[h=2]Pat Santello 1926-2017[/h] Tuesday, 01 August 2017


By Robin Miller / Image by IMS Photo


Above: Pat Santello (left), and Lee Kunzman in 1977.
He was one of the last to tow his Indy car on an open-wheel trailer. He spent his own money to go racing and loved the dirt as much as he did the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He sponsored Gary Bettenhausen's sprinter, ran up front with George Snider in dirt cars, finished seventh at Indy with Lee Kunzman and gave Larry Rice and Tim Richmond their start in IndyCar.
Pat Santello, who died last week at age 91, embodied all that was good about USAC racing in the 1960s and 1970s.
"He was a great guy and a character that represented the good old days of backyard racing," said Kunzman, who drove Santello's Indy car in 1976 and 1977. "He never had much of a budget but nobody had more spirit and heart."
A native of Syracuse, New York, Santello showed up in the late '60s when USAC sprint-car racing was afire with the Larry and Gary Show. Larry Dickson and Gary Bettenhausen waged a personal duel for the title from 1968-71; Pat sponsored Willie Davis' car with Bettenhausen and it displayed the "City of Syracuse" special when he claimed the championship in 1969.
Snider ran second twice in the "City of Syracuse" champ dirt car at Springfield (1969), Illinois and Sacramento (1970) before USAC moved the dirt tracks out of the Championship Trail.
Santello's initial try at Indianapolis in 1976 with a six-year-old Eagle didn't work, but the next May the original "little guy" watched his car successfully qualify.

"I think we only had $20,000 so Dan [Gurney] was kind enough to give us a deal on a three-year-old Eagle so I rented a truck, loaded it up with the car and some spare parts and drove it back to Indianapolis," recalled Kunzman, one of USAC's finest racers who twice battled back from devastating injuries to keep racing.
"I think we kept it at Howard Millican's shop. Mark Stainbrook was the chief mechanic [and only full-time employee] and we went around Gasoline Alley begging for old Offy parts to put an engine together and Willie [Davis] built it."
Kunzman qualified 24th and ran all day to finish seventh. "The car handled great and I ran flat out almost the whole day because it wasn't real fast in a straight line," he said with a laugh. "But it made Pat so happy that his little team had done so well in the biggest race in the world."
Santello bought a Lightning chassis for Rice at Indy in 1977 with the help of pal Bernie Gerthoffer, and the USAC champ finished 11th to capture co-rookie-of-the-year honors with Rick Mears. They also made the show again in 1979 and Richmond took over that car at Watkins Glen in '79 and ran eighth in his IndyCar debut.
In the USAC/CART split, Santello sided with CART for a little while until he got tired of the politics. When the big money began coming in, he was out.
"Nobody loved racing more than Pat," Kunzman said. "And I think the day we ran seventh at Indy was his proudest moment so I was happy to be part of it."

 

Hardy Allen 1932-2017

Friday, 25 August 2017


By Marshall Pruett / Images by IMS Photo









Pioneering IndyCar crew member Hardy Allen has died of pancreatic cancer. A native of Los Angeles, Allen worked for two of the sport's icons as a mechanic, fueler and parts man in the 1960s and early 1970s for Dan Gurney's All American Racers before moving over to A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
Allen's presence on pit lane at the Indianapolis 500, and other stops on the championship trail, came at a time in the sport when men and women of color were rarely welcome. With his hulking frame and dark skin, Allen cut an imposing silhouette, but as RACER's Robin Miller recalls, he erased barriers with grace.
"He disarmed people because he was so warm and funny," he said. "He'd make fun of you or himself, which put everybody at ease. Hardy was just a really nice guy who made it hard for anyone to dislike him."
As the son of Thomas Allen, a mechanic at the Douglas Aircraft Corporation and former owner of an aviation school bearing his name, he was raised in a household where pride and achievement was standard. The elder Allen, who became the first black man to fly across the country – from Los Angeles to New York – in a bi-plane in 1932, would inspire Hardy to pursue lofty goals of his own.
A love for making and racing soap box derby cars sent Allen on a path that would eventually lead him to motor racing and two of its great innovators.
"That was a challenge," he told Ebony magazine in a profile from 1970. "Because I got beat and I wondered how that other car could beat me when he had the same wheels."
Attending Mt. San Antonio College, Allen studied jet propulsion and commercial art before enlisting in the Army. Rising to the rank of lieutenant, Allen became a demolitions specialist and was among the swimming students trained by fellow enlistee Clint Eastwood.
After the Army, Allen worked as a mechanic and also raced motorcycles. He'd meet Gurney at Riverside in 1964, just prior to AAR's formation, and was among the Big Eagle's first employees at the Santa Ana-based outfit. They'd form quite a friendship that lasted well after Allen moved on to other teams. Nicknamed "Hardly Any Parts" by Phil Remington, AAR's late and beloved chief fabricator, Allen was treated like family.

