Daniel Gurney

Attracted to the burgeoning Southern California car culture of the late 40s through the 1960s, Dan began racing a Triumph TR2 in 1955 … There was the 1969 12 Hours of Sebring win in a factory Ferrari with Phil Hill and others, three Formula One wins at Rouen and Mexico City, sports car wins from Daytona to IRP and many others, but what vaulted Dan into the major spotlights were his five wins between 1963-68 in the Motor Trend 500 NASCAR races at Riverside in the Wood Brothers Fords, the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hour with A. J. Foyt in the Ford Mk IV, and the rainy win in the Belgian Grand Prix a week later in his own Gurney-Weslake Eagle .. with that win, he became the only American to win a F-1 race in a car of his own design .. only Dan and Mario Andretti can claim wins in F-1, Indy Cars, NASCAR and major international sports car races … In 1970, Dan retired as a driver, bought out partner Carroll Shelby to become sole owner of All-American Racers and went into high gear with design and production of the Eagle chassis for USAC Champ Car races … In the 1990s, AAR produced the cars for Toyota’s foray into the IMSA Camel GTP series … AAR Eagles for various series have won eight series championships, 78 individual races including the Indianapolis 500, 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24 At Daytona … Dan was also one of the founders of the Long Beach Grand Prix in suburban Los Angeles, America’s longest-surviving street race. Gurney is a member of both the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He passed away at age 86 on Jan. 14, 2018, from complications of pneumonia.