Richard Ravon Mears^[1] (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win theIndianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder forpole positions in the race with six (1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991). Mears is also a three-time Indycar series/World Series champion (1979, 1981 and 1982).

Rick Mears
Mears in 2021
Born	Rick Ravon Mears (1951-12-03)December 3, 1951 (age 73) Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Championship titles
CARTChampionship Car (1979,1981,1982) Major victories Pikes Peak Hill Climb (1976) Indianapolis 500 (1979,1984,1988,1991) Pocono 500 (1982,1985,1987) Michigan 500 (1991)
Champ Car career
203 races run over 17 years
Best finish	1st (1979 (CART),1981,1982)
First race	1976California 500 (Ontario)
Last race	1992Michigan 500 (Michigan)
First win	1978Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee)
Last win	1991Michigan 500 (Michigan)
Wins Podiums Poles 29 75 40

Mears was born inWichita, Kansas and raised inBakersfield, California.^[2][3] He began his racing career inoff-road racing. In 1976, he was recommended by a representative ofBill Simpson's helmet company, and Simpson gave him a ride at theUSAC Champ Car'sCalifornia 500 on an old Eagle-Offenhauser, finishing 8th. Simpson then sold the car to Art Sugai, on condition that Mears would continue driving it. In mid 1977 he switched toTheodore Racing.

His speed attracted the attention ofRoger Penske. Although at the timePenske Racing had the services ofMario Andretti andTom Sneva, Andretti was also racing inFormula One withLotus, and Penske wanted another young driver who would focus exclusively on American racing. For 1978, Mears was offered a part-time ride in nine of the 18 championship races, filling in when Andretti was overseas. The arrangement also included a ride at theIndianapolis 500.

In his rookie appearance at Indy, Mears qualified on the front row and was the first rookie to qualify over 200 mph. When the race began, Mears discovered his helmet was not strapped on tight enough and he had to pit to get it safely secured. He did not lead a lap and retired at 104 laps with a blown engine. He ended up sharing "Rookie of the Year" honors withLarry Rice. Two weeks later, theRex Mays Classic atMilwaukee, he won his first race. He added another win a month later atAtlanta and rounded off the year with his first road course win atBrands Hatch. Because of his terrific showing as a rookie, Mears was elevated to full-time status for 1979 after teammate and series champion Tom Sneva and Penske parted company.

In 1979 the National Championship sanction changed from theUSAC toCART. At Indianapolis he won his first "500", staying at the front of the field, taking advantage whenBobby Unser fell out of contention with mechanical trouble. Three wins and four second places in the eleven CART-eligible races won Mears his first championship. His worst finish in the season was seventh in Trenton's second heat.

In 1980 theground effectChaparral was technologically more advanced than the other chassis, andJohnny Rutherford drove it to his 3rdIndianapolis 500 win, going on to dominate the season. Mears finished in fourth place in the points with one win, scored at Mexico City.

In 1980 Mears was offered aFormula One test withBrabham by then team bossBernie Eccelstone. Mears took interest in the test largely because of the ongoing split between CART and USAC and wanted other options in case CART fell apart. Mears tested with Brabham twice, once atPaul Ricard and once atRiverside. After adjusting his driving style to theBrabham BT49 Mears posted lap times within half a second of future three time Formula One champion and then Brabham driverNelson Piquet at the first test. During the second test Mears posted lap times faster than Piquet's. Piquet was so impressed with Mears' driving and enjoyed their time spent together so much that he endorsed bringing Mears on as a second driver. Eccelstone offered Mears a contract with Brabham that Mears ultimately declined. Mears would later say in his memoir that although he felt that Brabham was a strong team and that he had the skill to compete for wins in Formula One he was unsure about moving to Europe and was still interested inoval racing as the main reasons for declining Eccelstone's offer.^[4]

The 1981 and 1982 seasons saw two more championships for Mears. Despite facial burns during a pit fire in the1981 Indianapolis 500, Mears' ten race victories in the two-year span were enough for another two Indycar championship titles. At the1982 Indianapolis 500 he came within 0.16 of a second of adding a second Indy win. With less than 20 laps to go, during Mears' final pit stop, the crew filled the entire tank rather than giving him only the amount he needed to finish. The delay left him more than 11 seconds behindGordon Johncock. Mears made up the difference when Johncock suffered handling problems, but failed to secure the win. The photo finish stood for 10 years as the closest finish to an Indy 500. The photo-finish also muffled out the controversial pace-lap crash with teammateKevin Cogan who appeared to have spun out for no apparent reason; fellow drivers such asGordon Johncock,Johnny Rutherford, andBobby Unser, charged Mears with causing the crash by bringing the field down at a slow pace.