Gurney and Allen visited for the final time earlier this year at the unveiling of the All American Racers expo at the Petersen Museum. Allen, visibly ill and in the midst of his fight with cancer, attended the event to celebrate his friend.
In a letter sent to Allen's son Danny earlier this week, Gurney expressed his deep affection for Hardy and the entire Allen family.
"Although not unexpected, the news of Hardy's passing hit me hard this morning," he wrote. "He was a special friend whose cheerful attitude had a positive influence on my life. The stories of the lives of his Mom and Dad were inspiring, full of love for humanity and Hardy was an outstanding cheerleader for the same principles. When I think of him I get reminded of the lines in an old song: '...where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.' God bless you Hardy Allen!"
In sharing a sincere remembrance of Allen, Foyt thought back to some of the color-related fun they had at the expense of others.
"We've been very close friends for years," the four-time Indy 500 winner told RACER.


"A couple of times in California they were going to present me with a trophy and I asked Hardy to go and accept it for me because I couldn't get out there. So he agreed. And they were saying, 'A.J. Foyt isn't here.'

Hardy held his hand up. They said 'Yes?' He said, 'I'm A.J.'s brother and I've got to accept the trophy for him.' We had a lot of fun together and I thought the world of him."



Considering the regard held for Allen by Gurney and Foyt, his loss is especially unfortunate.
"The last time I saw him we were testing at Phoenix earlier this year, and before that, I saw him at Indy last year," he said. "He'll be dearly missed. I know Dan Gurney loved him as much as I did."

 

IndyCar-1988 Budweiser Bobby Rahal Championship defending Truesports Lola T8800 Judd

It is believed to be the racecar that Bobby Rahal drove to win the 1988 CART Quaker State 500 race at Pocono Speedway. Car was purchased from Truesports in 1989 by the current owner, never used, and stored in a climate-controlled environment ever since. The car is complete and able to be started. An independent engine-builder report suggests the fitted engine is near new. Included is a minor chassis spares package and two spare Judd engines. The spare engines rotate. The car is offered in road-course configuration and is ready for restoration and use in vintage racing. P.O.A.

Chassis #13
CART Registration #133

 

Tough Guys: Jud Larson

Monday, 04 December 2017


By Robin Miller

The video and rare pictures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmfKbN_02lU Enjoy previous installments of Robin Miller's video series celebrating the tough guys of Indy at The RACER Channel on YouTube.
[HR][/HR]
Big, brash and bold – that was Jud Larson, whose prowess on dirt tracks made him a legend during his decade in USAC.
In 1956, Larson got a call from John Zink and was offered Indy winner Pat Flaherty's ride at the Hoosier Hundred after Flaherty had been badly injured at Springfield. Despite having never driven a USAC champ dirt car on the mile, Larson captured the pole position and led the race until a broken shock absorber slowed him and he ran fourth. In his next outing, the 6-1, 185-pound Texas native won the pole and the race at Sacramento and was on his way.
After winning the prestigious Hoosier Hundred in 1957, Larson was given an Indy 500 ride by Zink and he finished ninth in 1958. He also qualified in 1959.
He suffered heatstroke at Springfield in '59 but it was mis-diagnosed as a heart attack and it took him four years to get back into USAC.
While he never made Indy again, Jud's calling was the dirt and he was hell on wheels in sprinters – winning 16 main events – in addition earning five big car victories.
He was 43 and leading the USAC sprint standings when he tangled with Red Riegel in June of 1966 at Reading, Pa. and both drivers perished. But to this day, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti rank Larson as one of the best they ever saw – or raced against – on dirt.

