American motorsports journalist Christopher "Chris" Constantine Economaki passed away Friday, September 28th, 2012 at the age of 91. Economaki served as an editor, publisher and columnist for National Speed Sport News for more than 60 years. He also was a reporter and commentator for racing broadcasts on network television and radio, including coverage of the Indianapolis 500 for ABC and the IMS Radio Network. … [Read more...]
Remembering Martin Swig (1934 – 2012)
By Michael T. Lynch Martin Swig died on July 3rd after suffering a stroke. He leaves a legacy as one of California’s great car guys. Unlike most others, his influence was felt internationally. Swig caught our disease early. By the time he was at Stanford, he and schoolmates Mark Dees and Harvard Gordon were traveling together to the early races of the California road race revival. Dees went on to write … [Read more...]
Remembering Sergio Pininfarina (1926 – 2012)
Italian automotive designer Sergio Pininfarina passed away Monday, July 2nd, 2012 at the age of 85. Sergio Pininfarina was born in Turin on September 8, 1926. He graduated in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic of Torino in 1950, then he began his career in the family firm, Carrozzeria Pinin Farina; … [Read more...]
Remembering Frank Arciero (1925 – 2012)
By Art Evans | Photographs as credited Frank Arciero was one of that small group that included John von Neumann, John Edgar and Tony Paravanno who were responsible for bringing talented American drivers to prominence. For the most part, fifties-era sports car drivers started competing in their own vehicles, often driving their transportation to and from venues. Wealthy sportsmen such as Arciero would spot … [Read more...]
Bob Bondurant – Interview and Profile
By Dennis Gray | Photos as credited Bob Bondurant has done a few things. The winner of a world championship with Carroll Shelby, the pilot of a Formula One car for Ferrari and the founder of an eponymous racing school, Bondurant can also count among his considerable talents the art of storytelling. A point we learned when Senior Photographer Dennis Gray interviewed the racing legend at the Bondurant School … [Read more...]
Remembering Roy Salvadori (1922 – 2012)
British motor racing driver and manager Roy Francesco Salvadori passed away Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 at the age of 90. Born in Dovercourt, Essex, Salvadori was best known for winning the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving the Aston Martin DBR1 with Carroll Shelby. Roy Salvadori participated in 50 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 12 July 1952, scoring a total of 19 Championship points. … [Read more...]
Remembering Carroll Shelby (1923-2012)
By Art Evans | Photos as credited All of us have lost one of the dominant figures of the post-WWII automotive era, and I have lost a dear friend. After a long illness, Carroll Hall Shelby died on May 10, 2012, at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He is survived by two sons, Michael and Patrick, his daughter Sharon, a number of grandchildren, a sister Anne, his wife Cleo plus a host of admirers. … [Read more...]
Remembering Andy Porterfield (1931 – 2012)
By Art Evans | Photos as credited On the morning of April 18, 2012, I received a call that Andy Porterfield had died the night before. I knew he had been ill and in the hospital; I had been expecting a call telling me it would be ok for me to visit. His is survived by his wife Judy, daughters Pamela and Melanie, plus a son, Tracy. Andy and I were best friends and Judy recently told me that I was also his … [Read more...]
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (1935-2012)
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer of the iconic Porsche 911, died on 5 April 2012 in Salzburg, aged 76. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was born in Stuttgart on 11 December 1935, the oldest son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche. Even his childhood was shaped by cars, and he spent much of his time in the engineering offices and development workshops of his grandfather Ferdinand Porsche. … [Read more...]
Remembering Alan Mann (1936-2012)
Alan Mann, who died on March 21, 2012 at the age of 75, was a highly successful motor racing team owner who played a key role in the Ford Motor Company’s worldwide Total Performance programme of the 1960s. Alan Mann Racing, based in Byfleet, UK won numerous major championships including the British Saloon Car Championship, the European Touring Car Challenge and the FIA World GT Championship for Manufacturers, all … [Read more...]
Sir Jackie Stewart – Speaking Out of The Box
By William Edgar | Photographs as Credited It was July 19, 1974 that I really got to know John Young Stewart, even though I’d already met and worked with him several years before that British Grand Prix Friday practice day riding with him in a chauffeured Daimler out to Brands Hatch, a distance of some 25 miles from London’s Savile Row where we’d first made a stop at Jackie’s tailor. In the limousine with us were … [Read more...]
A.J. Foyt Honored at 2012 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona
With over 50 years in motorsports – as a driver and team owner – American A. J. Foyt’s remarkable career has seen him make his mark nationally and abroad in at least four countries: Canada, Great Britain, France and New Zealand. His race record includes: winning the Indianapolis 500 four times in 35 consecutive tries; the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967); and the Rolex 24 At Daytona (1983, ’85). He’s won 12 national … [Read more...]
Jim Rathmann (1928-2011)
Jim Rathmann, winner of both the 1960 Indianapolis 500 and the international 500-mile "Race of Two Worlds" in 1958 at Monza, Italy, died Wednesday, November 23, 2011. Rathmann passed away in a hospice in Melbourne, Florida, nine days after suffering a seizure at his home. He was 83. Rathmann, who was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, already was a three-time … [Read more...]
Sergio Scaglietti (1920-2011)
Noted Ferrari coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti passed away November 20, 2011 at 91 years of age. Scaglietti gained Enzo Ferrari's trust and respect both through his bodywork and design skills and for providing a retreat for Dino Ferrari as a youth. Scaglietti is credited with the "headrest" bump present on most racing Ferraris of the 1950s and 1960s, a design at first despised by Enzo but championed by Dino. The … [Read more...]
Phil Hill Tribute at Peterson Museum – Report and Photos
Report by Art Evans and photos as noted On the night of November 10, 2011 a Tribute to Phil Hill was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The occasion — organized by Bruce Meyer’s Checkered Flag 200 group that supports the museum — celebrated the 50th anniversary of Phil becoming America’s first Formula One World Driving Champion. In addition to the festivities, the museum displayed an … [Read more...]