For 1983 the Penske team acquired thePennzoil sponsorship with its yellow paint scheme. TeammateAl Unser took that year's title. The team switched to the March chassis for the1984 Indianapolis 500 after the Penske chassis proved unsuccessful in the first two races of the year. Mears scored his second Indy win that May but suffered severe leg injuries later in the year in a crash atSanair Super Speedway. The March chassis, like most contemporary open-wheel racing cars, sat the driver far forward in the nose, with little protection for the legs and feet.

After the Sanair crash, Mears was slowed by the injuries to his right foot that affected him throughout the remainder of his career. Over the next three seasons, he won only two races. He completed a comeback from his injuries by winning the1985 Pocono 500. In 1986, he won the pole position for the Indianapolis 500, but finished 3rd. He also won the1987 Pocono 500.

In 1988, after several years using the March chassis, the Penske team utilized a new car, the PC-17, with aChevrolet racing engine. Mears used the new car to win the Indianapolis 500. A year later, he took a record-setting fifth pole position at Indy, but retired from the race with mechanical problems.Emerson Fittipaldi took the 500 and also beat Mears to the Championship in the last race atLaguna Seca Raceway, despite Mears winning that race. Also, that last race of 1989 set Mears apart from all other Indycar racers as he broke a tie with Bobby Rahal for race wins and became the most successful Indycar racer of the 1980s. In his winner's circle interview, when asked about breaking his road course dry spell when his specialty has been ovals through the years, he replied toJack Arute, "Well, I guess there is hope for us old circle track drivers after all."

Fittipaldi joined Mears at Penske for 1990, but the year belonged toAl Unser Jr., who scored six wins. 1990 was Mears' last in thePennzoil paint scheme asMarlboro took over as sponsor of the team, andJim Hall re-enteredIndycar.

In 1991 during a practice session Mears hit the wall at Indianapolis for the first time in his career. The next day, he climbed into his backup car and claimed his record 6th career pole position. Twenty laps from the end of the 500, it looked like Mears was set to be the runner-up behindMichael Andretti. However, when a subsequent yellow flag period erased Andretti's 15-second lead, Mears gained the lead as Andretti opted to pit for fuel. It was a short-lived lead, as Andretti passed Mears around the outside into the first turn. A lap later Mears regained the lead, using the same move Andretti had. Turning up his turbocharger, he then pulled away to win a fourth Indy 500, becoming the third driver to do so. In August 1991, in theMichigan 500, he won his last race.

At the 1992 Indianapolis 500 Mears broke a wrist in a crash during practice and then crashed out of the race for the first time in his career as he could not avoidJim Crawford's spinning car in turn 1. He raced only four more times in 1992 and then announced his retirement from racing at the Penske team's Christmas party. No one except Penske himself and Rick's wife, Chris, knew of his plans to retire. He had just turned 41 years old.

As of 2023, Rick Mears continues to work as a consultant and spotter for Penske Racing, the team with which he won all of his Indycar races. He has acted as a mentor for Penske driversHelio Castroneves,Will Power, andScott McLaughlin.

Mears is the brother ofRoger Mears, father of off-road and open-wheel racerClint Mears, and the uncle of formerNASCARCup Series driverCasey Mears. His marriage to his first wife Dina ended in divorce in 1983. He married Chris Bowen in 1986 whom he divorced in 2002.^[5]

• In 1997, he was inducted into theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame.
• Mears was inducted into theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1998.
• He was inducted in theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1998.^[6]
• Inducted into Team Penske Hall of Fame on May 25, 2017

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

• Tremayne, David (1991).Racers Apart: Memories of motorsport heroes. UK: Motor Racing Publications Ltd. p. 293.ISBN 0-947981-58-6.
• Kirby, Gordon (2008).Rick Mears * Thanks: The Story of Rick Mears and the Mears Gang. US: Crash Media Group. p. 264.ISBN 978-1-905334-30-8.

• Rick Mears driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• The Greatest 33