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Doctor Stephen Olvey | Road & Track Magazine
UNSUNG Six people who have quietly changed the automotive world. 📝 by Chris Perkins 📷 by Mary Beth Koeth for Road & Track Magazine
| DOCTOR STEPHEN OLVEY |
FOR DECADES, American open-wheel racing was the source of much motorsport innovation, including in safety. That’s thanks largely to Dr. Stephen Olvey, a neurosurgeon, and Dr. Terry Trammell, an orthopedic surgeon. The biggest names in IndyCar owe their continued careers—and in some cases, their lives—to these two doctors.
Olvey grew up in Indianapolis and began attending the Indy 500 as a kid. The speedway was the first racetrack in the world to have an on-site medical facility, and as a med student at Indiana University, Olvey volunteered his services during the 500. There he met Dr. Thomas Hanna, who ran the center and hired Olvey to be the on-track doctor. That led the USAC, the sanctioning body for American open-wheel racing, to bring on Olvey as a traveling doctor, ensuring that drivers received the same level of care at all tracks. Olvey also standardized post-crash procedures by creating the modern rapid-response safety team.
Digi tech | Javier Sanchez
Creative Director | Nathan Schroeder
