"I remember being in the airport, leaving after the [1991] Indy 500. And there's Rick Mears up ahead of me. And he's got a duffel bag in one hand and [wearing] a pair of jeans and T-shirt.

Rick Mears won three Indycar championships in 1979, 1981 and 1982, out of which the second saw him face the biggest challenge of his entire career. At 65th Running of the Indy 500 in 1981 ...