Race Car Drivers

The men who race thecars are generally small,with a tight,nervous look.They range from the early20s to the middle 40s,and it is usually their nerves that go first.

Fear is the driver'sconstant companion,and tragedy can be just a step behind.Scarcely a man in the500 does not carry the scars of ancient crashes.The mark of the plastic

surgery iseverywhere, and burned skin is common. Sometimes a driver's scars areinvisible.Two young drivers,Billy Vukovich and Gary Bettenhausen,raced in theirfirst 500

in 1968.Less than 20years before,their fathers also competed against one another on the Indy track一and died there.

All this the driversaccept. Over the years,they have learned to trust their owntechniques,reflexes,and courage.They depend,too,on a trusted servant一scientific engineering.

Though they may nothave had a great deal of schooling(an exception is New Zealand's Bruce McLaren,who hasan engineering degree),many drivers are gifted

mechanics,with afeeling for their engines that amount to kinship.

A few top drivershave become extremely wealthy,with six-figure incomes from prize money and jobswith auto-product manufacturers.Some have businesses of their

own.McLaren designsracing chassis（底盘）.DanGurney's California factory manufactured the chassis of three of the first fourears in the 1968 Indy 500,including his own

second place car.

Yet money is not theonly reason why men race cars.Perhaps it isn't even the major reason.Three-time Indy winner(1961,1964,1967)A.J. Foyt,for example,can frequently be

found cornpeting ondirty tracks in minor-league races,where money,crowds and safety features arelimited, and only the danger is not. Why does he do it?Sometimes Foyt

answers,"It'sin my blood."Other times he says,"It's good practice."Now andthen he replies,"Don't ask dumb questions."It can be inferredthat a car accident is often coupled with________.

A.a plastic surgery

B.a companion

C.a risk

D.a fire