You are looking at part 2 on Tampa Racing:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...ml#post9383302


Part 1 is here on Tampa Racing:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...pa-racing.html

 

Nico Rosberg F1 Formula one World Champion
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...ml#post9383300

 

AJ Foyt Indy 500, Daytona 24, Sebring, Le Mans, USAC, sprint cars, midgets, well rounded racer

Foyt, Waltrip race an Aston Martin in 1983 24 hours of Daytona


Foyt, Waltrip race an Aston Martin in 1983 24 hours of Daytona

Marshall Pruett / Victory Lane image by Kevin Jeannette
When: 1983
Where: Daytona International Speedway
What: Rolex 24 at Daytona
Who: A.J. Foyt, Darrell Waltrip
Take Super Tex, NASCAR's biggest mouth, and add in an unknown driver from South America, and you just might have the weirdest driver lineup ever seen at the Daytona 24 Hours.
And it gets better. Four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt, two-time Winston Cup champ Darrell Waltrip and ... according to the press release, "two-time Argentine Formula II champion Guillermo Maldonado" came together in 1983 to contest the famous endurance race with the fugly Aston Martin Nimrod prototype.
The melty, frog-inspired, V8-powered Aston was miles from being considered a long shot at IMSA's biggest event, but it did have one thing going for it: prime backing from Pepsi. The Aston Martin, built and run by the Nimrod team in England, was almost eight seconds slower than the fastest Porsche 935s in the field. With the notorious reliability contained within the German cars, the Aston program was destined to become a short-lived promotional exercise for its beverage sponsor.
Pepsi's cash made it possible to lure huge stars like Foyt and Waltrip into the program, and with the NASCAR driver's over-the-top personality in mind, the outcome was pure comedy.
Waltrip's pre-event quotes, given to former IndyCar pit reporter and "Pepsi-Cola Special Programs Manager" Jack Arute, speak to the fish-out-of-water sports car experience about to unfold:



"I was surprised how much [the Aston Martin Nimrod] had in common with the way a stock car goes around Daytona," Waltrip said. "Of course, my helmet was bumping the roof and my knees were scrunched up to my chin. Other than that, this is the kind of car I think is capable of winning the race and the kind of car I like to drive. This British team certainly seems to have a knowledge of this kind of racing. I'm comfortable."
What a brilliant line.


Yes, Darrell, one would hope the team in charge of sending you out in a 200mph prototype at Daytona would "have a knowledge of this kind of racing ..."
For Foyt, whose last endurance race resulted in a historic win for Ford in 1967 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it fulfilled the wish of the big boss of NASCAR who had been requesting his presence at IMSA's crown jewel, and with the Aston Martin Nimrod opportunity extended, he was able to turn the trip into a meaningful outing.
"Bill France called me three or four times to come run and I finally went because my daddy talked me into it," Foyt told RACER's Robin Miller. "He was in a hospice and dying of cancer and told me to go out and have some fun."


The fun, as you might suspect, was delivered by good old "DW."
"Then Waltrip calls me and says there's no way he's driving a car with a welding torch in it," Foyt continued. "I told him it wasn't a welding torch – the Brits called flashlights a torch, and they must have said something about putting a torch inside the car and he got concerned. That was pretty damn funny."
As expected, the Aston Martin "Pepsi Challenger" broke soon after the green flag waved.
"The Aston Martin blew up and I don't think I even got to drive it before it blew," Foyt recalled.
The January trip to Daytona, in the name of fun, ended in a less than glorious manner for Super Tex. Or had it?
"Then Preston Henn came down around midnight and asked if I wanted to drive his Porsche 935," Foyt said. "Hell, I'd never driven a Porsche so I wasn't sure how it shifted, and they had a spare car so I sat in that and practiced before I got into the racecar. They said later that Bob Wollek wasn't too happy they put me in the car, but I think I did OK."
Entered in an Aston Martin Nimrod to start the race, the first car Foyt drove in the 1983 Daytona 24 Hour contest was a Porsche 935 with the world's grumpiest Frenchman. Foyt's pace in the rain behind the wheel of that monstrous twin-turbo 935 is still spoken of with reverie by those who witnessed A.J.'s masterful performance.
He might have pocketed Pepsi's money heading into the event, but he came away with something even better: a trip to Victory Lane as the overall winner alongside "Brilliant Bob" Wollek, Henn and Claude Ballot-Lena.
Not bad for an unexpected opportunity.
"I hadn't been in a sports car for almost 20 years and it was fun," Foyt said. "But I really wanted to win that race for daddy. And Bob and I became good friends."

