R.I.P. Dan Gurney

That's a good shot. How cool to see one of the greats in person at LOG.  And it looks like next to him is the book Elise: Official Story.

Here's an article that Autoweek posted today:

DAN GURNEY: 1931 - 2018




Dan Gurney, the tall, handsome, all-American driver from California, who had success in almost every kind of road racing there is, and who drove in the golden age of Grand Prix and sports car racing in Europe and America, passed away today of complications from pneumonia at the age of 87.

“With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today,” read an email signed Evi Gurney, the Gurney family and AAR teammates. “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.”

Gurney began racing in 1955 and drove competitively for 15 years. He competed in and won in just about every form of racing he tried. In Formula 1 he drove for Ferrari, BRM, Porsche and Brabham before forming his own team and designing and engineering his own cars. He won the Belgian Grand Prix in 1967 in his own car, the first and only time an American has won an F1 race in a car of his own design, and a feat matched by only a small handful of other driver/designers. In that same year, 1967, he co-drove with AJ Foyt to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40, after which he invented the tradition of spraying the champagne from the podium. He also saw success in Indy cars, sports cars, Trans-Am, Can-Am and NASCAR.

He retired from driving in 1970, having won 51 races, but remained in the sport as owner of All-American Racers. AAR is still in business, having branched out to a number of other engineering endeavors, including aerospace.

Funeral arrangements are to be private but the family suggests donations be made to the Hoag Hospital Foundation in Newport Beach, Calif.

Read more: autoweek.com/article/racing/dan-gurney-1931-2018#ixzz54DsQqq1O