Review of Lloyd Ruby: The Greatest Driver Never to Win the Indy 500 (Hardcover)

Update (April 1, 2009): Lloyd Ruby just died at 81. Many surviving Indy racers are again emphasizing that LR was one of the greats... See the obituaries popping up online. Anyway, RIP Lloyd Ruby.Here's the review I wrote a few years ago:

This is a great book for several reasons.GREAT.I mean it.

First off, Lloyd Ruby was an amazing driver.If you remember Ruby's stirring charges from the back to the front, and his ridiculously poor luck at critical moments, you'll never forget the spectacle.But you don't need to know about Ruby or racing or the Indianapolis 500 for this part of the story to get under your skin.You can feel the grand prize dangling before the hero throughout the book.The outcome somehow matters even though you already know it.

Part of what makes this story truly great is that we learn how this guy put in super-human performances, endured tragic losses, recovered, and lived well anyway.Maybe this is the real heart of the story, meaningful to any reader.

What emerges from the pages of drama, victories, failures, and tragic losses of precious life is the clear portrait of a great person. Again, I mean it. (As a psychologist, I really appreciate the fact that the portrait of Ruby did not seem superficial.It had a believable depth to it).Like all successful drivers, he had an intensely competitive spark, along with a superb intuitive set of skills.But despite his legendary performances and deep disappointments, he seemed to never sacrifice his values or his sense of humor.Through it all shines his remarkable calm, his ability to deal graciously and sanely with adversity, and his unquestionable integrity. This is the "good old boy" who befriended--against all odds--his "opposite," Ken Miles; who defended Janet Guthrie against detractors when she took the track, etc., etc., etc.An amazing part of the story is that the legendary champions of Ruby's time are quick to acknowledge Ruby's talents, as well as his remarkably positive personal strengths. (Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Carroll Shelby, Roger McCluskey, Andy Granatelli, to name a few).Their affectionate comments seem to indicate that even though he never led the last lap at Indianapolis, he was a leader...

I believe that the book achieves greatness in its own right, as a well-told story and first-rate biography.The depthof the story kept my interest.

Frankly, I wasn't planning to write a long review.I bought the book because I wanted to know something about the driver I cheered for as a kid.

EXCERPT (from the prologue):"As we first began to talk about writing a book on his life in racing, Ruby, straight-faced, told me one book had already been written on his life.He handed me an impressive, hard-bound copy.`Here,' he said, `this may help you with some of your research.'The book was titled, How to Drive and Win the Indianapolis 500, by Lloyd Ruby.I opened it and began to thumb through the blank page after blank page.About three hundred pages in all, and all blank.He didn't say anything.Just a slow wicked grin spread across his face."

Here's a portion of a review I posted a couple weeks ago, before I completed the book.

As a kid, used to watch races on TV and at the race tracks with my parents. I didn't know much about the racers, but something about the way Ruby raced captured my imagination and he became my favorite Indy racer. The year I started paying attention was the year Mario won (1969), and Ruby was spectacular. I was rooting for Ruby and my twin brother wanted Andretti to win. Ditto in 1970 and the years that followed. From this kid's eyes, Ruby was amazing. But something always happened to keep him out of victory lane at Indy. When they interviewed him or his fans, he and they had about the strongest Texas twang I've ever heard, and sometimes he wore a giant hat. I grew up in L.A. where people don't sound like that, but I thought it was great stuff.

I was watching this year's Indianapolis 500 and hearing about Michael Andretti, who may very well be the other greatest driver never to win the race. I couldn't help thinking about Ruby. So I did a search and came up with this book. I think the idea that he was a man of character, but also a "character," sums things up nicely. And for Indy fans, he's definitely not someone to forget.

In summary...In my opinion, this is the second greatest racing book that never made it to the New York Times Bestseller list.I'd probably rate it higher, but maybe that wouldn't be consistent with the story line.



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