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Photo by D. Randy Riggs
Memorable Milestones
By Brock Yates
From Vintage Motorsport Magazine Sep/Oct 2009
As with most gear heads and car junkies, many of the important moments in my life involve the automotive industry. Whether it pertains to cars, drivers, or racing, the course of my life has been defined by the tragedies and triumphs of an industry which I love. Without being sickeningly effusive, there are a handful of individuals who entered my life for the sake of business and have since become good friends. One such person is Dan Gurney.
Daniel Sexton Gurney was a rising star in racing, with Hollywood good looks, intense focus and a dedication to a sport he loved. He began his professional career in 1955 and for 15 years racked up countless wins and achievements which earned him a well honored and richly deserved place in racing history
Dan initiated the tradition of spraying champagne on the podium when he doused AJ. Foyt at Le Mans in 1967. He is considered one of the most popular F1 Grand Prix drivers ever and is the only American to win a Grand Prix in a car he personally built. He, along with Mario Andretti, is one of two drivers ever to win top prize in the four major racing categories; Grand Prix, Indy Car, NASCAR and Sports Car.
Dan invented the Gurney flap, was instrumental in launching the rear-engine revolution at Indy in 1963, he co-founded the Long Beach Grand Prix, came up with the name and acronym for the Championship Auto Racing Team (CART), is the team owner of All-American Racers and created and manufactures Alligator motorcycles. Dan's achievements are many and varied and since I am not Wikipedia, look to historians and biographers if you want a truly detailed accounting of his life and accomplishments.
As a journalist I respect his talent, but as a friend, I treasure our history. I had been familiar with Dan for years before my mentor and boss at Car and Driver, David E. Davis Jr., nominated Gurney for President in a brilliantly written editorial in May of 1964. Dan accepted his nomination with graciousness and good humor, endearing him to the staff at the magazine.
Over the years, Gurney and I got better acquainted and I was lucky enough to be in California on one truly memorable occasion. Meeting with Dan for lunch, we were returning with Max Muhleman and Swede Savage to the Ail-American Racers shop where his Eagle racing cars were being built. After countless racing stories, Curtis Turner's famous "bootleg" turn was discussed.
For those of you unaware of this maneuver, Muhleman described it best as he explained, "it's dead simple ... all you've gotta do is throw the wheel over and hit the hand brake." In essence, complete a 180-degree turn and punch the gas at a high rate of speed. Good times! Also ... highly illegal.
Dan picked up the gauntlet making a few feeble attempts, until the ribbing from the backseat sparked his competitive streak. He finally perfected the turn, ultimately scaring the crap out of the guy in the Volvo behind us, who probably still feels like he saw the face of God that day
In light of his talent, intellect and the fact that he's a little bit nuts, Dan was one of my first choices when I decided to run Cannonball.
Having initially turned me down, Gumey changed his mind and flew to New York to co-drive, and ultimately win, the 1971 Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. We raced coast to coast in a 4.4-liter Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona in 35 hours and 54 minutes, marking a time which has never been beaten (legitimately). Glare ice, snowstorms, traffic and a dedicated, yet cranky cop added to our experience, but did not alter our course.
Dan's stamina and skill behind the wheel still amaze me all these years later.
While my respect for Dan Gurney is great, and I enjoy reflecting on our past, my intention in writing this column is to tell a story that has rarely been told—a story that binds us together not simply as peers, but so as Americans and human beings. As the summer wanes and September approaches, my thoughts will forever drift to Dan, his wonderful wife Evi and an event that broke America's heart.
As with most people, I mark the passage of time with milestones; instances in my life that define me—snapshots and occasions that capture a moment in time, reflecting historic and personal events that remain indelibly etched in my mind. As a nation, we also have those milestones that shape our character.
If you are old enough, who among us .doesn't remember where we were when President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated? Where were you the day the music died, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed into that quiet field in Iowa? The moonwalk, the space shuttle disaster, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of the Cold War are all seminal moments in our history and as such, have bound us together through achievement and adversity; changing us individually, while strengthening us as a nation. September 11 was just such an event.
As we again approach the anniversary of that tragic day, my wife Pamela and I often think of the personal experiences which shaped that day and the subsequent week that followed.
In the days leading up to 9/11 we were spending time with Dan and Evi after they attended a race at Watkins Glen.
On the morning of September 11th, we were preparing to take them to the airport when the phone rang. My son explained that a plane had gone into the World Trade Center and, while still on the phone, the four of us watched in horror as the second plane hit.
During that tragic week, while planes were grounded and lives were shattered, the four of us were inexorably linked. Through shock and fear, anger and tears, we :connected with our loved ones and each other. We talked endlessly, finding rare moments of laughter, while trying to come to :terms with how our lives and the world around us had changed.
Every year since that day, no matter where we are in the world, we make sure to reconnect, whether by phone or email, as succor to wounds which have still not healed.
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