FANTASY NASCAR Racin

an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner. The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager. He has been a driver, a car manufacturer, and a team owner at racing's highest levels since 1958. Gurney's first major break occurred in the fall of 1957, when he was invited to test a 4.9-liter Ferrari owned by Frank Arciero. This ill-handling brute of a car was very fast, but even top drivers like Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles had found it difficult to handle. Gurney was particularly noted for an exceptionally fluid driving style, but on rare occasions, as when his car fell behind with minor mechanical troubles and he felt he had nothing to lose, he would abandon his classic technique and adopt a more aggressive (and riskier) style. On June 18, 1967, Gurney took a historic victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. Starting in the middle of the first row, Gurney initially followed Jim Clark's Lotus and the BRM of Jackie Stewart. A muffed start left Gurney deep in the field at the end of the first lap. Clark encountered problems on Lap 12 that dropped him down to ninth position. Having moved up to second spot, Gurney set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 19. Two laps later, he and his Eagle took the lead and came home over a minute ahead of Stewart. This win came just a week after his surprise victory with A.J. Foyt at 24 hours of Le Mans, where Gurney spontaneously began the now-familiar winner's tradition of spraying champagne from the podium to celebrate the unexpected win against the Ferraris and the other Ford

GT40 teams. Gurney had wins in the 1962 and 1964 French Grand Prix. He also won the 1964 Mexican Grand Prix, and the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix. Among American drivers, his 86 Grand Prix starts ranks third, and his total of four GP wins is second only to Mario Andretti. Perhaps the greatest tribute to Gurney's driving ability, however, was paid by the father of Scottish World Champion Jim Clark when the elder Clark took Gurney aside at his son's funeral in 1968 and confided that he was the only driver Clark had ever feared on the track. While competing in Formula One, Gurney also raced each year in the Indianapolis 500 from 1962-1970. The last 3 years, he finished 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. In 1969, he did not race in Formula One,

instead racing in the USAC Championship Car series and also in CanAm. He started a total of 28 Champ Car races, winning 7 times among his 18 top tens. Gurney's first career Cup start was in 1962. He finished fourth in the 100 mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500; but blew a motor about 300 miles into 500 mile the race finishing 27th. Gurney was nearly unbeatable in his next race. It would come the following year at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. He would start 11th and move into the lead on lap 43. He would lead 120 of the next 143 laps to claim his first Cup win. AJ Foyt was the only driver able to stay on the lead lap with Gurney. Gurney ran 16 races in his Cup career; nine of them at Riverside. He won every

year from 1963 to 1968 except for 1967 when he blew a motor. NASCAR penalized Gurney a lap during that race and he ran the car so hard he blew it up. His final win would come at Riverside in 1968. He started onthe pole and led 124 of the 186 laps to get the win. Four of his five victories came with the famed Wood Brothers, including a dominating win in 1965 by over a minute in a car numbered 121. For his career Gurney ran in 16 CUP events, and posted five wins. He had eight top fives, and ten top tens. Due to his road racing prowess gained from racing in Formula 1 it helped him at road courses like Riverside. 1980 would see Gurney make his final career start in a car owned by Rod Osterland. Gurney started

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

DANIEL SEXTON "DAN" GURNEY - 04/13/1931 - 01/14/2018