The Rise of Dan Gurney, From Hot Rodder to Racing Legend
How Dan Gurney went on to become one of the most versatile and successful American drivers in motorsports history.
The Riverside guys are about to leave for Bonneville in August 1950. From left, Ted Bear, Ray Torres, Dan Gurney, and Skip Hudson. Gurney’s car is the Bonneville Express on the right, a lightened 1937 Ford sedan. Torres attended the first Bonneville Speed Week in 1949. Gurney’s mother and sister lettered the Ford’s trunk to celebrate the trip.
Here’s Dan Gurney’s ’32 five-window. He traded a ’40 Ford for the car. He thought he got the short end of the deal. The Deuce was too visible to the police around Riverside, so he got rid of it in favor of a 1937 Ford Sedan that he made into a sleeper for street racing.
Skip Hudson’s 1929 Model T, circa 1950. He got it in trade from his friend Ray Torres in Riverside, CA. Hudson met Dan Gurney at Riverside High School.
This SCTA timing tag shows Dan Gurney’s time at Bonneville Speed Week. The car was Skip Hudson’s 1929 Model T roadster.
Dan Gurney about to leave the line at Bonneville in 1950. He went 130.43 mph with a Ray Torres flathead in the car. He also tried the engine out of his own ’37 Ford. “The Ray Torres engine was better,” Gurney said.
Dan Gurney during his Formula 1 career. 2007 is the 40th anniversary of his victory in the All American Racers Eagle at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Dan Gurney poses on the fender of a Toyota GTP car. His All American Racers team built and raced the cars to dominance in the IMSA GTP series in 1992-93.
Dan Gurney with an early-model Alligator motorcycle at the Cars ’n’ Coffee gathering in January 2007. Event organizer John Clinard of Ford is to the right in the background, enjoying the scene. The Alligator is Gurney’s latest project at All American Racers.
The Alligator on the track at the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed, with Dan Gurney in the saddle.
All American Racers introduced the latest version of the Alligator motorcycle in 2006. Its S & S V-twin engine will have 111 or 124ci. Gurney is at right. Hot rodding legend Phil Remington in the shop apron (center) has been with All American Racers since its founding decades ago. Before that, he was with Carroll Shelby during the Cobra years. Also pictured (from left) are Butch Wilson, Justin Gurney, Bob Marker, Remington, Steve Kilgore, Stevo Jacobs, Howard Monise, and Dan Gurney.
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The Riverside guys are about to leave for Bonneville in August 1950. From left, Ted Bear, Ray Torres, Dan Gurney, and Skip Hudson. Gurney’s car is the Bonneville Express on the right, a lightened 1937 Ford sedan. Torres attended the first Bonneville Speed Week in 1949. Gurney’s mother and sister lettered the Ford’s trunk to celebrate the trip.
Here’s Dan Gurney’s ’32 five-window. He traded a ’40 Ford for the car. He thought he got the short end of the deal. The Deuce was too visible to the police around Riverside, so he got rid of it in favor of a 1937 Ford Sedan that he made into a sleeper for street racing.
Skip Hudson’s 1929 Model T, circa 1950. He got it in trade from his friend Ray Torres in Riverside, CA. Hudson met Dan Gurney at Riverside High School.
This SCTA timing tag shows Dan Gurney’s time at Bonneville Speed Week. The car was Skip Hudson’s 1929 Model T roadster.
Dan Gurney about to leave the line at Bonneville in 1950. He went 130.43 mph with a Ray Torres flathead in the car. He also tried the engine out of his own ’37 Ford. “The Ray Torres engine was better,” Gurney said.
Dan Gurney during his Formula 1 career. 2007 is the 40th anniversary of his victory in the All American Racers Eagle at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Dan Gurney poses on the fender of a Toyota GTP car. His All American Racers team built and raced the cars to dominance in the IMSA GTP series in 1992-93.
Dan Gurney with an early-model Alligator motorcycle at the Cars ’n’ Coffee gathering in January 2007. Event organizer John Clinard of Ford is to the right in the background, enjoying the scene. The Alligator is Gurney’s latest project at All American Racers.
The Alligator on the track at the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed, with Dan Gurney in the saddle.
All American Racers introduced the latest version of the Alligator motorcycle in 2006. Its S & S V-twin engine will have 111 or 124ci. Gurney is at right. Hot rodding legend Phil Remington in the shop apron (center) has been with All American Racers since its founding decades ago. Before that, he was with Carroll Shelby during the Cobra years. Also pictured (from left) are Butch Wilson, Justin Gurney, Bob Marker, Remington, Steve Kilgore, Stevo Jacobs, Howard Monise, and Dan Gurney.