I'll be honest, I wasn't really much of a Zanardi fan in his CART days. I felt like he was an F1 backmarker who lucked his way into the best car on the CART grid and whined whenever things didn't go his way. Then he want back to F1 and got his ass handed to him again.
But after the accident, and the subsequent recovery and return to racing, and the resilience he showed, I gained a lot more respect for him. I read his book, too, and I didn't detect any more arrogance than a typical race driver, which is already considerable, but understandable, too. Seriously, ask any top-tier driver, they all think they are Fangio.
Lesley wrote:
In reply to Curmudgeon:
Arrogant? Really? I've watched dozens of interviews with him (for a piece I did a few years ago) and he seems hilarious, a bit hyper and driven.
Jeremy Mc Grath was the top dog in 250cc Supercross for many years, when reading the race stats each week it was pretty much (yawn) 'Who's second?' Then Jeff Emig beat him in one main, this was highly unusual and was front page of CYCLE NEWS. When interviewed he was asked what made him decide he could take on the absolute top dog in his game, and beat him. His answer: 'he may be Jeremy McGrath, but I'm Jeff Emig!' 
A lot of 'driven' people do come across as arrogant and he's certainly driven. I guess it's a part of what puts them on top, some are just better at hiding it.
In reply to Tom_Spangler:
Well maybe that's the key, as I haven't read any other books by race car drivers, unless you count James Garner, but he's a curmudgeon.
Funny though, I don't think I've ever seen a more exciting driver than Zanardi in CART, except maybe Earnhardt. They both seemed to be able to defy physics (To whomever it may apply to, jokes about death and dismemberment in response to this statement are easy, cheap and weak, so don't try, k?). I'll agree that he whined a lot when things didn't go his way, but his determination is why things often did go his way.
I think the main reason I was disolutioned by his book is that I had this idea (from hearing him speak) that he was a somewhat humble person, or at least NOT arrogant. Maybe it was the accent or something like that, but I wasn't expecting the self important vibe I got from the book.
No matter, I'm still a fan, and I'm once again blown away by his perseverance.
Not sure about the commentators, but an interesting interview following the race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmTEyA-PvNA
I'm sure everyone has seen this interview. I loved it. I have been a Zanardi fan since he was in CART.
Letterman interview
Thread from the dead, but with a purpose!
A second gold.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/19519141
