Mears, Rick R.
Auto Racing
b. Dec. 3, 1951, Wichita, KS
The only driver to win the pole position at the Indianapolis 500 six times, Mears won the race in 1979, 1984, 1988, and 1991, and was the national driving champion in 1979, 1981, and 1982.
Mears began his career by racing motorcycles in 1968, then switched to off-road dune buggy racing because his mother was concerned about his safety. He won the Firecracker 250 off-road race in 1972 and had seven off-road wins in 1973, when he also started driving stock cars.
He moved into Indy car racing in 1976 and was named rookie of the year, then joined the Roger Penske racing team. At first primarily a substitute for Mario Andretti, he became the team's top driver in 1979.
Mears had a bad crash in September of 1984, suffering severe injuries to both feet, and didn't return to racing full time until 1986. He retired after the 1992 season with 29 Indy car victories and $11,050,087 in winnings.