05/07/2022
Tom - BOTTOM line, I’m a racecar driver.
“I’ve done 56 Formula 1 races and another 38 IndyCar races as a marshal. In two weeks I’ll be in New York for the Formula E race.
The second best seat at the track, behind being the driver, is as a marshal (I’m an EMT). I’d rather be out there in the car, but I don’t have enough money to be in the car.
Technically I can drive almost anything since 1971.
At that time, I was on strike against my employer (he’s been with the same company for 43 years and retired in 2012). 70 miles north or so of Montreal there is a mountain called Mt Tremblant. I decided to take a 4 hour racecar driving course during my time on strike at a school near this mountain. At noon, after the four hour course, I was leaving and the owner of the school asked why I was leaving because the course was for 3 days. I told him that is all I could afford. The owner then asked if I’d pay him back later if he let me attend the rest of the course. I said I would and he let me stay.
Racecar driving will either scare the s**t out of you or you’ll be hooked for life.
I was hooked.”
He then went on and said that he wanted me to pull up a video. He prefaced it by saying that everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame.
He was the first responder at a Formula 1 crash in 1997. I’ll post a comment with the link to the YouTube video for those that are interested.
He’s wearing a white uniform, orange suspenders, and black knee pads.
Olivier Panis, the racecar driver that crashed, signed his uniform at a later date, to which he then got stitched on the uniform so it would not fade.
“I’m 78 and still going at it.” - Captain Canary (aka Tom)