 

[h=2]SCCA: James E. Kaser, 1928-2016[/h] Wednesday, 04 January 2017


SCCA / Image courtesy of the Kaser family

Above: Jim Kaser (right) chatting with driver Denny Hulme, Can Am racer

James E. "Jim" Kaser, the first head of SCCA Pro Racing, passed away last week in Naples, Florida after an illness. Kaser oversaw the first SCCA professional racing series, the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC), and will be inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame during the 2017 SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet taking place later this month.

The success of USRRC led Kaser to organize a series initially involving two Canadian races, thus giving birth in 1966 to the Canadian American Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the Can-Am series. Soon after, Kaser's Pro Racing department introduced America's longest running road racing series, the Trans-American Sedan Championship, later known as Trans Am.
It was Kaser's success with these series that resulted in the most significant change ever to the Sports Car Club of America. Lee Hill, SCCA's new Chairman of the Board of Directors, said that is when the Club turned from being solely an amateur's club to also become a professional, international sanctioning body and organizer.


"We were very sorry to hear of Jim's passing," Hill said. "He was a very significant figure in the early years of the club, was the first head of SCCA Pro Racing, and is probably best remembered as the architect of the USRRC, Can-Am and Trans Am."
Kaser was a driver but became a full-time employee of the SCCA in 1963.


Campaigning mostly Alfas on Midwest circuits, Kaser dabbled with a Lotus II, Corvette, Porsche RSK and a Formula 1 Lotus 19.
He stated in 1963, "Time being what was, I gave up racing when I went to work for the SCCA, though Chuck Stoddard and I did drive a factory Alfa to a class win at the '64 Sebring.

 

Carl Edwards NASCAR, Stock Cars
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...l-edwards.html

 

Mark Martin Stock Cars Nascar Greatest driver to never win a championship

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...ml#post9385903

 

