22 Indy-car victories, 14th all-time, and ranks fourth in career winnings with $14,293,625. He had 14 Grand Prix wins, tied for 12th on the all-time list.

"To be a good racing driver," Fittipaldi has said, "you have to be brave and you have to be afraid. You have to balance the brave and the afraid."

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