 

1981 AAR Eagle Pepsi Challenger highlights
A few bits from the original broadcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=XouipzhgqDk

Monday, 04 December 2017

By Marshall Pruett (words & image)


Take a tour of the 1981 CART IndyCar Series season with the convention-defying All American Racers Eagle – the stock block V8-powered "Pepsi Challenger" with which driver Mike Mosley starts in the middle of the front row at the Indy 500. Then move to the Michigan 500 where Mosley stars and Bruce Jenner interviews team owner Dan Gurney, and look for the sweeping yellow tail of Mosley's No. 48 as an early in-car camera system – weighing 10.5 pounds and mounted four inches off the ground in the nose – is utilized. Despite the age of the VHS tape and its inevitable decay, the footage is stunning.
The highlight reel jumps to Riverside where Geoff Brabham starts from pole on the winding Southern California road course, and closes with the car's finest day as Mosley, who was unable to qualify at Milwaukee due to an engine problem, storms from 25th and last to win the Rex Mays 150.
As a byproduct of its radical aerodynamics, the Pepsi Challenger continues to stand as one of the great open-wheel achievements in the last four decades. It's also the car, among the dozens of unique designs to emerge from AAR, that Gurney rates as his favorite.

 

[h=2]IMS Museum honors 50 years of Camaro, engines of the 500[/h] Thursday, 14 December 2017




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Two new exhibits at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum are paying tribute to "heroes of horsepower" and a fixture at the front of the field.
"Incredible Engines of the Indy 500" honors the power plants behind the famous engines that have taken part in the legendary 500-mile race. The exhibit showcases the engines themselves along with the masterminds who designed them. A hands-on parts display will offer the chance to learn more about what made an Offenhauser go.
"We are pleased to give our guests the opportunity to learn about the great engines of the Indianapolis 500 and the Hall of Fame designers who enhanced performance in the machines that finished first at the Brickyard," said Betsy Smith, executive director of the nonprofit Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation which operates the museum.
The second exhibit, "Camaro: 50 Years of Setting the Pace, presented by Bill Estes Chevrolet," gives visitors an up-close look at the Camaros that have served as the official pace car at the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400.
Among the cars on display are the first Camaro pace car, a 1967 convertible from the first model year of the new "pony car," the orange-and-white 1969 SS convertible, the Z28 Camaro that paced the 1982 race won by Gordon Johncock and the SS editions that led the field for the 100th anniversary race in 2011 and 100th running in 2016.
Both exhibits will remain open until April.
For more information on the IMS Museum, visit indyracingmuseum.org.

 

Complete 2017 Indy 500

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V21Z_po0Ooo

 

Tying some racing history together
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.

 

Dan Gurney, All American Racer 1931-2018

Monday, 15 January 2018


By Mark Glendenning / Images by IMS Photo, LAT, Marshall Pruett, All American Racers, Steve Shunck



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Iconic race driver, team owner and constructor Dan Gurney died Sunday at the age of 86. Gurney passed away due to complications from pneumonia.


"With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today, January 14, 2018," Gurney's wife Evi and family said in a statement. "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.’"


Born in New York but raised in Southern California, which remained his home for the rest of his life, Gurney was renowned as one of the fastest and most versatile drivers in the sport's history.

• MILLER: Gurney, All-American treasure
• RACER video series: "Dan Gurney: All American Racer presented by Bell Helmets"
• Video: Gurney & Foyt on 1967 Ford win at Le Mans
• Video: Robin Miller on Dan Gurney (2016)

The two driving feats for which he is best remembered – the 24 Hours of Le Mans victory that he shared with A.J. Foyt in 1967, followed by a win at the Belgian Grand Prix in an Eagle Formula 1 car of his own construction – were made all the more notable by the fact that they occurred just a week apart. But more remarkable still is that they only begin to scratch the surface of his achievements.


