BODY WORRY : Racing With the Wind--a Nervy Workout

At one time or another every red-blooded male has wanted to be in a race car as it screamed around a grand prix track. This week that dream came true for me, three times. I am here to tell you this sport requires a fit body, the heart of a lion and intense isometric exercise.

About 150 very exotic race cars, courtesy of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Assn., have been zooming around our island as part of Grand Bahama’s first vintage grand prix. If you like cars, you would drool to death over these beauties.

Since my year is about fitness and health, I must tell you about my three visits to the track in the context of my race-car driver’s health habits.

Terry Bixler is around 30, about 5 feet 10 inches, with a shaved head and a carefully trimmed black beard. When Terry used to lift weights seriously he bench-pressed 600 pounds. When he started aerobics seriously he used an intense 90-minute daily program filled with high-impact movements.

When Terry races seriously, he drives a $1 million 1963 Ferrari red GTO 330. The only 330 in the world. I let him drive, since my insurance policy called in sick that day.

I have two vivid memories associated with Terry’s car.

“Remar,” he said as we strapped in, “can you put your foot up there on the dash and hold that switch on?” It took me a moment to realize this million-dollar car wouldn’t run without my foot. I liked the thought.

The race around the track was exciting. The admiring glances of thousands of spectators were nearly as exciting. But the most dramatic moment happened after our laps. When Terry Bixler needed to remove his racing shoes, he simply plopped down on the fender of his million-dollar car, the medal creaking under him slightly. I call that real nonchalance.

That afternoon, I got to drive a green l960 Aston Martin DB4GT owned by Peter Livanos, whose family has brought about the resurgence of the Aston Martin company.

Peter plays tennis a lot. I wanted to tell him that sports like tennis aren’t real aerobic exercise. I even thought about outlining a good aerobic program for him. But when he handed me the keys to that machine and told me to go as fast as I wanted to, I forgot to say anything and simply stomped on the gas.

To the Limit

I ran the gymkhana course, a course where your car weaves in and out of obstacles. In the straightaways I accelerated as much as my nerves could take; at the curves I downshifted, then careened around the road. The drive ended too quickly.

To thank Peter, I came back later in the day to wish him well in the Australian Pursuit race. I shook his hand, said, “break a leg,” and went to the far side of the paddock to time his laps.

On the third lap, Peter’s brakes locked and the beautiful green Aston Martin rammed into a barrier head-on at 60 mph. Peter was uninjured. The car was flattened. It has been flown to the factory to be rebuilt. I have decided not to use any good-luck phrases around race-car drivers that have the word “break” in them.

My final racing experience was with the greatest living legend in racing, British driver Stirling Moss. George Plimpton introduced me to Stirling. George is a member of my Body Worry Committee, but this week he was simply a member of the racing fraternity.

Stirling is in his 50s, but his body is as hard as a teen-age weight lifter’s. When I asked him how he maintained his body, he said he didn’t. “Driving really keeps it toned, you know.” I started to dispute him on that, but Plimpton stopped me in midsentence. “Stirling, why don’t you take Remar around and show him?”

Every red-blooded male has wanted to zoom around the grand prix track with a living legend. Without saying another word, I hopped in the car. This Aston Martin, a DBR2, also owned by Peter Livanos, is a very famous car. It beat Stirling Moss in the l959 Nassau Cup race. The car is racing green, of course, has two heat gauges, two water gauges and two oil gauges. It does not have a speedometer.

Everything Was a Blur

I was going to ask Stirling about that as we pulled slowly onto the circuit. But as the car entered the track I lost my ability to speak or even breathe as he accelerated and approached the first corner. Everything blurred. The car vibrated like a jackhammer.

The noise made me want to cover my ears, but I could not. There are no passenger seat belts in grand prix cars, and I used my feet to brace myself with an intensity that made the old cliche “hanging on for dear life” seem all too real.

The acceleration was more dramatic than the drop from the tallest roller coaster. The deceleration at corners seemed as final as what Peter Livanos must have felt as he hit the barrier at 60 m.p.h. I imagine the sheer intensity of the experience is comparable to what a person would feel if they held on to the edge of a fighter plane as it took off.

It was at this point that I learned about race cars as a form of exercise. Peter was fighting both the wheel and the gearbox with his hands, and fighting the clutch and brake with his feet. I can tell you that he shifted 38 times in under three minutes. I can tell you that isometrically he received a vigorous workout.

I can also tell you there are 24 shoelace eyelets in his light tan leather racing shoes; they were the only place I could stare without heart failure. His shoes were very clean.

And, finally, I can tell you that race car riding--not just driving--is also a form of exercise. In spite of my good condition from jogging and weight lifting, my hands and feet ached for two days from the intensity of bracing against high-speed right-hand turns. I plan to take up isometrics before my next race.

Two weeks ago I asked you to make a list of your close relatives who have, or have died of, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure or cancer. If your list includes many people, that does not necessarily mean you are destined to the same fate.

For instance, heart attacks, which seem to run in many families, can be caused by high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure or smoking habits. All of these contributing factors are controllable and are not necessarily inherited at all.

If your family has a history of diseases not directly related to bad habits, you should certainly have regular tests to determine any signs or symptoms of those diseases. Early detection of an inherited disease can definitely alter that disease’s effects on you.

Progress Report

Beginning 17th Week Waist: 43 inches 33 3/4 inches Right biceps: 12 3/4 inches 12 inches Flexed: 13 inches 13 inches Weight: 201 pounds 169 pounds Height: 6-feet-1 Blood pressure: 128/68 124/68 Pulse: 64 68 Bench press: 55 125 Hunk factor: .00 .32