Dan Gurney, the first driver to win races in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR, died Sunday from complications of pneumonia. He was 86.
Racing pioneer Dan Gurney dies at age 86
Gurney was the first driver to win in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR.
Gurney began racing in 1955 and in his career won in nearly every division he entered. He won four Formula One races, seven IndyCar races and five NASCAR Cup Series races, and in 1967 he teamed with A.J. Foyt to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya are the only other drivers to have scored wins in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR.
Evi Gurney, Dan’s wife, announced his death in a statement Sunday afternoon.
”With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today,” Evi said. “In deepest sorrow, with gratitude in our hearts for the love and joy you have given us during your time on this earth, we say, ‘Godspeed.”
In addition to his accomplishments on the track, Gurney was a pioneer off it. He was among the first drivers to use a full-face helmet, and in winning the 1967 Belgium Grand Prix is the first and only American to win a Formula One race in a car he designed. And following his triumph at Le Mans, Gurney is credited with the now customary act of spraying of Champaign in victory lane.
“RIP Dan Gurney. I was first inspired by him when I was in midgets dreaming of being like him,” Andretti tweeted. “I was last inspired by him yesterday. Yes, I mean forever. He understood me better than anyone else, which is why he wrote the foreword for my book in 2001.”
Gurney’s family said funeral arrangements will be private, but asked that donations be made to the Hoag Hospital Foundation in Newport Beach in lieu of flowers.
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