He was the first driver ever to win races in Formula 1, NASCAR and IndyCar: a feat that has only been matched since by Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya. He was a race winner in Can-Am and Trans-Am. He invented the podium champagne spray. He pioneered the use of full-face helmets in F1. He gave three F1 teams their first victories. And he oversaw the creation of one of the most beautiful Formula 1 cars ever built in the Eagle Mk.1.
A product of the postwar West Coast's vibrant car culture, Gurney's first big break came when he dragged the fast but terrifying Arciero Special – a Mistral powered by a reworked 4.2-liter Maserati engine – to second place in the inaugural Riverside Grand Prix in 1957.


That performance turned the head of famed North American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti, and the following June Gurney found himself sharing a factory 250 Testa Rossa with Bruce Kessler. The latter crashed, but Gurney's performance behind the wheel helped pave the way for him to make his F1 debut with the Scuderia at Reims in 1959. His three subsequent F1 appearances with Ferrari yielded two podiums and a fourth, but his dislike of the team culture steered him toward a drive with BRM the following year.


A largely frustrating year punctuated by a tragedy at Zaandvort, where a young spectator was killed after Gurney suffered a brake failure, opened the door for a move to Porsche in 1961, and in 1962 he claimed his first F1 victory at Rouen (below).

A three-year stint at Brabham yielded another two wins, but by this point, plans that Gurney had been hatching with Carroll Shelby to create an American car that could compete with Europe's best were creeping closer to fruition.
The product of that dream – the AAR (All-American Racers, or Anglo-American Racers in its F1 guise as a nod to the British Weslake Engine) Eagle Mk.1 made its debut at the beginning of the 1966 F1 season. Reliability was an issue, but when it finished, it tended to finish strong: The win at Spa in '67 was accompanied by a podium in Canada that same year, and a heartbreaking near-miss in 1967 when the car suffered a failure while leading by 42 seconds two laps from the checker at the Nurburgring.


A driver who fully embraced his era's opportunities for diversity, Gurney routinely dovetailed his F1 program with other events. He made eight appearances at the Indy 500 between 1962 and 1970, finishing second twice in Eagle-Fords, and won seven Champ Car races from 28 career starts.
Indy cars also gave rise to perhaps his most famous engineering breakthrough, the Gurney flap: a small tab projecting from the trailing edge of a wing that generated substantial additional downforce. First introduced on Bobby Unser's car at a test at Phoenix in 1971, after Gurney had retired from driving, the device remains in common usage across motorsport and aviation to this day.


In NASCAR, his name was synonymous with Riverside: He earned five Grand National wins there during the 1960s, four of which were with Wood Brothers Racing, and also made three career appearances at the Daytona 500 with a best finish of fifth with Holman-Moody in 1963.


Following his retirement from F1 after a year with McLaren in 1970, Gurney turned his attention to full-time team ownership, and sat at the helm of AAR until 2011, when the team was taken over by his son Justin. His car were formidable on the track, claiming 78 victories across all categories, including the Indianapolis 500, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. And Gurney himself remained a formidable figure outside the cockpit, penning the famous 'White Paper' in 1978 that argued for a dramatic overhaul of the structure of American open-wheel racing, and representing a first step towards the formation of CART a year later.


AAR withdrew from CART for the first time in the mid-1980s, but enjoyed huge success in IMSA GTO competition, and later GTP with the ferocious Toyota-powered Eagle MkIII, which claimed 17 consecutive race wins and back-to-back drivers' and manufacturers' championships across 1992 and 1993.
Gurney's tremendous achievements have been reflected through inductions into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the Sebring International Raceway Hall of Fame, and the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Evi, and sons Justin, Alex, Jimmy and Dan Jr. In accordance with his wishes, the funeral will be private.
---------------------

NOTE: AT THE 2018 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA THERE WERE SEVERAL CARS BEARING
A DECAL HONORING DAN GURNEY.



Event coverage is here:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...rticles-2.html

 

Additions to previous years winners photos:
see last post in thread