MarkDonohue.docVIP

RoadTrack, Aug.1974, Pg.92 Mark Donohue His brilliant career and premature retirement BY MIKE KNEPPER The first time I met Mark Donohue, several years ago, I was a little disappointed. Great racing drivers are, supposed to look and act like heroes, not regular people. Here was a boyish grin and a plump, round face topped by a bristle of closely cropped blond hair in a style that hadnt been in style for five years. Yet the crewcut hair went perfectly with Marks chinos (two inches too short), white socks and penny loafers. Now Mark Donohue, 37, is a retired racing driver. The bristle cut has been replaced by carefully styled hair and the chinos by cuffed flares. Color-coordinated socks are inside loafers by Gucci. The face is much thinner, haggard even, and although the boyish grin is still in there it doesnt seem to be called up nearly so often. In fact, there is a sadness about the man that belies the theory of the Great American Dream as applied to racing drivers - that to win and win often, accumulate honor on top of award, become a household word, make a lot of money and then retire early to a non-driving job in racing is the ultimate and automatically brings contentment. Last October Mark announced his retirement. There was first surprise, then speculation. Why did he choose to retire with a Formula l career just a year away? Was he ill? Had life at the limit become too much? Had he lost the competitive edge? None of those. The logic of the decision was simple; the explanation is more complex. At Indianapolis early in May, a strange set of circumstances that had been building bit by bit for several months all came together and the major thrust of his life reached a denouement. He was suddenly in an untenable position, unable to effectively control his career or the events around him. In the winter of 1971 Team McLaren finished its radical Indy car, radical in that rather than following traditional design concepts it was patterned after Formula l machin