Rapid Response: My inside story as a motor racing life-saver

by Stephen Olvey, Alex Zanardi (Foreword), Sid Watkins (Afterword)

Originally published to great acclaim in 2006, Dr. Stephen Olvey’s memoir Rapid Response makes a long-awaited return to print — complete with new text and an afterword by Dario Franchitti — at the same time as the release of a documentary feature film of the same title. This book is the compelling story of the author’s often tragic, sometimes funny, and frequently frustrating journey through the volatile world of professional motorsports. Along the way, he introduces many of the characters — geniuses, good guys, bad guys — that he has encountered during his quest to save lives and make motorsports safer. 

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Racing, Sports

312 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2006

Reviews

[Mel Corrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passionate, exhilarating and sometimes graphic, Dr. Olvey's Rapid Response chronicles the contributions of himself and his colleagues that significantly improved safety in motorsports during his tenure with CART. Not for the faint of heart. Motorsports fans will love racing and their heroes even more after reading this captivating memoir.

[John Pehle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having seen a positive review in a respected racing publication, I expected more. The writing isn’t great but the discussions about actual safety developments that came from the work of Dr. Olvey and others met my expectations. Unfortunately, some of his other personal anecdotes and reflections were less satisfying and the new material in this edition didn’t really ad much. Finally, some of the photos and descriptions bordered on ghoulish, even for a racing fan.

[Lionel Rosière · Rating 5 out of 5]

Etant un fan du CART depuis ado, quand j'ai découvert l'Indycar en lisant les épisodes de Michel Vaillant sur cette F1 à l'américaine comme nous aimons la nommée en France. Je connaissais la Safety Team depuis l'accident de Gonchi Rodriguez en 1999. Et surtout Zanardi qui sert de conclusion au livre.

Je voulais pour ma chaîne You Tube, creuser un peu cette discipline et rapidement je me suis intéressé à son aspect novateur dans certains domaines. Notamment les affaires médicales, les débuts du livre sont très intéressant sur les débuts du Dr Olvey, fils d'un médecin de l'hôpital voisin, qui va voir les 500 miles avec son père qui est confrère et ami de Thomas Hanna le médecin historique du circuit. Arrivé à 20 ans et en première année de médecine, le jeune Stephen s'engage comme secouriste et découvre ici le dénuement des médecins de circuit.

L'ambulance est un corbillard et les médecins n'ont qu'une trousse de premier secours, Il exprime ici l'ensemble de ce qu'il y a à faire, et va bientôt en avoir l'occasion, le Dr Hanna le prend sous son aile et 40 ans d'une carrière exceptionnelle débute.

Ici âme sensible fuyait, car les accidents sont racontés tel une enquête policière avec sous des détails parfois sordides comme dans le cas Gordon Smiley par exemple, mais aussi souvent les leçons tirées de ces accidents. C'est en tout environ 30-40 cas qui vont être abordés sur l'ouvrage

J'ai été captivé par l'ouvrage et par cette histoire méconnue du sport auto. L'écriture est simple, mais justement pour moi qui ne suis pas anglo-saxon, cela m'a rendu la compréhension et la lecture aisée.

Je recommande à ceux qui veulent découvrir l'envers du décor et comprendre les immenses progrès que le sport auto a fait grâce aux Safety Team de l'IndyCar dont même le grand docteur Sid Watkins s'est inspiré pour la F1, puis le NASCAR.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both a gut wrenching and a fun book to read. I would love to read another book about the progress we’ve made since the early 2000s with the introduction of the halo and aeroscreen in open wheel cars.

Also very timely with how many safety issues NASCAR is having with the Next Gen cars, I appreciated his view on where they were falling behind in the early 2000s safety wise. Seems like not much has changed

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic behind the scenes look at the safety/medical team behind IndyCar and the dangers of motor racing. Some of the stories are hard to read through as often times it's tragedy that pushes safety improvements forward.

I would recommend it to motor sports fans.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exceedingly interesting topic, but the overall tone of the writer, a critical-care physician, struck me as one of superior condescension. Not a bad read, but it could have been fantastic without the subtle scorn.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating read from a man who was involved medically in some of the most dangerous times of open wheel racing. Dr. Olvey goes into great detail about the triumphs and tragedies of auto racing through his career in and around CART, the IRL and IndyCar.

