(Left to right) Jerry Raborn, Marvin Panch, Steve Petrasek, Ernie Gahan and Bill Wimble gather around the trophy for NASCAR’s Buddy Shuman Award honoring their efforts.
For the first time in his career, Marvin Panch posed for a photo before an event. He would never do so again.
It could have all ended so differently, this confluence of seemingly random events that culminated that cold Valentine’s Day in 1963 at Daytona International Speedway, were it not for five men having little in common beyond their chosen avocation/vocation of auto racing. This could have turned out to be another footnoted story in racing lore about a race driver losing his life. Instead, it became a story of ordinary men meeting the greatest of challenges. Instead of that ugly footnote, it became a story of heroic action and a life saved.
In best story tradition, it all began far away, in Modena, Italy, where Maserati’s racing fortunes were in a notable decline. The Tipo 151, a V8-powered, front-engined coupe, represented one of the last gasps of this formerly formidable marque. Blindingly fast in a straight line, the Tipo 151’s downfall was its lack of reliability and development. By late 1962 it became clear the Tipo 151 was not going to be the world beater everyone had hoped.
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