The motorsport world mourns the loss of American racing driver Dan Gurney. Gurney spent many years in motorsport racing in Formula One, NASCAR and various other forms of racing. He also spent time at a team owner. Gurney passed away on January 14, 2018 at the age of 86.
Born on April 13, 1931 to American businessman turned singer, Gurney’s love of cars was present at very young age. In his late teens, he built a car that achieved over 220km/h at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This led him to drag racing and sports car racing before serving his country during the Korean War.
Gurney’s professional motorsport career began in 1957 when he was invited to test the Arciero Special. The car was difficult to handle and his performance caught the attention of Ferrari, earning him some testing duties with the team. His Formula One debut was in France just two years later for Ferrari. He raced three more Grand Prix events that season, earning two podium finishes in his first season.
He then moved on to Porsche, earning his first of four Formula One victories in France in 1962. He also had the honor of racing with various other teams on the grid including McLaren, with which he ended his Formula One career. He was also the first driver signed to the Brabham Racing Organisation team in 1963.
He teamed up with Carroll Shelby, best known for his involvement with an assortment of Ford cars, to manufacture his own car. The car, named Eagle, made it to the grid in 1966 under the team name Anglo American Racers and Gurney eventually drove it to his fourth and final Formula One victory in 1967.
Outside of Formula One, Gurney had the opportunity to race in three Daytona 500 events in NASCAR and a variety of Grand National Series races in the ‘60s. He also raced in nine Indianapolis 500 races in the ‘60s, originally driving a Lotus, but then changing over to his own Eagle car. He finished on the podium three consecutive years.
After his driving retirement in 1970, Gurney became a fulltime CEO and Chairman of All American Racers, a team that won 78 races and 8 championship titles. He resigned from his position in 2011 to give the position to his son Justin.
Dan Gurney passed away at the age of 86 in Newport Beach, California due to complications of pneumonia. He will be missed.
