Drag and open wheel. Nitro Karts on road courses and ovals. One of our guys, Mickey Rupp, finished in the top ten at Indy. Another friend Eddie Johnson finished in the top five twice and the top 10 a couple of more times' Foyt and Parnelli were running then.

Eddie Johnson and his wife were killed in a crash of his single engined plane. Mickey Rupp I think is still around. The last I heard he had a P-51D tandem conversion and was practicing long spin downs in an aerobatic zone in western Ohio . I have since lost contact. We were racing friends not personal friends .

Next time you're in a bookstore pick up a copy of "A Driving Passion" by Mario Andretti . Turn to page 53 and you'll see Mickey leading Mario in a Sprint car race. Mickey is in the car in the center. I managed to ace Mickey one time only, on a short oval . Obviously I still remember it .

As for women and airplanes I think my averaging 30 gallons of fuel a year, might have had something to do with it .