Sullivan, an Ex-Cabbie, Prefers Racing

Former New York City taxi driver Danny Sullivan prefers the safety of a race track.

Sullivan, still revered by the town’s cab drivers for the publicity he gives their profession, was a cabbie for only a month about 15 years ago, but some of the close calls remain vivid in his memory.

“I came from Louisville, Ky., a small city of a million people, when you compare it to New York’s teeming millions, and it was either get a job as a waiter or taxi driver to make ends meet,” said Sullivan, who comes from a wealthy family but has been a maverick determined to earn his own money.

“There were some hairy experiences,” Sullivan recalls, “like taxis bunching up for the run through Central Park. You would think they were going for the checkered flag.”

Sullivan, honored by New York City cabbies recently, said most taxi drivers revealed they did not envy what he was doing. They were impressed by his Indianapolis 500-mile victory last May, “but it was thanks, no thanks, when I asked them if they would trade places with me.”

Asked if rivals on the CART circuit kid him about the publicity he’s received as a short-time cabbie, the handsome bachelor says some of them give him a hard time.

“It’s not so much the cab driving -- some of them realize you have to make a living,” Sullivan says. “It’s the publicity thing that gets them.

“It’s one of those things. I had to take the cabbie job and I think it’s starting to pay off. It’s also helping the sport, by pushing my taxi background and Indy car driving into areas where auto racing doesn’t receive too much hype.

“Commerical endorsements, that what it’s all about. I’ve got to make a living and our sport is tough for recognition, because the only time people see us is going down the straightaway with a helmet on at 200 miles an hour. Everybody knows the name A.J. Foy, but few know what he looks like. I hope with my endorsements people will start recognizing me.”

Sullivan said both racing and cabbing have their dangerous sides. He refused to say which was more frightening, but he jumped nervously when a cab roared to the curb with screeching brakes to deposit a fare.

Actor Judd Hirsch, who starred in the television show “Taxi,” also was honored by the New York cab drivers. They discussed Sullivan’s sudden emergence as a headline figure.

“I told Judd that I feel a little guilty over the prominence,” Sullivan said about his conversation with the actor.