[Stan Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really interesting stories about the advancement (and creation) of safety in Motorsports. Unfortunately half the book is filler chapters about specific graphic crashes that seem more like “accident porn” than relevant to the story.

[RocknRobn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read from the perspective of those tasked with saving lives. At time gruesome but always fast paced and interesting. I was bummed when the book ended. Highly recommend.

[Yakimets Anatoliy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for any motorsport fan.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would I recommend this book? To who?
No, go listen to the podcast 'Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys' specifically the episode "The stunning rise of IndyCar's groundbreaking safety team"
Would I purchase this book?
no
Would I read again?
no

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor writing throughout this book illustrates that Dr. Stephen Olvey's true strengths deal with life saving and safety innovations, instead of putting words on paper. His remarkable overuse of exclamation points quickly becomes a distraction. The editing proves to be poor as well--facts and dates don't mesh at different times in the book and also with some of the photo captions.

However, these weaknesses do not detract too much from the information that Olvey provides. The advances of safety and medical techniques, starting with his recollections from the 1950's, are quite interesting. It's truly amazing how far these sciences have progressed to benefit injured drivers. Details that he shares about famous drivers are also insightful. Some of these stories from the early days describe the party lifestyle that was often found within the racing culture. In the end, I would prefer to be able to give the book three and a half stars.

The book was originally published in 2006, with an updated version published in 2011. Forward by famous driver Alex Zanardi; afterword by Professor Sid Watkins, the founder of the FIA Medical Commission and beloved Formula One legend; index.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a fan of any kind of motorsports, cars in general, medical practices, and really anything more this book is a MUST. The story told here is the most important story in all the years of motorsports history, the story of the people dedicated to the safety and emergency response for races.

Why do I say it goes beyond motorsports fans; as Olvey points out in the book, his experiences and learned knowledge is shared across the world with NASA, the Air Force, electronics experts, emergency procedures now used, lessons learned for flawed human logic, American vs worldwide attitudes, and just how dumb people can be in making themselves a profit to sacrifice quality service. He also goes on to prove race car drivers are not only athletes but maybe even more than any other sport, how NASCAR has been almost completely negligent in their course of actions, he includes interesting and funny stories that happened through his years as a motorsports doctor.

A racing fan or not, this will be a gripping book for anyone willing to pick it up.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straightforward account of the career of Stephen Olvey which is pretty remarkable. Olvey has been at the forefront of motor racing safety in the US for many years, especially open wheel racing and he weaves his story in with the development of the sport itself over the last 30 years or so as safety progressively improved.

There is some mention of other formats, particularly NASCAR as well as a nod to Formula 1 but he sticks with what he really knows and the book is none the worse for that. Certainly tells a lot about the inside workings of racetrack medics - the attitudes displayed by the various interested parties is particularly valuable. It appears that, for years, drivers were seen as brave but crazy and therefore not deserving of special (or indeed any) medical care in the case of a crash.

Book rather peters out at the end - I guess there isn't a conclusion yet!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent personal account of the history of the darker side of American open-wheel motorsports. The author, Dr. Steve Olvey, was a key figure in the advancement of the medical response and treatment for injured auto racers. Chronicles the tragedies, triumphs, and lessons learned from many notorious accidents. Much of the book is Dr. Olvey's firsthand account of these events and contains much more information than I (as an avid fan) had previously known about these accidents and figures. Very dramatic, intriguing, and informative.

[Chad Mccabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is a very good book. Being involved with racing myself, I can relate to a lot that Stephen has described in this book.

I find the up close and personal accounts with the drivers and cars of USAC and CART a big plus with this book and how he was able to describe what all was going on in the background with those two sanctioned bodies with respect to the medical needs for the sport.

I have read this book four times and I throughly enjoy this book.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating details about auto racing and the harm it can do to the human body when something goes wrong. Also an interesting overview of the growth of medical preparedness in the racing industry. The writing is a bit disorganized, however, and the author never comes across as being very likable.

[Michael Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for fans of motorsports