Juan Pablo Montoya has captured much of the available facination so far in NASCAR 2007. JP is a remarkable driver. Indy 500 champion, multi-time winner in Formula One and already this year a Daytona 24 hour and NASCAR Busch Series winner.
The 2007 F1 season kicks off this weekend in Australia. Great drivers compete here. As I watch and scan the driver rosters I don't see the likes of Juan though. His cross platform, cross series, not to mention cross continental , driver for all seasons career path is pretty unique today.
Forty years ago I followed two of my heroes as they drove everything, it seems, with four wheels.
Jimmy Clark and Dan Gurney are two of the greatest race car drivers to ever live. They too drove, and won in F1, sports cars, USAC Championship (later Champ/Indy Cars) and NASCAR cup cars. Clark won a couple world championships in F1, 25 Championship Grands Prix, The Indianapolis 500 and countless sports car and saloon car events.
Dan was my man. Though he didn't win as often as Jimmy (no one did) he did win in F1. In fact he won in the only American built Formula One car to ever win a modern Grand Prix, at Spa in 1967. The beautiful painting of the start of that race the following year is by Rob Ijbeme from his Car a Day Fast Painting site and it was his painting that inspired this post. That era of auto racing is my favorite. It was difficult to find any timely racing news then. Print media coverage was spotty and TV/Radio nearly non-existent.
I do remember be awakened by a radio sports report announcing the death of Jim Clark, in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim, that 1967 season. I'd never heard of Hockenheim. Formula 2 was probably equivalent to the Busch series. I lay in bed for a long time that morning. It's funny, but I think about that day when I hear Don Mclain's "American Pie". I heard it tonight. Another spark to write this.
Dan Gurney designed and built the Gurney All American Eagle/Westlake that won that 1967 F1 race at Spa. It is the most beautiful racer ever built. He teamed with AJ Foyt, in a Ford GT MkIV, to win the 24 Hours of Lemans that same year. Daytona 24 Hours, USAC Champ Car and Can Am Challenge races; been there, won those.
Riverside International Raceway belonged to Gurney. The original road course ringer won six NASCAR Cup races at the California track.
Jimmy Clark never won a NASCAR race. He did drive a Holman-Moody Ford at Rockingham. Finished 30th with a blown engine. I wish I could have seen it. For real.
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