Originally published to great acclaim in 2006, Dr. Stephen Olvey’s memoir
Rapid Response makes a long-awaited return to print — complete with new text and an afterword by Dario Franchitti — at the same time as the release of a documentary feature film of the same title. This book is the compelling story of the author’s often tragic, sometimes funny, and frequently frustrating journey through the volatile world of professional motorsports. Along the way, he introduces many of the characters — geniuses, good guys, bad guys — that he has encountered during his quest to save lives and make motorsports safer.
- Among the racing legends with whom Dr. Olvey has worked — and who have their places in this book — are Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, A.J. Foyt, Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell, Rick Mears and Al Unser Jr.
- Dr. Olvey attended his first race, the 1955 Indianapolis 500, at the impressionable age of 11, and saw his favourite driver, Bill Vukovich, killed in a fiery crash while leading.
- He began working at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway while attending medical school, making his first professional appearance there in 1966, when his first on-track rescue involved Graham Hill in his rookie year.
- Dr. Olvey organised the first traveling medical team in motorsports and was eventually joined by long-time colleague and friend, Dr. Terry Trammell.
- Continuing to work together over several decades, Dr. Olvey and Dr. Trammell have used their study of the cause and effect of racing crashes and injuries to make significant advances in safety, with many lives saved and serious injuries avoided.
- The writer of the foreword is Alex Zanardi, whose life Dr. Olvey helped to save after a violent accident in Germany in 2001, and who subsequently returned not only to motorsports, but also to handcycling, becoming a three-time Paralympic gold medalist.
Dr Stephen Olvey has been involved in saving lives and improving safety in motorsports for nearly 50 years, primarily in his role as Medical Director for the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) racing series in the US, a position that he held from 1979 to 2003. He remains active in motorsports as a member of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Medical Commission, a consultant to Indy Car Series and Motor Sports Director of the University of Miami Concussion Program. He is an associate professor of clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
As Medical Director for Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in the USA, Dr Olvey helped save Alex Zanardi's life - hence Alex's foreword to the book.
Dario Franchitti is the 17th driver to win Indy 500 more than once, the first coming in 2007. Dario hails from Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, but currently resides in Tennessee.
