I have just finished reading Rapid Response: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver by Dr. Stephen Olvey and I think this book will help others fulfill the long wait until the new season starts up again.
Dr. Olvey has been an integral part of IndyCar safety and rescue teams since the 1960s. As he acknowledges in the book, he helped research and design many of the life-saving equipment now featured on all race cars, not just IndyCars. He has a clear passion for motorsports, especially open wheel racing. He was one of the doctors who saved Alex Zanardi's life, and Alex provides a heartfelt forward in the book describing his gratitude. He was also the doctor who broke the difficult news to Dario Franchitti that he should not race again.
The book is full of stories from IndyCar's "glory days" when they were known as CART, and if you've been a fan of IndyCar racing for a long time, you'll love these trips down memory lane. Even if you haven't been a fan for years, I think you'll appreciate the historical context and insight into such colorful characters as Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi. The stories are truly fascinating, and the book is a page-turner and a quick read. At times the book lacks continuity of thought, but it mostly moves in a chronological order by chapter.
However, this book is not for those with weak stomachs. Dr. Olvey goes into great detail on some occasions describing his rescue efforts and why some fatalities occurred. I can deal with descriptions as long as there are no pictures of such graphic information, which there are not. (There are pictures, but not of anything gruesome.) He goes into more detail than I have heard or seen explained anywhere. While some might say we don't need to know these details, I think it helps us understand what happens when we see a massive wreck, whether it's on the highway or on the race track. One of the most compelling descriptions comes from Dr. Olvey's account of Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash at Daytona. His initial reaction mirrored mine as I watched it, but without being too technical (as doctors often are), he explains why the crash was so fatal. That crash was a wake-up call for many in motorsports, particularly NASCAR, who, if you are to believe Dr. Olvey, neglected or ignored safety for a long time. I think, through Dr. Olvey's graphic descriptions, we learn how fragile our bodies really are, and that we should not assume we are ever safe in a moving vehicle.
I especially appreciated Dr. Olvey's account of "The Split," because I was not privy to the rationale for or the implementation of it. I watched IndyCar racing as much as I could in the 90's but I was in college at the time, then after graduation I did not have cable TV, and then I worked in retail so I wasn't able to view the races on the weekends. I remember tuning in to the Indy 500 one year and being very confused. I think the announcers were trying to explain the 25/8 rule, which I didn't and really still don't fully understand. I realized I knew very few of the drivers, and that turned me away for a few years. But once I was finally able to watch the races regularly my enthusiasm was reignited. Through Dr. Olvey's summary of those years I understand why many fans left and still have not returned. But slowly I think they are now, just like me.
Unfortunately Dr. Olvey's book ends in 2010, before the loss of our beloved Dan Wheldon. I would have loved reading his perspective of it, especially after he applauds IndyCar racing for improving safety and reducing the number of serious injuries. But as he reminds us in this book, the quest for safety innovation must carry on and he and others will continue to carry the torch for it. All in all, I recommend Dr. Olvey's book for anyone interested in auto racing of any kind. It will give you a renewed appreciation for the individuals behind the scenes, the ones who rarely make the post-race interviews, but who serve such an important role in making sure the drivers will be there at the end to complete them.
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