Teddy Mayer passes - A true racer and great man

[C_Spray]

Many mainstream people may not know the name Teddy Mayer, but within the ranks of professional auto racers, he is legendary for starting McLaren Motor Racing with Bruce McLaren, taking over the reins when Bruce was killed in 1970, and contributing to both it's successes, and later on, Penske Racing.

I had the honor to work with Teddy when I was Team Manager at Penske from 1988-1998, and owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. Teddy was superb at getting you to think your way through problems without being critical or patronizing. I was nervous as he!! when I took over the team, And Teddy was the best mentor I can imagine. No matter how desperate matters got, or how vehemently I may have disagreed with him, he tolerated my rantings, made sure things never got personal, and always proved to be a great dinner companion. He taught me that drivers, no matter how famous, were no more than co-employees to all the other team members, and should be treated as such, not pampered or allowed to give less that 100%. He also had that great knack of making your day with a wry smile, a quick wink, and a succinct "not a bad job there, Chuck" when things had gone well. Coming from him, a compliment like that meant the world to me.

He was fond of saying "He's a good egg, but a chickens a$$ is full of them", meaning that just being a nice guy wasn't enough in the unforgiving world of racing. Teddy was way more than a good egg - he was a great man and a great friend.

Rest In Peace, Teddy, and tell Bruce that we miss you both....

 

[Dude! Sweet!]

Chuck, I saw the obit yesterday and was going to mention it. As I recall, he and Tyler Alexander really drove that McLaren team after Bruce's death. I never realized he was from Scranton. Another town that drives people to be their best so they can get the hell out of it... Always got a kick out of his nickname too.

I suspect that we're going to start seeing a lot more of the legends of our sport slip away from us as that great '60's generation (Parnelli, Dan, AJ, Mario, Unsers etc.) reach the ages where the school of hard knocks starts to take it's toll a bit earlier than it should.

By the way, I was at my buddy's for a party on Satuday and mentioned that I'd run into you on a boating web site. He was the team manager for Gurney's during the GTP and CART Toyota era. He said he didn't feel like he knew you well on a personal level, but did have many complimentary things to say about you professionally.

Also saw that Harry Brix died yesterday. Obviously not in the same league as Teddy, but still a guy who gave a lot to IMSA racing.

 

[Sea-Dated]

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