Stroll along pit lane at a Champ Car World Series event and you'll see flags and banners from many lands source: cart.com The United States, Canada and Mexico, of course, but also Brazil, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Spain and now, thanks to Mika Salo, Finland. And that's just for the drivers. Throw in the team owners and you'd also have a Belgian flag for Eric Bachelart, a Swedish flag for Stefan Johansson, an Australian flag for Kevin Kalkhoven and a Scottish flag for Derrick Walker. By rights, there should also be a Norwegian flag for Walker's wife, Tove. After all, in one of the more memorable comments on racing economics, Walker once said his fledgling team survived by maxing out his wife's credit card... It's safe to say Derrick and Tove Walker have seen the highs and lows of racing together since they were married in 1968. They intend to celebrate their 35th anniversary at, where else, the Grand Prix Americas in Miami next weekend. Their partnership has taken them to Formula 1 victories when Walker worked for the Brabham and Penske teams, to CART championships and Indy 500 wins with Penske, to a virtual hand-to-mouth existence when Walker formed his own team in '91 and back on top -- or nearly so -- when Gil de Ferran finished runner-up to Alex Zanardi in the '97 Champ Car World Series. It's a long way from Oslo, where the former Tove Olsen met Walker in 1966 at, of all things, a wedding.
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