Jan '68 Motor Trend 500 - Riverside
Dan Gurney in the #121 Wood Brothers Ford 1968 Torino.
Gurney took first for the last of five MT 500 wins. He would suffer a blown tire and had to drive on the rim to the pits before returning to the track in third place. He overtook leader Parnelli Jones on lap 160 and held on for the win.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-shots-from-days-gone-by.428585/page-6543
Dan Gurney and the Woods Brothers teamed up for four victories on the Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway road course. In ’64, he won the Motor Trend 500, leading 142 laps over the 2.7-mile course. No one else led more than 27. In ’65, Gurney led 126 laps on the way to a 27-second victory over second-place Junior Johnson. In 1966, he led a whopping 148 (of 185) laps in beating David Pearson to the finish line by 70 seconds.1968 Gurney won after leading 124 laps.
ReplyDeleteThe photo is of the 1968 Riverside race. Gurney was on the pole and set record breaking lap times during the race. With a big lead and a little more than 40 laps remaining, track debris from a previous accident shredded his left rear tire as he was heading into turn 9, (a long sweeping right-hander). The fact that Gurney kept it off the wall is amazing in and of itself. The crew needed a minute and a half to remove the blazing-hot wheel-and-tire shrapnel. Dan returned to the track in third place. He retook the lead, only to give it up again on his final stop. Gurney passed Parnelli Jones on lap 160, then held on for his fifth NASCAR victory at Riverside
Wow, you know this stuff in depth!
DeleteAl, indeed you do. Also, this to me was racing. It wasn't "corporate politics" racing. It was man and machine and teams that really loved what they were doing. Yes, I know this still exists, but the corporate control and political hype it seems is so overwhelming to the sport. Again, just my opinion.
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