Dan Gurney Explained

Dan Gurney
Birth Name:Daniel Sexton Gurney
Birth Date:13 April 1931
Birth Place:Port Jefferson, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Titles:USAC Road Racing Championship (1958)
Major victories
12 Hours of Sebring (1959)
24 Hours of Le Mans (1967)
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Nationality: American
Years:–,
Races:87 (86 starts)
Championships:0
Wins:4
Podiums:19
Points:133
Poles:3
Fastest Laps:6
Last Race:1970 British Grand Prix
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Total Champ Races:28
Years In Champ:9
Best Champ Pos:4th (1969)
Last Champ Race:1970 California 500 (Ontario)
First Champ Win:1967 Rex Mays 300 (Riverside)
Last Champ Win:1970 Golden Gate 150 (Sonoma)
Champ Wins:7
Champ Podiums:16
Champ Poles:10
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Total Cup Races:16
Years In Cup:10
Best Cup Pos:77th (1962)
First Cup Race:1962 Daytona Qualifier #1 (Daytona)
Last Cup Race:1980 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
First Cup Win:1963 Riverside 500 (Riverside)
Last Cup Win:1968 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Cup Wins:5
Cup Top Tens:10
Cup Poles:3
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Years:1958–1967
Best Finish:1st
Class Wins:2

Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series. Gurney is the first of three drivers to have won races in sports cars (1958), Formula One (1962), NASCAR (1963), and Indy cars (1967), the other two being Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya.

In 1967, after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with A. J. Foyt, Gurney spontaneously sprayed champagne while celebrating on the podium, which thereafter became a custom at many motorsports events.[1] As owner of All American Racers, he was the first to put a simple right-angle extension on the upper trailing edge of the rear wing. This device, now called a Gurney flap, increases downforce and, if well designed, imposes only a relatively small increase in aerodynamic drag. At the 1968 German Grand Prix, he became the first driver ever to use a full face helmet in Grand Prix racing.[2] [3]

Early life

Gurney was born to John R. "Jack" Gurney and Roma Sexton.[4] His father was a graduate of Harvard Business School with a master's degree. Dan's three uncles were each MIT engineers. His grandfather was F.W. Gurney who was responsible for the invention of the Gurney Ball Bearing. He had one sister, Celisssa.[5] Jack was discovered to have a beautiful voice after taking voice lessons in Paris and changed his career path to become lead basso with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York,[6] eventually retiring in 1947. Jack moved his family to Riverside, California, when Dan was a teenager and had just graduated from Manhasset High School.[6] [7] [8] Young Dan quickly became caught up in the California hot rod culture. At age 19, he built and raced a car that went 138 miles per hour (mph) (222 kilometres per hour [km/h]) at the Bonneville Salt Flats.[6] He later studied at Menlo Junior College, a feeder school for Stanford University.[6] He then became an amateur drag racer and sports car racer. He served in the United States Army for two years[4] as an artillery mechanic during the Korean War.[9]

Formula One career

Driver

Gurney's first major break occurred in the fall of 1957 when he was invited to test Frank Arciero's Arciero Special. It was powered by a 4.2-litre reworked Maserati engine with Ferrari running gear, and a Sports Car Engineering Mistral body.[10] This ill-handling brute of a car was very fast, but even top drivers like Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles had found it difficult to handle. He finished second in the inaugural Riverside Grand Prix (behind Shelby), beating established stars like Masten Gregory, Walt Hansgen and Phil Hill. This attracted the attention of famed Ferrari North American importer Luigi Chinetti, who arranged for a factory ride for the young driver at Le Mans in 1958. Gurney, teamed with fellow Californian Bruce Kessler, had worked the car up to fifth overall and handed over to Kessler, who was then caught up in an accident. This performance and others earned him a test run in a works Ferrari, and his Formula One career began with the team in 1959. In just four races that first year, he earned two podium finishes, but the team's strict management style did not suit him.In 1960 he had six non-finishes in seven races behind the wheel of a factory-prepared BRM. At the Dutch Grand Prix, at Zandvoort, a brake system failure on the BRM caused the most serious accident of his career, breaking his arm, killing a young spectator and instilling in him a longstanding distrust of engineers. The accident also caused him to make a change in his driving style that later paid dividends: his tendency to use his brakes more sparingly than his rivals meant that they lasted longer, especially in endurance races.

