The Fabulous Fifties “unclub” held its annual Lindley Bothwell Award dinner on Sunday evening at the Proud Bird restaurant near Los Angeles International Airport, where it honored George Follmer with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
George is, of course, the only driver ever to win two major U.S. professional racing championships in the same season, which he did in 1972, driving Roger Penske’s L&M Porsche 917/10 to the SCCA’s Can-Am title, while also winning the SCCA’s Trans-Am championship in Roy Woods’ AMC Javelin. He won the Trans-Am crown again (Category I) in 1976 with a Vasek Polk Racing Porsche 934. Previously, he had claimed the 1965 United States Road Racing Championship, taking his two-liter Porsche-powered Lotus 23 (above) to the title ahead of the much more powerful Chaparrals of Jim Hall and Hap Sharp.
Versatility was Follmer’s calling card as he raced many varieties of sports cars, as well as Indycars, Formula One, Formula 5000 and NASCAR. In a stock-block Chevy-powered Gilbert chassis prepared by his old pal Bruce Burness, Follmer won the 1969 Indycar season opener at Phoenix, then scored a pair of F5000 victories in 1970 with a Ford-powered Lotus 70 — Ford’s only two wins in that series. Having raced for Shadow in the Can-Am, George was selected by Don Nichols to drive in the marque’s inaugural Formula One season of 1973, scoring a point on his F1 debut then standing on the podium after only his third Grand Prix — at the age of 39! And those are only the highlights of his exceptional career.
Follmer joins a list of past recipients of the Lindley Bothwell Lifetime Achievement Award that includes Carroll Shelby, Dan Gurney, Phil Remington, Les Richter, Rodger Ward, Bob Bondurant, Jim Hall, Parnelli Jones and John Morton, among others.
I knew Lindley as I served with him on the SCCA national Board of Directors back when. He was a most interesting person. Gorge Follmer is also a friend from the past. His daughter used to live in Fort Wayne and when he came to visit I dragged George downtown to announce the Fort Wayne Grand Prix. It was a go cart for charity, run through the downtown streets for Junior Achievement. George had a ball and did a hell of a job announcing the event. Thanks for the memories.
Larry Dent, SCCA Woolf Bardato, 2008