• 
• 

Jean Argetsinger, the matriarch of early American road racing and a leader in the creation of the International Motor Racing Research Center, died Monday, Jan. 16.
Argetsinger was a true partner to her late husband, Cameron R. Argetsinger, who is credited with the re-birth of road racing in the United States after World War II. In establishing Watkins Glen as one of the most important racing venues in the world, Jean Argetsinger was at the forefront in hospitality, publicity and community involvement.
Jean was predeceased by Cameron in 2008. She died at her home in Burdett, N.Y. She was 97.
Calling hours will be Friday, Jan. 20, from 3-6 p.m. at Vedder & Scott Funeral Home, Montour Falls, N.Y. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church in Watkins Glen at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21.
Argetsinger was a founder of the IMRRC, an archival and research library, dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the history of motorsports, all venues and all series worldwide. She served on the IMRRC Governing Council from its inception.
“Jean Argetsinger and I collaborated on so many motorsports and other community projects through the years,” John Saunders, president of the International Speedway Corp., said Wednesday.
“Perhaps our most rewarding was the creation and development of a lasting legacy to recognize the 50th anniversary of racing at the Glen in 1998, the International Motor Racing Research Center. Nearly 20 years later, IMRRC excels as a global repository of motorsports history for generations to experience,” Saunders said.
“It was Jean’s vision, quiet determination and relentless pursuit that made it all a reality. While her spirit lives on, I truly will miss the First Lady of American road racing,” he said.
Saunders is vice chairman of the IMRRC Governing Council.
In the first decade-plus of racing in Watkins Glen, Argetsinger was at the side of her husband, welcoming drivers from around the world to parties at her house and putting together race event programs. In 1958 she established the Paddock Club, now known as the Glen Club, as a “civilized retreat for drivers’ wives and visiting celebrities.”
“I never thought racing would be my life. I don’t know much about cars, but I do know about the people who drive them,” Argetsinger said in 1999 when introducing a film documentary about the history of Watkins Glen racing, screened as an IMRRC fundraiser.
“When Cameron presented the idea of a road race to SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) at a cocktail party in Indianapolis, a distinguished member of the group put a fatherly arm around my shoulder and said, ‘Don’t do it. You’ll work hard, and nobody will come.’ This film proves that 50 percent of what he said was true,” she said.
The Argetsingers were honored in 2009 with a Watkins Glen International Legend of the Glen Award.
“Jean will be missed by the entire racing industry, as the matriarch of racing at Watkins Glen and for her support of the racing community as a whole,” Michael Printup, WGI president, said Wednesday. “What Jean and Cameron accomplished in our small town will always be relished.”
“The Argetsinger family played a central role in the rebirth of road racing in general and making Watkins Glen one of the ‘spiritual homes’ of sports car racing in the U.S.,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “On behalf of IMSA, I extend heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Jean Argetsinger.”
While raising nine children, Argetsinger also was building the foundation of a strong Schuyler County community as a member and leader of numerous organizations.
In 1996, Argetsinger joined Saunders, then president of Watkins Glen International, and other community leaders to discuss the best way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of racing two years later. She was president of the Watkins Glen Public Library board at that time.
The work of the committee led to the creation of the IMRRC, which opened in June 1999.
Argetsinger was a founder of the League of Women Voters of Schuyler County and the Burdett Players theatrical group. She was an 11-year member of the Watkins Glen Central School District board and led the Watkins Glen Public Library board for 24 years.
She was a columnist for the local weekly newspaper, The Watkins Review, and wrote a history of St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church as well as several books on county history.
The New York State Legislature named Argetsinger a Woman of Distinction in 1999, the first class of honorees. She was inducted into the Schuyler County Hall of Fame in 2007.

 

see also:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...ml#post9399753

Racing Legends Dan Guerney Jackie Stewart Chris Amon Jim Clark



50 years ago today: Gurney's all-American F1 win

Sunday, 18 June 2017

By RACER staff / Images by LAT archive

It was 50 years ago today that Dan Gurney took one of the most significant wins of his legendary career, in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps with his own Eagle-Weslake – making him a winner both as a driver and a constructor. And it came just a week after another of Gurney's iconic wins – winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Ford GT40 Mk.IV he co-drove with A.J. Foyt!
Gurney qualified second with his Eagle-Weslake to Jim Clark's Lotus Ford. Clark pulled away to a substantial early lead but was forced to pit for a plug change. This handed the lead to Jackie Stewart's BRM, which appeared to be in control of the race after Gurney, too, was delayed by fuel pressure problems.
However, the sleek Eagle – featuring a magnesium skin, titanium suspension and custom-engineered Weslake V12 engine – was at its best on the fast Spa circuit and, with the fuel pressure issues resolved, Gurney cut into Stewart's lead, setting a new lap record and reaching an estimated 197 mph on the back straight. That was a particularly impressive number given that the Weslake produced under 400 horsepower.
As Stewart's pace slowed due to gearshift problems, Gurney swept past with eight laps to go and went on to claim the "all-American victory."
In the following episode from RACER's 2014 video series, "Dan Gurney, All American Racer," Dan tells Robin Miller about taking the Eagle into Formula 1 and about the challenge of Spa-Francorchamps, which he considered one of the two most daunting tracks on the grand prix schedule at that time.

 

Refuse to lose: Jeff Gordon's 1997 Daytona 500
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...-20-years.html

Jeff Gordon leaves a winner.....
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/auto-x-road-racing/822716-stock-car-racing-jeff-gordon-leaves-winner.html

In the 2017 24 hours of Daytona, Jeff gordon drove in the dark
......in the rain....with wipers that were not working.....and won the race.....

 

Jim Hall Chaparral racer, designer, builder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=AUrfAjS7sAg

at Goodwood 2007
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfcKWjz9jvY