After rules changes came in effect in, Gurney teamed with Jo Bonnier for the first full season of the factory Porsche team, scoring three second places. He came very close to scoring a maiden victory at Reims, France, in 1961, but his reluctance to block Ferrari driver Giancarlo Baghetti (a move Gurney regarded as dangerous and unsportsmanlike) allowed Baghetti to pass him at the finish line for the win. After Porsche introduced a better car in with an 8-cylinder engine, Gurney broke through at the French Grand Prix at Rouen-Les-Essarts with his first World Championship victory[11] – the only GP win for Porsche as an F1 constructor. One week later, he repeated the success in a non-Championship F1 race in front of Porsche's home crowd at Stuttgart's Solitude Racetrack. Due to the high costs of racing in F1, Porsche did not continue after the 1962 season. While with Porsche, Gurney met a team public relations executive named Evi Butz, and they married several years later.

Gurney was the first driver hired by Jack Brabham to drive with him for the Brabham Racing Organisation. Brabham scored the maiden victory for his car at the 1963 Solitude race, but Gurney took the team's first win in a championship race in 1964 at Rouen. In all, he earned two wins (in 1964) and ten podiums (including five consecutive in 1965) for Brabham before leaving to start his own team. With his victory in the Eagle-Weslake at the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix,[12] Gurney earned a distinction as the only driver in history to score maiden Grand Prix victories for three different manufacturers: Porsche, Brabham and Anglo-American Racers.

Due to his popularity, Car and Driver magazine promoted the idea that Gurney run for President of the United States in 1964.[13] This effort was abandoned only when it was "discovered" that he was too young to qualify as a candidate. The campaign was periodically resurrected (usually every four years) by his friends and fans.[14]

Gurney developed a new kind of motorcycle called "Alligator",[15] which featured an extremely low seat position. While Gurney did not achieve his goal of getting the design licensed for manufacture and sale by a major motorcycle manufacturer, the initial production run of 36 Alligator motorcycles quickly sold out and are now prized collector's items.

Gurney's tall height, unusual for a race driver, caused constant problems during his career.[16] During the 1.5-litre era of Formula 1, Gurney's head and shoulders extended high into the windstream compared to his shorter competitors, giving him (he felt) an aerodynamic disadvantage in the tiny, underpowered cars. At nearly 6inchesft4inchesin (ftin),[17] Gurney struggled to fit into the tight Ford GT40 cockpit, so master fabricator Phil Remington installed a roof bubble over the driver's seat to allow space for Gurney's helmet—now known as a "Gurney bubble". In a fortunate error, the Italian coachbuilder who built the body for the 1964 Le Mans class-winning, closed-cockpit Cobra Daytona GT coupe driven by Gurney and Bob Bondurant mistakenly made the cockpit "greenhouse" two inches too tall — the only thing that permitted Gurney to fit in the car comfortably.[18]

Manufacturer

In 1962, Gurney and Carroll Shelby began dreaming of building an American racing car to compete with the best European makes. Shelby convinced Goodyear, which wanted to challenge Firestone's domination of American racing at the time, to sponsor the team. Goodyear's president Victor Holt suggested the name, "All American Racers", and the team was formed in 1965. Gurney was not comfortable with the name at first, fearing it sounded somewhat jingoistic, but felt compelled to agree to his benefactor's suggestion.

Their initial focus was Indianapolis and Goodyear's battle with Firestone. Because Gurney's first love was road racing, especially in Europe, he wanted to win the Formula One World Championship while driving an American Grand Prix 'Eagle'. The car has often been characterised as a primarily British-based effort; in later interviews, Gurney was clear that the car was designed and built by crew members based in the All American Racers Southern California-based facility. Partnered with British engine maker Weslake, the Formula One effort was called "Anglo American Racers." The Weslake V12 engine was not ready for the 1966 Grand Prix season so the team used outdated four-cylinder, 2.7-litre Coventry-Climax engines for their first appearance in the second race of the year in Belgium. This was the race of the sudden torrential downpour captured in the feature film Grand Prix. Although Gurney completed the race in seventh place, he was unclassified. Gurney scored the team's first Championship points three weeks later by finishing fifth in the French Grand Prix at Reims.

The next season the team failed to finish any of the first three races, but on June 18, 1967, Gurney took a historic victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. Starting in the middle of the first row, Gurney initially followed Jim Clark's Lotus and the BRM of Jackie Stewart. A poor start left Gurney deep in the field at the end of the first lap. Throughout the race, Gurney's Weslake V-12 suffered a high-speed misfire, but he was able to continue racing. Jim Clark encountered problems on Lap 12 that dropped him down to ninth position. Having moved up to second spot, Gurney set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 19. Two laps later he and his Eagle took the lead and came home over a minute ahead of Stewart.

