|
Mr. Donald Davidson was kind enough to write the following:
BRIDGES OBIT
Mark Bridges, winning co-chief mechanic with George Bignotti and driver Tom Sneva in the 1983 Indianapolis 500 died on Monday, September 19. He was 60
Mark was a lifelong Indianapolis resident who was raised within a half-a-dozen blocks of the track. A graduate of Arsenal Technical High School (the famed "Tech," which produced Wilbur Shaw, Howdy Wilcox II, Jimmy Jackson and Jerry Hoyt, among others) and a standout pupil at Lincoln Technical College, Mark was already working on "Speedway" cars while still in his 'teens. Considered by some to have been somewhat of a protoge of Paul Brooks, he was on the Federal Engineering crew with driver Jim Malloy in 1970, looking quite a bit older than his 19 years.
In 1973, he was paid a supreme compliment by car owner Dick Sommers and team manager Dick Northam by being named as the MVS team's chief mechanic, Mark calling all of the shots for driver Sam Sessions at the age of only 22.
After a stint with Grant King, Mark became part of the Vel's Parnelli Jones squad, usually assigned to Mario Andretti but also working with Al Unser. He was part of Mario's winning crew with the 1974 USAC Dirt Car series (forerunner of Silver Crown), scoring firsts at Springfield and Du Quoin.
Following the 1983 Indianapolis win with Sneva and Bignotti–Cotter Racing, Mark was back with the team for a second-place finish with Roberto Guerrero in 1984. Other assignments included Patrick Racing Team with Gordon Johncock and Wally Dallenbach, the Machinists Union with Josele Garza and Kevin Cogan, Jack Rhoades with Chip Ganassi (as a "rookie"), Dick Simon with Scott Brayton, Forsythe with Teo Fabi, Playa Del Racing with Jaques Lazier, Frank Arciero, John Menard and numerous others.
Highly respected for his ability to work with a variety of "characters" and a talent for transforming a group of apparent "strange bedfellows" into a functioning crew, Mark eventually moved from the race shop and into a couple of stints as an official. He worked with former crew chief Mike Devin as Devin's assistant in the technical department at USAC in 1995 and '96 and then in a similar role for several years with Phil Casey at the Indy Racing League. Friends who felt Mark never looked completely comfortable behind a desk were not at all surprised when he left the IRL and went back working on race cars.
Working closely with sons David and Michael all the way from their quarter-midget racing days, up through full midgets and even sprint cars, one of Mark's proudest days came in 2007, when, as chief mechanic for Ron Hemelgarn's team in the "500" with driver Richie Hearn, he had Michael on the air jack and David on the left rear wheel.
The tributes have been pouring in from all over the country from people who were taken under Mark's arm during their early days as crew members, and those tributes will continue this Saturday afternoon with a celebration of life at the track's Brickyard Crossing Pavilion, between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eulogies will begin at 2:00 p.m.
Mark is survived by wife Marlene, daughter Julie Wilkinson, sons David and Michael and four grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Mark Bridges Memorial Fund at any Chase Bank location.
Thank you DD for your kind words.
Sincerely,
Michael Bridges
|