[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6218-S6219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER BUDDY LAZIER

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, as a sports enthusiast, I take great 
pride on coming to the floor today to acknowledge the extraordinary 
accomplishments of members of the sports community from my home State 
of Colorado.
  To begin, I would like to pay tribute to Buddy Lazier, winner of the 
80th annual Indianapolis 500 which took place this past Memorial Day. 
Buddy, a resident of Vail, CO, comes from a family with a history in 
race car driving, his father also being an Indy car competitor and 
finisher.
  Winning this event would be a tremendous achievement for any race car 
driver. What makes Buddy's victory so special is the personal courage 
and strength that it took for him to even compete in the race, for it 
was only this past March that Buddy suffered a broken back as the 
result of a crash that occurred in Phoenix, AZ.

[[Page S6219]]

  Barely 9 weeks prior to the Indy 500, Buddy was still in the hospital 
recovering, feeling no sensation in either his hands or feet. And, yet, 
Buddy arrived at the Indy 500 prepared to compete with every other 
driver, and in the end, was victorious in race car driving's most 
prestigious race. It takes an enormous amount of strength, both 
emotional and physical, for someone to overcome obstacles such as 
these. However, the recovery period for Buddy is far from over. He 
still experiences pain from his back injury. In fact, he had to be 
assisted out of the cockpit of his car when he reached the winner's 
circle that day.
  As a motor sports enthusiast, I would like to commend Buddy on his 
skill and courage, and I'm certain all Coloradans will join with me in 
congratulating Buddy and wishing him well for a full and speedy 
recovery.

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