This win came just a week after his surprise victory with A. J. Foyt at 24 hours of Le Mans, where Gurney spontaneously began the now-familiar winner's tradition of spraying champagne from the podium to celebrate the unexpected win against the Ferraris and the other Ford GT40 teams. Gurney said later that he took great satisfaction in proving wrong the critics (including some members of the Ford team) who predicted the two great drivers, normally heated rivals, would break their car in an effort to show each other up.

Unfortunately, the victory in Belgium was the high point for AAR as engine problems continued to plague the Eagle. Despite the antiquated engine tooling used by the Weslake factory (dating from World War I), failures rarely stemmed from the engine design itself, but more often from unreliable peripheral systems like fuel pumps, fuel injection and the oil delivery system. He led the 1967 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring when a driveshaft failed two laps from the end with a 42-second lead in hand. After a third-place finish in Canada that year, the car would finish only one more race. By the end of the 1968 season, Gurney was driving a McLaren-Ford. His last Formula One race was the 1970 British Grand Prix.

Legacy

Among American Formula One drivers, his 86 Grand Prix starts ranks third, and his total of four GP wins is second only to Mario Andretti. Perhaps the greatest tribute to Gurney's driving ability, however, was paid by the father of Scottish World Champion Jim Clark. The elder Clark took Gurney aside at his son's funeral in 1968 and confided that he was the only driver Clark had ever feared on the track. (Horton, 1999).

Gurney was particularly noted for an exceptionally fluid driving style. On rare occasions, as when his car fell behind with minor mechanical troubles and he felt he had nothing to lose, he would abandon his classic technique and adopt a more aggressive (and riskier) style. This circumstance produced what many observers consider the finest driving performance of his career, when a punctured tire put him nearly two laps down halfway through the 1967 Rex Mays 300 Indycar race at Riverside, California. He produced an inspired effort, made up the deficit and won the race with a dramatic last-lap pass of runner-up Bobby Unser.

The 2010 Monterey Motorsports Reunion (formerly the Monterey Historic Automobile Races) was held in honor of Gurney.[19]

A 2016 academic paper reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine. Gurney was ranked the 14th-best Formula One driver of all time.[20]

American Championship Car

While competing in Formula One, Gurney also raced each year in the Indianapolis 500 from 1962 to 1970.[21] Gurney made his Indy début at the wheel of a space-frame, rear-engined car designed by John Crosthwaite and built by American hot-rodder Mickey Thompson[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] Despite a misfiring engine, Gurney ran comfortably in the top 10 until a transmission seal failed on the 92nd lap. The next year he drove for Team Lotus and finished 7th. He failed to finish in his next four appearances in the 500 mile race, but beginning in 1968 until his last attempt in 1970 he finished 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. In 1969, he did not race in Formula One, instead racing in the USAC Championship Car series and also in CanAm. He started a total of 28 Champ Car races, winning 7 times among his 18 top tens. In 1969, he finished 4th in total points, despite starting only half the races of most top drivers (and would have finished second in the season standings to champion Mario Andretti if not for a driveshaft failure while leading comfortably with three laps remaining in the season finale at Riverside). In 1968, he finished 7th with only 5 starts.

NASCAR / SCCA Trans-Am career

Gurney's first career NASCAR start was in 1962. In 1963, he drove a Holman-Moody Ford to fifth place in the Daytona 500.Gurney was nearly unbeatable in a NASCAR Grand National car at Riverside International Raceway in California. Four of his five victories came with the famed Wood Brothers, in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1968, in cars all numbered 121 (a simple graphic addition to the team's traditional "21"). The serial success of the Gurney/Wood Brothers combination did not sit well with NASCAR officials, so in 1967 Gurney signed to drive a Mercury for Bill Stroppe and legendary NASCAR crew chief Bud Moore. However, the 1967 Motor Trend 500 was won by Gurney's teammate, Parnelli Jones after Gurney retired with engine troubles. He also won the pole for the 1970 Riverside race in a Plymouth Superbird. Gurney is credited with numerous appearances in NASCAR Grand American stockcars, a pony car division that existed between 1968 and 1971, but these results came in races co-sanctioned with SCCA's Trans-Am, where Dan competed regularly for Mercury, and later Plymouth.

At about the time Gurney began making occasional appearances in stock cars in the United States, Dan took a Chevrolet Impala to England and entered it in several "saloon car" (sedan) races. In a race at Silverstone in 1962, he led the local Jaguar drivers handily until a wheel broke. When he returned with the same car for a race three months later, the local club's technical inspectors disallowed his entry.

Gurney and his protege Swede Savage drove factory-sponsored, AAR built Plymouth Barracudas in the 1970 Trans-Am Series. Cutbacks at Chrysler forced Gurney to cut back to a one-car effort mid-season with Savage driving. In his swan song as a driver, in October 1970 Gurney returned for the season finale at his beloved Riverside, finishing fifth.

