FUMES

August 18, 2010

Editor's Note: Peter's good friend Jeff Zwart sent along these images from Pebble Beach that he captured on the run at the event. Jeff reported that he spent a good bit of time in the Porsche Motorsport display at Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway) with his Pikes Peak-winning 911, where he did a Q&A session and a poster signing each day, and then Porsche gave out his signed posters at the Porsche Pavilion at Pebble Beach. We always love it when Jeff captures images with his still camera - on breaks from his commercial directing work - so we thought our readers would enjoy these. For those interested, Jeff used a Lumix LX4 by Panasonic, which has a Leica lens. Jeff says, "It's what I shoot most all my stills with these days." Peter will return with a new Fumes column next week. - WG

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(All photos courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Dan Gurney standing by his 1963 Ford at the Daytona Speedway before that year's Daytona 500. Gurney qualified 11th and finished 5th behind winner Tiny Lund, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett and Nelson Stacy. Gurney won five NASCAR Grand National Races ('63, '64, '65, '66 and '68), all at Riverside International Raceway in California. In 17 NASCAR Grand National starts he would record three poles and five wins.

A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1967. The foreign media chided Gurney and Foyt as being out of their element in the endurance racing arena and predicted certain failure. Instead Gurney and Foyt paced themselves and then smoked the field for the win. To this day it remains the greatest single achievement in American racing history by an all-American team on foreign soil, in the most famous - and prestigious - endurance road racing event in the world.
 

Ever the thinker and innovator, Gurney was responsible for bringing the Ford Motor Company and Colin Chapman - of Lotus fame - together to make an assault on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. And it would change the face of American open-wheel racing forever. Here, Gurney stands in front of the tiny Lotus "Powered by Ford" at its first test at The Speedway in 1963. Dig the driving shoes!

Several weeks later, now painted in its official livery (Jimmy Clark's team car was green with a yellow stripe in proper Lotus form, while Gurney's Lotus wore the internationally-recognized American racing colors of white with blue stripe) Dan Gurney prepares to take his Lotus "Powered by Ford" out for a practice session at The Speedway in 1963.

Dan Gurney talks to Carroll Shelby before the start of the 1965 Indianapolis 500. Gurney's Lotus-Ford entry was prepared by Shelby and sponsored by Yamaha.

Dan Gurney drives his beautiful AAR Eagle Gurney Weslake-Ford to victory in the Rex Mays 300 Indy car race at Riverside in 1967. He would repeat the feat the following year. Watch a video of it here.

Dan Gurney and Jim Clark discuss things during practice for the 1965 Indianapolis 500. Jim Clark's father told Gurney after his son's death that Gurney was the competitor his son respected the most.

Gurney was damn near unbeatable in a Grand National stock car at Riverside. Here he is on the way to another win in the 1965 Riverside 500.

Dan Gurney leaves the pits at Indianapolis in 1966 in the first AAR Eagle Indy car built by his own company. Gurney's Eagles were some of the most beautiful race cars ever built.

Bridgehampton, New York, 1966. Dan Gurney on his way to victory in the Can-Am series race in his Lola T70-Ford.

Sebring, Florida, 1963. Dan Gurney takes his factory Shelby American Cobra through the Webster turns. He and his co-driver, Phil Hill, encountered trouble and finished fourth in class.

Daytona Beach, Florida, 1966. Dan Gurney in the cockpit of his Ford GT Mk II during practice for the Daytona 24 Hour race. Brilliant driver, risk-taking innovator and racing visionary, it's unlikely we'll ever see anyone like him again in this sport.  - PMD

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out ford.artehouse.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

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