Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears has retired from racing, ending a glorious career that may have been arguably the greatest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.
Mears, 42, made his surprise announcement at Penske Racing's annual Christmas party in Reading, Pa. late Thursday night. According to sources, the only people who knew of Mears' impending announcement were his wife, Chris, team owner Roger Penske and long-time Penske associate Dan Luginbuhl.
'You heard Roger say I'm a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion, well that's it. I'm retiring,' Mears told the stunned crowd of team members and associates. 'I weighed the facts. When you wake up and that fire is not lit, it's time to get out.
'This was a tough one, but when I was injured this year, I found myself watching the races and enjoying them. The desire to race was not there.'
Mears may have been influenced by his May 6 crash during practice for the Indianapolis 500. Mears lost control of his Marlboro-sponsored Penske-Chevrolet, hit the wall and flipped upside down where his car skidded on its topside for over 750 feet. Mears suffered a severely- sprained right wrist and broken left ankle from the collision.
Still wounded from the crash, Mears was involved in a multi-car collision during the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, which further aggravated his wrist injury.
After dropping out of the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Raceway Aug. 2, Mears decided to sit out the remainder of the season and turned his ride over to Paul Tracy. Mears had surgery on his wrist Aug. 19, but the driver from Bakersfield, Calif. was expected to begin testing later this month.
Mears, who will remain with the team as a consultant in testing, development and race strategy, said the injury was not the impetus to his retirement announcement.
'It was a tough decision,' Mears said. 'I started thinking about it some time ago, probably even before Indy. Obviously, Indy was something that made me think a little more about it. After that, it was a little here and a little there.
'Sitting out the races gave me a lot of time to think. I purposely stayed away from the team more than usual, sort of disassociated myself to make sure I wasn't going to miss it. Being at the races without driving the car made me think. I caught myself enjoying it, working with Emerson (Fittipaldi) and Paul (Tracy) and not really missing being in the car like I should be.
'That was an indication that I didn't need to be out there.'
Mears won four Indianapolis 500s for Penske Racing, including 1978, '84, '88 and '91. He joins A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as the only four-time winners in Indianapolis 500 history. He also won the IndyCar national championships in 1979, '81 and '82.
Mears also won 29 races and 40 poles in an IndyCar career where he earned $11,050,807 -- second only to Bobby Rahal's career-earnings of $11,166,578.
'Rick is a world-class driver and a great friend,' Penske said. 'He plays fair and he made the decision. I respect Rick's decision and I am pleased that he will continue with the team and contribute his extensive experience to our program.
'Over time, Rick will be remembered as the ultimate team player who never lost his perspective from the day he walked in the door back in 1978. Rick's peers held him in the highest regard as not only a great race driver but one of the sport's true gentlemen.'