In 1980, Gurney came out of a 10-year retirement to help old friend Les Richter, the president of Riverside. (Gurney's adoption of the number that became most closely identified with his career, 48, was a nod to Richter's NFL number.) Gurney agreed to drive a second Rod Osterlund Chevrolet for one NASCAR race as teammate to 1979 rookie of the year Dale Earnhardt. For added publicity and supposedly as a condition of allowing Gurney to drive in the race after a 10-year layoff, Richter insisted that Gurney attend the racing school run by former teammate and friend Bob Bondurant (Gurney and Bondurant had shared the GT-class-winning Cobra Daytona coupe at Le Mans in 1964). After Gurney's refresher session, Richter called Bondurant and asked how Gurney had done. "He didn't need a refresher," Bondurant reportedly told Richter. "He was faster than me then, and he still is." Ticket sales surged upon the announcement of Gurney's return. In a Chevy MonteCarlo painted white with blue and carrying his famed number 48, Gurney qualified seventh and easily ran with the leaders. Displaying his usual fluid style, Gurney raced up to second place, and was running third when the input shaft in the transmission let go, something Dan later said he had never seen happen before or since.

With Shelby-American Racing

See main article: Carroll Shelby International. Gurney was recruited by Carroll Shelby, who was mounting a Ford-powered challenge to Ferrari's dominance of the FIA 2+ liter GT class in the World Championship of Makes for the 1964 season. Shelby developed the Shelby Daytona Coupe, a derivative of the AC Cobra that had competed the previous year, with a lower drag coupe body. The team of Gurney and Bob Bondurant drove the Shelby Coupe to a GT class win, fourth overall, in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans and Gurney took it to another class win, third overall, in the RAC Tourist Trophy race.[27] Ford's hopes for edging Ferrari for the Manufacturers' title at the 1000 km Monza season finale were dashed when the event was cancelled. In 1965 Ford teams won the Manufacturers' title for the GT class, although Gurney was only with Shelby for Le Mans and did not finish.[28]

Gurney joined the Shelby-American campaign in the Sports Prototype class for 1966, which fielded the new 7 liter GT40 Mk II. Gurney's best finish that year was second place, teamed with Jerry Grant in a Mk II at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Between success with the new Mk II and the older GT40s, Ford secured the World Championship of Makes for sports cars, sealed by a resounding 1-2-3 finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[29]

Gurney stayed with Shelby-American for their 1967 World Sportscar Championship campaign. Things were not going smoothly in development of Ford's next Prototype entry. After problems highlighted by the fatal accident of Ken Miles in testing the Mark III "J Car," another iteration was designed but it would not be built in time for the season opener at the 24 Hours of Daytona. After a dismal showing at Daytona with the Mk II, Shelby introduced the Mk IV at the 12 Hours of Sebring with a resounding win by Mario Andretti.[30] After that demonstration the Mk IVs were held in preparation for Le Mans, with Ford's hopes for a repeat championship resting on the GT40s and GT40-derived Mirages campaigned by other teams in the intervening races. A controversial decision to withhold points from the Mirage win at the Spa 1000 km event from Ford's season credit virtually killed hopes for a repeat championship and gave Le Mans an all-or-nothing aspect for Ford. Four Mk IVs were entered, two with Shelby-American and two with Holman and Moody, Ford's unofficial NASCAR team.

Pre-race press chatter about the Mk IV's prospects, and in particular about Shelby's team of Gurney and Indy car driver A. J. Foyt, was negative: the Mk IV was too heavy and put too much demand on its brakes, it was structurally weak, it would be difficult to control, Foyt the oval racer was in over his head, Foyt would try to prove himself in the shadow of sportscar master Gurney, and so on. The static about Foyt was more stereotype than reality, as he had shown his road course mettle with a second-place showing at the grueling 12 Hours of Sebring in a Mk II earlier that year. As it turned out the race went like clockwork for Gurney and Foyt, establishing an early lead and a comfortable margin over the rival Ferraris, driving at a disciplined pace, and establishing a new record of 388 laps. On the podium, Gurney took the magnum of champagne and saw an opportunity for a playfully pointed statement towards journalists he saw crowding around. He shook the bottle and aimed the spritz at the naysayers. Soon he was giving everyone a shower, which became a podium tradition.

Ford's factory efforts for the World Sportscar Championship ended that year, as a new engine capacity limit of 3 liters for the Sports Prototype class made their entries ineligible and they had no engines that could be eligible and competitive. Shelby and Gurney independently turned their efforts to the SCCA Trans-Am series for 1968. Shelby and Gurney teamed up again in 1970, with Shelby hired for Gurney's All American Racing team.

