Themenwhoracethecarsaregenerallysmall,withatight,nervouslook.Theyrangefromtheearly20stothemiddle40s,anditisusuallytheirnervesthatgofirst.
Fearisthedriver'sconstantcompanion,andtragedycanbejustastepbehind.Scarcelyamaninthe500doesnotcarrythescarsofancientcrashes.Themarkoftheplasticsurgeoniseverywhere,andburnedskiniscommon.Sometimesadriver'sscarsareinvisible,partofhisheritage.Twoyoungdrivers,BillyVukovichandGaryBettenhausen,racedintheirfirst500in1968.Lessthan20yearsbefore,theirfathersalsocompetedagainstoneanotherontheIndytrack—anddiedthere.
Allthisthedriversaccept.Overtheyears,theyhavelearnedtotrusttheirowntechniques,reflexes,andcourage.Theydepend,too,onatrustedservant—scientificengineering.Thoughtheymaynothavehadagreatdealofschooling(anexceptionisNewZealand'sBruceMcLaren,whohasanengineeringdegree),manydriversaregiftedmechanics,withafeelingfortheirenginesthatamounttokinship.
Afewtopdrivershavebecomeextremelywealthy,withsix-figureincomesfromprizemoney,endorsements,andjobswithauto-productmanufacturers.Somehavebusinessesoftheirown.McLarendesignsracingchassis(底盘).DanGurney'sCaliforniafactorymanufacturedthechassisofthreeofthefirstfourearsinthe1968Indy500,includinghisownsecondplacecar.
Yetmoneyisnottheonlyreasonwhymenracecars.Perhapsitisn'teventhemajorreason.Three-timeIndywinner(1961,1964,1967)A.J.Foyt,forexample,canfrequentlybefoundcompetingondirtytracksinminor-leagueraces,wheremoney,crowdsandsafetyfeaturesarelimited,andonlythedangerisnot.Whydoeshedoit?SometimesFoytanswers,"It'sinmyblood."Othertimeshesays,"It'sgoodpractice."Nowandthenhereplies,"Don'taskdumbquestions."
26.Thestatement"itisusuallytheirnervesthatgofirst"means_______.
A.atfirsttheyallhaveanervouslook
B.theyoftenfindtheycan'tbearthetensioneveniftheyareingoodcondition
C.somedaytheyfindtheycan'tmakeresponsestoanyrisk
D.theycancontinuetheircareeratmostuntilthemiddle40s
27.Itcanbeinferredthatacaraccidentisoftencoupledwith_______.
A.aplasticsurgeonB.acompanion
28.Theinvisiblescarsofthedriversmentionedinthesecondparagraphrefersto_______.
A.theregretsleftbytheirfathersB.thefearsleftbytheirfathers
C.thecarsleftbytheirfathersD.theheritageleftbytheirfathers
29.BruceMcLarenisdifferentfrommostofthedriversinthat_______.
A.hehimselfdesignschassisB.hehasanengineeringdegree
C.hemanufactureschassisD.heisagiftedmechanic
30.A.J.Foytoftentakespartinminor-leagueracesfor_______.
C.cheersfromthecrowdD.enjoyment
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