John Fitch – Hero Stuff

John Fitch is a genuine American hero, and a survivor. If they made a movie about his life, Jimmy Stewart would have played him. You know, a handsome, lanky six-footer, thoughtful, modest, brave and true in the face of a challenge or worthy cause. Truth is, Fitch has been accepting challenges all his life. Indeed, he’s openly courted danger, but interestingly, a basic decency has almost always elevated his personal adventures to something higher than just thrill seeking. Hero stuff.

At nearly 83 years young, John Fitch is going strong as one of the leading authorities on motor racing safety, particularly in the area of energy-absorbing systems for the walls of race tracks. Thousands of lives have been saved by the now ubiquitous bright-colored, plastic, energy-absorbing barrels seen protecting danger spots on highways all over North America. They were, of course, invented – and personally tested – by Fitch. He’s always been a pioneer, it seems. Fitch won the first 500cc (Formula Three) race in the U.S. He was the first SCCA National Champion. He was the first American to win an international sports car race abroad (with a Cad-Allard in Argentina). That resulted in a call from American sportsman Briggs Cunningham, offering a ride at Le Mans in 1952… the big time.