Cannonball Run

In November 1971, Gurney and co-driver Brock Yates won the first competitive running of the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, known widely as the Cannonball Run, an unofficial, unsanctioned automobile race from New York City to Redondo Beach, California. Gurney and Yates made the run in 35 hours and 54 minutes in a stock 1971 Sunoco-blue Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona coupe capable of 175mph. They averaged approximately 80mph over the 2876miles distance, consuming 240gal of gasoline. Gurney and Yates received no prize for winning; however, the winning car is now part of a private collection and valued at several million dollars.[31] [32] [33]

Full-time team owner

Upon his retirement from Formula One, Gurney devoted himself full-time to his role as car maker and team owner. He was the sole owner, Chairman and CEO of All American Racers from 1970 until his son, Justin, assumed the title of CEO in early 2011.[34] The team won 78 races (including the Indianapolis 500, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Daytona) and eight championships, while Gurney's Eagle race car customers also won three Indianapolis 500 races and three championships.

In 1978, Gurney wrote an open memo to other race car owners with what is now known as the "White Paper" in which Gurney called for a series controlled more by the owners or "actual participants" than under the USAC banner. After much debate, CART was formed with Gurney and other owners like Roger Penske, Pat Patrick, and Bob Fletcher. CART began its first full season of competition in March 1979 and thus the first split in open wheel racing began.

AAR withdrew from the CART series in 1986, but enjoyed tremendous success with Toyota in the IMSA GTP series, where in 1992 and 1993 Toyota Eagles won 17 consecutive races, back-to-back Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championships, and wins in the endurance classics of Daytona and Sebring.

The team returned to CART as the factory Toyota team in 1996, but left again after the 1999 season when Goodyear withdrew from the series and Toyota ended their relationship with the team. In 2000, Dan campaigned a Toyota Atlantic car for his son, Alex Gurney under the AAR banner.

Death

In 2018 Gurney died of complications from pneumonia; he was 86 years old. All American Racers announced the news on its website: "With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today, January 14, 2018. In deepest sorrow, with gratitude in our hearts for the love and joy you have given us during your time on this earth, we say 'Godspeed.'"[35]

Gurney was survived by his wife, Evi, six children, and 8 grandchildren.[36] [37] As per his final wishes, his memorial service and funeral were private.

Awards and honors

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213Pts
Scuderia FerrariFerrari Dino 246Ferrari 155 2.4 V6MON500NEDFRA
GBRGER
POR
ITA
USA7th13
Owen Racing OrganisationBRM P48BRM P25 2.5 L4ARGMON
500NED
BEL
FRA
GBR
POR
ITAUSA
NC0
Porsche System EngineeringPorsche 718Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4MON
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
ITA
USA
4th21
Porsche 787NED
Porsche System EngineeringPorsche 804Porsche 753 1.5 F8NED
MON
FRA
GBR
GER
ITA
USA
RSA5th15
Autosport Team Wolfgang SeidelLotus 24BRM P56 1.5 V8BEL
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT7Climax FWMV 1.5 V8MON
BEL
NED
FRA
GBR
GER
ITA
USA
MEX
RSA
5th19
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT7Climax FWMV 1.5 V8MON
NED
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
AUT
ITA
USA
MEX
6th19
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT11Climax FWMV 1.5 V8RSA
MONBEL
FRA
GBR
NED
GER
ITA
USA
MEX
4th25
Anglo American RacersEagle T1FClimax FPF 2.8 L4MONBEL
FRA
GBR
NED
GER
MEX
12th4
Eagle T1GWeslake 58 3.0 V12ITA
USA
Anglo American RacersEagle T1FClimax FPF 2.8 L4RSA
8th13
Eagle T1GWeslake 58 3.0 V12MON
NED
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
CAN
ITA
USA
MEX
Anglo American RacersEagle T1GWeslake 58 3.0 V12RSA
ESPMON
BELFRAGBR
GER
ITA
21st3
McLaren M7AFord Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8CAN
USA
MEX
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT24Repco 740 3.0 V8NED
Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M14AFord Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8RSAESPMONBELNED
FRA
GBR
GERAUTITACANUSAMEX24th1

Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101112131415161718192021
Owen Racing OrganisationBRM P48BRM P25 2.5 L4GLV
INT
LOM
OUL
Yeoman Credit Racing TeamCooper T51Climax FPF 2.5 L4SIL
Porsche System EngineeringPorsche 718Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4LOMGLVPAUBRX
VIESYR
NAPLONSOL
KANDANMOD
FLGOUL
DNA
LEWVALRANNATRSA
Louise Bryden-BrownLotus 18Climax FPF 1.5 L4AIN
SIL
Porsche System EngineeringPorsche 804Porsche 753 1.5 F8CAPBRXLOMLAVGLVPAUAININTNAPMALCLPRMSSOL
KANMEDDANOULMEX
DNA
RANNAT
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT7Climax FWMV 1.5 V8LOMGLVPAUIMOSYRAININT
DNA
ROMSOLKAN
DNA
MEDAUTOUL
RAN
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT7Climax FWMV 1.5 V8DMTNWTSYRAIN
INT
SOL
DNA
MEDRAN
Brabham Racing OrganisationBrabham BT11Climax FWMV 1.5 V8ROC
SYRSMT
INTMEDRAN
Anglo American RacersEagle T1GWeslake 58 3.0 V12ROC
SPCINTSYROULESP

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLaps
North American Racing Team Bruce KesslerFerrari 250 TRS 3.064DNFDNF
Scuderia Ferrari Jean BehraFerrari 250 TR/59S 3.0129DNFDNF
B.S. Cunningham Walt HansgenJaguar E2AS 3.089DNFDNF
Porsche System Engineering Jo BonnierPorsche 718/4 RS CoupeS 2.0262DNFDNF
Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia Jo BonnierFerrari 250 TRI/61E 3.030DNFDNF
North American Racing Team Jim HallFerrari 330 LMBP
+3.0
126DNFDNF
Shelby-American Inc. Bob BondurantShelby Cobra DaytonaGT +3.03344th1st
Shelby American Jerry GrantAC Cobra Daytona CoupéGT
5.0
204DNFDNF
Shelby American Jerry GrantFord GT40 Mk.IIP
+5.0
257DNFDNF
Ford Motor Company
Shelby-American Inc.
A. J. FoytP
+5.0
3881st1st

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

YearTeamCarClass1234567891011PtsClass
1961Dan GurneyChevrolet ImpalaSNEGOOAINSIL
Ret
CRYSIL
DNS
BRHOULSNENC0NC
1963Alan Brown Racing LtdFord GalaxieSNEOULGOOAINSILCRYSILBRHBRHOUL
1
SNE22nd96th
1964Alan Brown Racing LtdFord GalaxieSNEGOOOULAINSIL
2
CRYBRHOUL17th66th

NASCAR results

(key) (

Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
YearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162PtsRef
1962Holman-Moody0FordCONAWSDAY
DAYDAY
CONAWSSVHHBORCHCLBNWSGPSMBSMARBGSBRIRCHHCYCONDARPIFCLTATLBGSAUGRCHSBODAYCLBASHGPSAUGSVHMBSBRICHTNSVHUNAWSSTRBGSPIFVALDARHCYRCHDTSAUGMARNWSCLTATL77th472[42]
196328BIRGGSTHSRSD
NA-[43]
0DAY
DAYDAY
PIFAWSHBOATLHCYBRIAUGRCHGPSSBOBGSMARNWSCLBTHSDARODSRCHCLTBIRATLDAYMBSSVHDTSBGSASHOBSBRRBRIGPSNSVCLBAWSPIFBGSONADARHCYRCHMARDTSNWSTHSCLTSBOHBO
Wood Brothers Racing121FordRSD
1964CONAUGJSPSVHRSD
DAYNA-[44]
12DAY
DAY
RCHBRIGPSBGSATL
AWSHBOPIFCLBNWSMARSVHDARLGYHCYSBOCLTGPSASHATLCONNSVCHTBIRVALPIFDAYODSOBSBRRISPGLNLINBRINSVMBSAWSDTSONACLBBGSSTRDARHCYRCHODSHBOMARSVHNWSCLTHARAUGJAC
1965121RSD
DAYDAYDAYPIFASWRCHHBOATLGPSNWSMARCLBBRIDARLGYBGSHCYCLTCCFASHHARNSVBIRATLGPSMBSVALDAYODSOBSISPGLNBRINSVCCFAWSSMRPIFAUGCLBDTSBLVBGSDARHCYLINODSRCHMARNWSCLTHBOCARDTSNA-[45]
1966AUGRSD
DAYDAYDAYCARBRIATLHCYCLBGPSBGSNWSMARDARLGYMGRMONRCHCLTDTSASHPIFSMRAWSBLVGPSDAYODSBRROXFFONISPBRISMRNSVATLCLBAWSBLVBGSDARHCYRCHHBOMARNWSCLTCARNA-[46]
1967Stroppe Motorsports16MercuryAUGRSD
DAYDAYDAYAWSBRIGPSBGSATLCLBHCYNWSMARSVHRCHDARBLVLGYCLTASHMGRSMRBIRCARGPSMGYDAYTRNOXFFDAISPBRISMRNSVATLBGSCLBSVHDARHCYRCHBLVHBOMARNWSCLTCARAWSNA-[47]
1968Wood Brothers Racing121FordMGRMGYRSD
DAYBRIRCHATLHCYGPSCLBNWSMARAUGAWSDARBLVLGYCLTASHMGRSMRBIRCARGPSDAYISPOXFFDATRNBRISMRNSVATLCLBBGSAWSSBOLGYDARHCYRCHBLVHBOMARNWSAUGCLTCARJFCNA-[48]
1969MercuryMGRMGYRSD
DAYDAYDAYCARAUGBRIATLCLBHCYGPSRCHNWSMARAWSDARBLVLGYCLTMGRSMRMCHKPTGPSNCFDAYDOVTPNTRNBLVBRINSVSMRATLMCHSBOBGSAWSDARHCYRCHTALCLBMARNWSCLTSVHAUGCARJFCMGRTWSNA-[49]
1970Petty Enterprises42PlymouthRSD
DAYDAYDAYRCHCARSVHATLBRITALNWSCLBDARBLVLGYCLTSMRMARMCHRSDHCYKPTGPSDAYASTTPNTRNBRISMRNSVATLCLBONAMCHTALBGSSBODARHCYRCHDOVNCFNWSCLTMARMGRCARLGYNA-[50]
– Qualified but replaced by Marvin Panch.

