For those of you following the sport at the time, was he widely liked?
Here in the States I think he was liked, Allen.
I was but 11 when meeting him at a Can-Am race and asking him to sign the program, my autograph book, and the cover of my Encyclopedia of Motor Sport book. My recollections of youth then aren’t as clear as even a year later, but recall his being pleasant at the least. And plain cool.
Fans like myself often tended to think differently of foreign drivers — if not perceived at a level of higher authority from reading and imagining F1, Le Mans, and all between “down” to Formula Ford and even karts. The mystery of faraway lands and people to an imaginative kid was quite something, really.
And in an age where one could adore a driver without ever seeing him speak, or even move on video, those times of reading enough good things about a driver for them to “earn” a fan were quite the opposite of now. It seems now we far more often choose favorites we like as people.
Then Jackie commentated for ABC Sports at Indy and elsewhere, for maybe 15 years if I’m right, and that’s the first we all really got to “know” him. I actually liked his style of clarity, but mostly loved experienced viewpoints to further any racing education I could find.
I do recall several not “liking him” based on his reporting style, but I never bought into it out of long and deep respect for the man. A lot of this was nationalism via some not liking “foreigners invading our turf,” especially at Indy it seemed, nor an intelligent education about Indy technology coming from one of another country. Not many, but enough to remember it vividly. Some things never change.
But as a driver, I never recall anyone shortchange his obvious brilliance. I actually wish he’d won Indy after Jimmy did.
