Description
On Wednesday, May 30, 1973, an eleven-year old boy smuggled his transistor radio and ear plug into his sixth grade classroom. He discreetly began listening to the live broadcast of the twice rain-delayed Indianapolis 500, but his enjoyable diversion abruptly ended as his favorite driver, twenty-six year old, Swede Savage, was involved in a horrific crash.
The explosion of the car was so violent that the race was stopped for over an hour to clean up the debris. Savage initially survived, but would die of his injuries thirty-three days later in an Indianapolis hospital.
The following year, the boy learned that his hero’s widow was pregnant during the race and actually witnessed her husband’s crash. He was stunned at the realization that Swede Savage would never know his unborn child and that his traumatized widow would have to raise a child without a father.
Forty years later, that schoolboy, Ted Woerner, would miraculously cross paths with Angela Savage, the child born three months after her father’s death. He now tells the incredible, true story of Swede and Angela Savage and how the Indianapolis 500 ultimately joined the spirits of father and daughter after decades of intense, emotional separation.
Back Cover Copy
Race car driver, Swede Savage, blew into the American racing scene in the late 1960s like his native Santa Ana winds. As a second year driver in the 1973 Indianapolis 500, he was a serious threat to win the world’s biggest race.
Swede’s mysterious loss of control exiting the fourth turn on lap 59 produced one of the most violent crashes in the race’s history. His injuries would ultimately prove to be fatal.
A pregnant Sheryl Savage witnessed her husband’s crash from the grandstand. The daughter born to her three months later would suffer effects from the same trauma she endured. This book is not only a long overdue, in-depth look at the remarkable career of Swede Savage, but also a look at what happens to the family left behind when a race car driver perishes as a result of his deadly, chosen profession.
About the Author
Ted Woerner is a motorsports industry entrepreneur and owner of Miles Ahead, a driving event company based in suburban Indianapolis. Prior to launching Miles Ahead, he spent much of his career in 3D computer graphics. As a freelance writer, he has written articles for Phi Gamma Delta Magazine, Autoweek and The Vehicle Designers Review. As a once aspiring race car driver, he competed in the Midwest Skip Barber Formula Ford Series in the mid-1980s, scoring four wins. Originally from suburban Chicago, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois and currently resides in Carmel, Indiana.