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500
YearTeamManufacturerStartFinish
1962Holman-MoodyFord727
1963115
1964Wood Brothers RacingFord2014

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Year12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728PosPoints
1962TRE
INDY
20
MIL
LAN
TRE
SPR
MIL
LAN
SYR
ISF
TRE
SAC
PHX
-0
1963TRE
INDY
7
MIL
LAN
TRE
SPR
MIL
3
DUQ
ISF
TRE
16
SAC
PHX
12th580
1964PHX
TRE
INDY
17
MIL
LAN
TRE
SPR
MIL
DUQ
ISF
TRE
SAC
PHX
-0
1965PHX
TRE
INDY
26
MIL
LAN
PPR
TRE
IRP
ATL
LAN
MIL
ISF
MIL
DSF
INF
TRE
SAC
PHX
26th230
1966PHX
TRE
INDY
27
MIL
LAN
ATL
PIP
IRP
LAN
SPR
MIL
DUQ
ISF
TRE
SAC
PHX
-0
1967PHX
TRE
INDY
21
MIL
LAN
PIPMOS
MOS
IRP
LAN
MTR
MTR
SPR
MIL
DUQ
ISF
TRE
SAC
HAN
PHX
RIV
1
-0
1968HAN
LVG
PHX
TRE
INDY
2
MIL
MOS
MOS
LAN
PIP
CDR
NAZ
IRP
IRP
LAN
LAN
MTR
MTR
SPR
MIL
DUQ
ISF
TRE
SAC
MCH
HAN
PHX
RIV
7th1,800
1969PHX
HAN
INDY
2
MIL
LAN
PIPCDR
2
NAZ
TRE
IRP
1
IRP
21
MIL
SPR
DOV
DUQ
ISF
BRN
2
BRN
1
TRE
SAC
KEN
KEN
PHX
RIV
3
4th2,280
1970PHXSON
1
TREINDY
3
MIL
LANCDRMCHIRP
SPRMIL
ONT
18
DUQ
ISFSED
TRE
SACPHX
11th1,000
Winner of the 1958 inaugural USAC Road Racing Championship.

Indy 500 results

YearChassisEngineStartFinish
1962ThompsonBuick8th20th
1963LotusFord12th7th
1964LotusFord6th17th
1965LotusFord3rd26th
1966EagleFord19th27th
1967EagleFord2nd21st
1968EagleFord10th2nd
1969EagleFord10th2nd
1970EagleOffy11th3rd

