The Petersen Automotive Museum awarded motorsports icon Dan Gurney with the Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award at its 22nd Annual Gala on Saturday, October 22nd, 2016. Barry Meguiar presented the award in recognition of Gurney’s six decades of achievement in racing as a driver, team owner and manufacturer, as well as his contributions to engineering, safety and even the space program. Gurney accepted the award via a video that was shown to the capacity crowd at the event.
Recognized as one of the greatest American race car drivers of all time, Gurney drove in a variety of series — winning races in Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am and Trans-Am — the first driver ever to do so. He also helped popularize safety innovations like the full-face helmet, which soon became not only standard, but required. His experiences as a race car driver led to the creation of All American Racers, whereas constructor and team owner, Gurney fielded some of most innovative and successful Formula One and Indy Car racers of all time. In his 70s, when most men would retire, Gurney’s creativity and innovation hit a new stride — designing an entirely new type of motorcycle — the Alligator — that improved both safety and performance, manufacturing the exotic Delta Wing race car and building the legs for Space-X’s game-changing Falcon9 rocket. For these accomplishments and his good-natured ambassadorship for motorsports, Gurney is a much deserved recipient of the Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award.
