Since many people change jobs throughout their lives, it's not unusual that Emerson Fittipaldi changed jobs twice. What is unusual is that he drives race cars that travel over 200 miles per hour. Fittipaldi was a world champion driver by the age of 25, but found himself without a racing job in 1980. He came to the United States in 1984 because racing was in his blood. He earned a chance to drive in the most important auto race in the world--the Indianapolis 500. Since then, Fittipaldi has won the 500 twice in five years time.

Emerson Fittipaldi was born December 12, 1946, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The youngest of two sons, he grew up in a house dominated by auto racing. His father, Wilson, an Italian immigrant, was a Brazilian motorsport journalist and commentator, and his mother, Juze, raced cars during the 1950s. His brother, Wilson Jr., also became a race car driver.

Fittipaldi's father...