Further reading

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eric della Faille Photograph Collection. [<!--https://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/custom/single-image?id=13956&collection=p17257coll1-->https://library.revsinstitute.org/24-hours-of-le-mans/13956 24 Hours of Le Mans]. Revs Institute. Revs Digital Library. April 14, 2022.
  2. Web site: Dan Gurney – Formula One Gallery – Dan Gurney's All American Racers. All American Racers.com. February 4, 2016.
  3. Web site: Eric della Faille Photograph Collection. [<!--https://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/custom/single-image?id=16039&collection=p17257coll1-->https://library.revsinstitute.org/german-grand-prix/16039 German Grand Prix]. Revs Institute. Revs Digital Library. April 14, 2022.
  4. Web site: Dan Gurney: All American Racer, Hero and Legend. The Speed Journal. Clayton. Moore. September 29, 2017.
  5. Web site: Celisssa Addington. June 21, 1935 . geni.com.
  6. Web site: Dan Gurney: Racing's Renaissance Man. Bennett. Bill. DieCastX. March 23, 2015.
  7. Web site: Dan Gurney: 1931-2018. Autoweek. January 14, 2018. Vaughn. Mark.
  8. Web site: Dan Gurney's Biography – Dan Gurney's All American Racers. allamericanracers.com. February 4, 2016.
  9. Web site: StockcarReunion.com . 2023-08-22 . www.stockcarreunion.com.
  10. Aciero Special, Harold Pace and Mark R. Brinker, Vintage American Road Racing Cars 1950–1969, pages 138–139, MotorBooks International,
  11. French Grand Prix, Albert R. Bochroch Photograph Collection, Revs Institute, Revs Digital Library.
  12. Belgian Grand Prix, Albert R. Bochroch Photograph Collection, Revs Institute, Revs Digital Library.
  13. Bridgehampton Double 500, Albert R. Bochroch Photograph Collection, Revs Institute, Revs Digital Library.
  14. Davis. David E. Jr.. Gurney for President Campaign. Car and Driver. May 1964. September 1, 2012. David E. Davis.
  15. Web site: Alligator Motorcycle – Dan Gurney's All American Racers. allamericanracers.com. February 4, 2016.
  16. Belgium Grand Prix, Max LeGrand Photograph Collection, Revs Institute, Revs Digital Library.
  17. Web site: CHECK OUT THE AWESOME CARS OF RACING LEGEND DAN GURNEY. January 17, 2023.
  18. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=25&article_id=2357 Road & Track
  19. Web site: Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2010 – Results and Photo Gallery. Sports Car Digest. June 29, 2012. August 16, 2010.
  20. Web site: The Top 50 F1 drivers of all time, regardless of what they were driving . Mike . Hanlon . May 12, 2016 . December 23, 2017 . New Atlas .
  21. Web site: Dan Gurney . 2023-08-22 . www.champcarstats.com.
  22. Car and Driver magazine August 1962
  23. Hot Rod magazine August 1962
  24. Motor magazine August 1962
  25. Indianapolis 500 Mile Race USAC Yearbook 1962. Floyd Clymer
  26. Road & Track magazine September 1962
  27. Web site: World Championship 1964.
  28. Web site: World Championship 1965.
  29. Web site: World Championship 1966.
  30. Web site: World Championship 1967.
  31. Web site: Niemcek . Brad . Gurney/Yates Win First Cannonball, Polish Racing Hierarchy Finish Close Second . Dan Gurney's All American Racers . Competition Press & Autoweek . December 3, 2019 . December 1971.
  32. Web site: Yates . Brock . The Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash . . December 3, 2019 . March 1, 1972.
  33. Web site: Hodges . Ben . THE TRUE STORY OF HOW AN F1 DRIVER WON THE WORLD'S GREATEST OUTLAW ROAD RACE . Drivetribe . January 15, 2018 . December 3, 2019 . April 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210411122033/https://drivetribe.com/p/the-true-story-of-how-an-f1-driver-DGRh-8FjSyaZTybNpS3A6Q?iid=BuZA-cypSjSicAyau-SZMA . dead .
  34. Web site: Dan Gurney talks about the new DeltaWing . AutoWeek . July 9, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110703004132/http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110628/ALMS/110629868 . July 3, 2011 . dead .
  35. Web site: Associated Press. Racing pioneer Dan Gurney dead from pneumonia complications. NBC News. January 14, 2018. March 4, 2019.
  36. News: Dan Gurney, Driver and Builder of Racecars, Is Dead at 86 . Frank . Litsky . Frank Litsky . . January 15, 2018.
  37. Web site: Tribute to Dan Gurney, 1931-2018 . . January 14, 2018 . Malsher . David.
  38. Web site: Dan Gurney . 2023-08-22 . IMS Museum . en-US.
  39. Web site: Dan Gurney . 2023-08-22 . International Motorsports Hall of Fame . en-US.
  40. Web site: Dan Gurney . 2023-08-22 . www.mshf.com.
  41. Web site: DAN GURNEY - USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2022 - USAC Racing . 2023-08-22 . usacracing.com . en-gb.
  42. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1962 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  43. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1963 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  44. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1964 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  45. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1965 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  46. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  47. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1967 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  48. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1968 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  49. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  50. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.
  51. Web site: Dan Gurney – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 17, 2023.