Driver+Rene+Dreyfus%7C%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EWhile+many+drivers+have+lost+their+lives+on+the+track%2C+racing+probably+saved+Rene+Dreyfus%2C+not+just+from+death+but+also+from+a+fate+even+worse.+Rene+was+born+May+6%2C+1905+in+Nice%2C+France.+He+grew+up+during+automobile+racing%27s+golden+era+and+learned+to+drive+before+he+was+nine+years+old.+He+purchased+a+Bugatti+and+began+racing+in+1924%2C+entering+amateur+events.+During+the+next+five+years+he+won+many+of+these+and+finally+entered+the+Grand+Prix+of+Monaco+in+1929.+This+was+his+first+professional+race+and+he+won+his+class+and+finished+fifth+overall.%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EDreyfus+was+well+aware+that+works+drivers+always+had+an+advantage%2C+as+the+factory+cars+were+always+faster+than+the+cars+available+to+private+entrants.+Dreyfus+devised+a+plan+whereby+he+could+compensate+for+that+advantage.+The+factory+cars+always+had+to+pit+for+refueling.+So+if+he+could+avoid+that+by+mounting+additional+fuel+tanks+on+his+car+he+could+run+the+race+without+a+fuel+stop.+This+strategy+would+then+level+the+playing+field.+So+Dreyfus+not+only+mounted+extra+fuel+tanks+but+he+also+implemented+a+device+that+would+allow+him+to+refuel+without+stopping.%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3ERene+won+races+all+over+Europe+in+competition+with+the+icons+of+the+era+such+as+Caracciola%2C+Varzi+and+Nuvolari.+Then+in+the+30%27s+racing+changed+in+Europe.+Hitler+had+taken+over+Germany+and+intended+to+use+motor+sport+as+a+propaganda+tool+to+promote+the+superiority+of+the+Aryan+race.+Consequently+the+German+racing+teams+were+nationalized+and+Germany+began+producing+the+most+advanced+cars+and+hiring+the+best+European+drivers+on+their+teams%2C+one+of+whom+was+Louis+Chiron.+As+Dreyfus+was+Jewish%2C+he+would+not+be+acceptable+as+a+member+of+a+German+team.+So+he+had+to+rely+on+cleverness+and+daring+to+offset+the+German+advantage+of+superior+equipment.%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EIn+1937+driving+for+Delahaye%2C+Dreyfus+risked+his+life+by+his+flat+out+driving+to+defeat+the+German+team.+Then+in+1938+he+entered+the+Grand+Prix+at+Pau+and+finished+ahead+of+the+famous+German+driver+Rudolf+Caracciola+who+was+driving+a+Mercedes-Benz+silver+arrow.+World+War+II+erupted+in+Europe+and+Dreyfus+joined+the+French+Army.+In+1940%2C+the+French+government+decided+to+enter+Dreyfus+in+the+American+Indianapolis+500+and+dispatched+him+and+a+partner%2C+Rene+Le+Begue%2C+to+the+United+States+along+with+a+Maserati.+In+the+meantime%2C+the+Nazi+troops+occupied+France.+The+French+government+told+Dreyfus+to+stay+in+the+United+States+as+since+he+was+Jewish+and+had+humiliated+the+German+teams+on+the+racetrack%2C+he+would+be+in+grave+danger+if+he+returned+to+France.+Thus+racing+saved+Dreyfus+from+the+fate+of+many+of+his+countrymen+in+Hitler%27s+ovens+and+concentration+camps.%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EDreyfus+went+to+New+York+City+and+started+a+French+restaurant.+Then+when+America+entered+the+war+he+joined+the+U.S.+Army.+After+the+war%2C+he+and+his+brother+started+another+restaurant+again+in+New+York.+%3Cbr%3EDreyfus+did+some+racing+when+the+war+ended.+He+entered+the+1952+24+Hours+of+Le+Mans+and+the+1955+12+Hours+of+Sebring.+He+also+wrote+a+book+about+his+experiences+entitled+%22My+Two+Lives%22+Race+Driver+to+Restaurateur.
Brenda Williams asked: