"Race Car Owner & Hall of Famer" Andy Granatelli Dies - December 29, 2013

March 18, 1923 - December 29, 2013

Anthony "Andy" Granatelli

(Photo;tirebusiness.com)

Born in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Granatelli was an American businessman, most prominent as the CEO of STP as well as a major figure in automobile racing.

Granatelli along with his brothers Vince and Joe, first worked as an auto mechanic and "speed-shop" entrepreneur, modifying engines such as the "flathead" Ford into racing-quality equipment. During World War II, he became a promoter of automobile racing events, such as the "Hurricane Racing Association," which combined racing opportunities for up-and-coming drivers with crowd-pleasing theatrics. Hurricane events, according to Granatelli in his autobiography They Call Me Mister 500, included drivers who were experts at executing and surviving roll-over and end-over-end crashes, and also an ambulance that not only got caught up into the race, but also ejected a stretcher with a dummy on it into the way of the racers.

In 1946, the three brothers entered the first of several Indianapolis 500 races, as the Grancor racing team. They did their own mechanical work, and brought innovations like fully independent suspension, yet never made it to "Victory Lane". In 1948, Andy decided to try to qualify as a driver, and nearly did so, but a horrendous crash during his qualifying run ended that part of his career.

Granatelli eventually became very visible in the racing world in the 1960s as the spokesman for STP oil and gasoline treatment products, appearing on its television and radio advertisements as well as sponsoring racecars. He clad his pit crews in white coveralls with the oval STP logo scattered all over them, and once wore a suit jacket with the same STP-laden design. He made a cameo appearance in the Disney movie "The Love Bug".

His cars became a significant presence at the Indianapolis 500. While he first gained notoriety by re-introducing the legendary Novi, his most famous entries were his turbine-powered cars in 1967 and 1968. In both years, he endured the excruciating frustration of seeing probable race-winners fail near the end; Joe Leonard's breakdown in the Lotus 56 with 10 laps remaining in 1968 had been topped the previous year when Parnelli Jones, leading comfortably with just three laps to go, suffered the failure of a six dollar transmission bearing in the STP-Paxton Turbocar and retired, handing a sure victory to A. J. Foyt.

He was finally rewarded with an Indianapolis 500 winner in 1969. After his innovative Lotus 4-wheel-drive car was destroyed in practice upon establishing itself as one of the most dominants cars to date, his driver Mario Andretti, nursing the burns from the Lotus crash, won at the wheel of a year-old backup car. Before Andretti could be traditionally kissed in "Victory Lane" by the Queen of the "500 Festival", Granatelli got there first, and his joyful kiss on Andretti's cheek is one of the 500's most memorable images. However rumor is that the kiss began the infamous Indianapolis 500 curse that Mario Andretti's family is named for.

(Photo;route66news.com)

In 1973, Granatelli retired his USAC team, and STP became a sponsor of Patrick Racing. Gordon Johncock won the 1973 and 1982 Indianapolis 500 for the brand.

It was believed that Granatelli attended every Indianapolis 500, whether as a participant or as a spectator, from 1946-2012. He did not attend the race in 2013.

Granatelli bought Tuneup Masters in 1976 for $300,000. He sold it for $60 million in 1986. Game Show Icon and close friend, Dennis James, served as the original commercial spokesman.

Granatelli died on December 29, 2013 in Santa Barbara, California. He died from congestive heart failure at the age of 90.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001. Granatelli was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2011 and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2013.

Allan McNish Born In Dumfries, Scotland - December 29, 1969

December 29, 1969

Allan McNish

(Photo: Dave Hamster via)
Born in Dumfries, Scotland.
Despite a briefly short and disappointing career in Formula One, McNish has become one of the world's most highly rated sportscar drivers. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, four-time winner at the 12 Hours of Sebring, as well as a three-time winner of the American Le Mans Series, which he last won in 2007. He won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2013.

 
(Photo: Hans J E via photopin cc)
On 17 December 2013, McNish announced his retirement from Audi Sport and from racing full-time. He has not ruled out racing individual events in the future. After retiring he took on a role with Audi Sport, including liaising between the team's drivers and engineers, between the team and motorsport organisers, and driver development. He is also manager of racing driver Harry Tincknell. He also works for BBC Sport as a commentator and pundit for their Formula One coverage.

McNish is two time winner of the Segrave Trophy (2009/2014), was awarded the BRDC Gold Star in 2014, and won the BARC Gold Medal in 2015.

"Motorcycle Hall Of Famer" Cal Rayburn Killed In Crash - December 29, 1973

February 20, 1940 - December 29, 1973

Cal Rayburn 

(Photo; Robert Ballard wfotuning)
Born in San Diego, California, USA.
Rayborn began riding motorcycles at an early age. He began his racing career in dirt track events in Southern California and in 1964, he began racing professionally in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship, a series which encompassed events in four distinctive dirt track disciplines plus road racing. Rayborn excelled at road racing, winning his first AMA national at Carlsbad, California in 1966.

His prowess on road courses earned him a place on the Harley Davidson factory racing team. It was with Harley Davidson that he achieved his greatest success, winning two consecutive Daytona 200 victories in 1968 and 1969. He also set two 1970 motorcycle land speed records. He accomplished a tremendous feat when he competed in the Trans-Atlantic Match Races in England in 1972. The Trans-Atlantic Match Races pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers. On an outdated motorcycle with no experience on British race tracks, Rayborn won three of the six races. At the end of 1973, it was apparent that the Harley Davidson team couldn't provide him with a competitive motorcycle, so Rayborn accepted an offer to race for the Suzuki factory.

In late 1973, Rayborn travelled to New Zealand to compete in an auto racing event and to test ride a Suzuki. At the Pukekohe Park Raceway outside of Auckland, Rayborn was killed when he crashed after the bike's engine had seized, and his body slammed into a wall close to the track.

Rayborn was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.

Michael Schumacher Seriously Injured While Skiing - December 29, 2013

December 29, 2013

(Photo: exit1979 via photopin cc)
Michael Schumacher, 7 time Formula One world Champion, suffered a serious head injury while skiing.

Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son Mick near Méribel in the French Alps. While crossing an unsecured off-piste area he fell and hit his head on a rock, sustaining a head injury despite wearing a ski helmet. According to his physicians, Schumacher would most likely have died had he not been wearing a helmet. Schumacher was put into a medically induced coma because of having suffered a traumatic brain injury.

On April 4th, 2014, Schumacher's agent reported that he was showing "moments of consciousness" as he was gradually withdrawn from the medically induced coma, adding to reports by relatives of "small encouraging signs" over the preceding month. In mid-June he was moved from intensive care into a rehabilitation ward. By June 16th, Schumacher had regained consciousness and left Grenoble Hospital for further rehabilitation at the University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. On September 9th, 2014, Schumacher left Hospital in Lausanne and was brought back to his home for further rehabilitation.

In November 2014, it was reported that Schumacher was 'paralysed and in a wheelchair' and he 'cannot speak and has memory problems'.

In a video interview released in May 2015, Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm said that his condition is slowly improving "considering the severeness of the injury he had"

In September 2016, Felix Damm, Schumacher's lawyer, told a German court that his client "cannot walk", in response to false reports from December 2015 in German publication Die Bunte that he could "walk a couple of steps".

David Empringham Born In Toronto, Ontario, Canada - December 11, 1963

December 28, 1963

David Empringham

(Photo: www.doranracing.com)
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
David is a 2-time Toyota Atlantic, 1-time Indy Lights and 2-time Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge champion.

Empringham began his racing career in 1987, competing in the Spenard/David Formula 2000 series. He then competed regularly in the GM Motorsport series (teammate of Canadian racing legend Richard Spenard) for several years, drove a handful of races in the IMSA Firestone Firehawk series, the Porsche Turbo Cup and Formula Toyota Atlantic.

In 1992, David began competing full-time in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, where he won back-to-back championships in 1993 and 1994. In 1993 David won the Championship with "underdog" CANASKA racing and Canadian Tire sponsorship, based out of Toronto, Ontario. 1994 saw David move to the BDJS racing team, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, taking the Canadian Tire sponsorship with him. 1995 saw David narrowly miss the three-peat, being beat out by Richie Hearn for the title.

1996 saw David make the move to Indy Lights, replacing Greg Moore, who had moved up to the team's CART operation, in the Player's/Forsythe racing Lola. 1996 saw many wins including a thrilling victory in the fastest Indy Lights race ever run on the high banks of Michigan International Speedway during the Inaugural US 500 weekend in May, and ultimately another Championship for "Emp's" mantle. 1997 saw some successes, but no championship. Despite his success in Atlantics and Indy Lights, amazingly enough Empringham never started a CART race.

In 2001, after several years out of the spotlight, David began competing Part-time in Grand-Am Cup and Grand-Am Motorola series races. During the 2005 season, he managed 2 victories and 8 top-ten finishes on his way to the GS series title with co-driver Scott Maxwell driving for Multimatic Motorsports.

Since then, Dave has competed in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in Time Attack events for the Sierra Sierra Enterprises (USA) team. Empringham is a two-time runner up at the World Time Attack Challenge in Sydney, Australia (2010, 2011), both times losing out to Tarzan Yamada, who drives for the Japanese Cyber Evo team in a similar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

In 2012 Empringham returned to full-time racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with co-driver John Farano in the #83 BGB Motorsports Porsche Carrera. After a consistent season of points finished, Dave and John won the 2012 driver's title.

Outside of the cockpit, Empringham’s experience and knowledge are in high demand as a driver coach.

Chad McQueen Born In Los Angeles, California - December 28, 1960

December 28, 1960
Chad McQueen

(Photo; mcqueenonline.com)

Born in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Chadwick Steven "Chad" McQueen is an actor, film producer, martial artist and race car driver. He was born in Los Angeles, California to American actor Steve McQueen and Filipino actress Neile Adams.

McQueen's racing career began early as he piloted a toy Ford Mustang in his father's lap during the film shoot of Le Mans. He teamed with Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx and his daughter Vanina, piloting a trio of Porsche 959s restored by Porsche Motorsports for the 2004 Goodwood event.

McQueen has competed in several types of racing from Motocross to the Baja 1000. At age 6, he won his class in the World Mini Grand Prix. In 2004, he qualified for the SCCA Runoffs, winning multiple events. Racing for Westernesse Racing, he finished 4th.

In January 2006, he was seriously injured in an accident at the Daytona International Speedway while practicing for the 24 Hours of Daytona Sports Car race. McQueen now says that his driving days are over. He returned to Daytona during the 2007 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race to thank the medics and track workers who he says saved his life.

In November 2007, he returned to the Daytona International Speedway and got behind the wheel of the Brumos 1975 Ecurie Escargot RSR, driving it in the exhibitions at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion III.

In January 2010, he started McQueen Racing LLC, a company which partners with leaders in the motorcycle and custom car industries to create limited edition high performance motorcycles and automobile transbrakes.

McQueen has worked as a film actor for some time, appearing as Dutch in The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II, and many other roles including a role in the 1995 film New York Cop with Mira Sorvino and in the action films Red Line as Jim and Death Ring. He has also worked as a producer, winning a Telly Award for his documentary Filming at Speed. He has appeared on numerous television programs related to motorsports, including Hot Rod TV and Celebrity Rides.

McQueen was married to Stacey Toten from 1987 to 1990. Together they had one son, actor Steven R. McQueen, who is currently playing the role of Jeremy Gilbert in the TV series The Vampire Diaries. Chad is also the stepbrother of producer and screenwriter Josh Evans, through his father's marriage to Ali MacGraw.

(Photo; pinterest.com)
Steve and Chad McQueen

Hans Stuck Born In Warsaw, Poland - December 27, 1900

December 27, 1900 – February 9, 1978

Hans Stuck

 (Photo; en.wikipedia.org)
Born in Warsaw, Poland.
Although his parents were of Swiss ancestry, they had moved to Germany by the time Stuck was born, and he grew up there. Besides his son Hans-Joachim, his grandsons Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck became race drivers. Despite many successes in Grand Prix motor racing, he is now mostly known for his domination of hillclimbing, which earned him the nickname "Bergkönig" or "King of the Mountains".

Stuck's experience with car racing started in 1922 with early morning runs bringing milk from his farm to Munich. This eventually led to his taking up hill-climbing; he won his first race, at Baden-Baden, in 1923. A few years later, after a year as a privateer for Austro-Daimler, he became a works driver for them in 1927, doing well in hill climbs, and making his first appearance in a circuit race, the German Grand Prix. In 1931, Austro-Daimler left racing, and Stuck eventually wound up driving a Mercedes-Benz SSKL in sports car racing, where he continued to excel.

In 1933, his acquaintance with Adolf Hitler, whom he had met by chance on a hunting trip in 1925, led to his involvement with Ferdinand Porsche and Auto Union in Hitler's plans for German auto racing. With his experience from racing up mountain passes in the Alps in the 1920s, he was virtually unbeatable when he got the new Auto Union car, which was designed by Porsche. Its rear mounted engine provided superior traction compared to conventional front engine designs, so that its horse power could be transformed into speed even on non-paved roads.

(Photo: kitchener.lord via photopin cc)
His career with Auto Union was quite successful. In 1934, he won the German, Swiss and Czechoslovakian Grand Prix races. There was no European Championship for the circuit races that year, or he would have won it. Wins in a number of hill-climb races brought him European Mountain Champion, the first of three he would eventually collect.

Hans Stuck - 1935 Auto Union Rekordwagen Typ Lucca.

(Photo: kitchener.lord via photopin cc)
In 1935, he won the Italian Grand Prix along with his usual collection of hill-climb wins, again taking the European Mountain Championship.

Hans Stuck - 1936 Auto Union Typ C

(Photot: kitchener.lord via photopin cc)
1936 was leaner; he placed second in the Tripoli and German Grands Prix, finishing second in the competition for the European Championship. After Stuck missed a number of hill-climbs because of injuries suffered in accidents, that year the European Mountain Championship fell to his famous team-mate, Bernd Rosemeyer. 1937 was equally lean, bringing only second places in the Rio de Janeiro and Belgian Grands Prix.

1938 opened poorly; Stuck was either fired from, or quit, the Auto Union team. After a series of injuries to other team drivers, as well as pressure from the German government, he was re-hired and proved himself by winning a third European Mountain Championship.

After the war, although Germans were banned from racing until 1950, Stuck obtained Austrian citizenship and immediately continued racing. A link with Alex von Falkenhausen led to Stuck driving for his team in Formula Two racing, although with little success.

He drove a Porsche Spyder in 1953, also with no success. A liaison with BMW, starting in 1957, was more fruitful. A switch to their tiny BMW 700 RS did the trick, and at age 60, he became German Hillclimb Champion for the last time. He decided to retire on a high note, and thereupon closed his professional driving career. As an instructor on the Nürburgring, he taught his son Hans-Joachim the secrets of this challenging circuit.

Hans Stuck died on February 9, 1978 in Grainau, Germany, at 77 years of age.

Terry Schoonover Born In Lima, Ohio - December 26, 1951

December 26, 1951 - November 11, 1984

Terry Schoonover

(Photo; findagrave.com)

Born in Lima, Ohio, USA.

As a rookie competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, he was killed in an accident in only his second race, at Atlanta International Raceway in 1984.

Schoonover's father was a well known powerboat racer, becoming one of the first people in history to pilot a pleasure craft at over one hundred miles per hour. Schoonover began racing at the age of sixteen in drag racing and later moved to racing on dirt tracks in West Palm Beach, Florida. After graduating from the Buck Baker Driving School, he served as a driving instructor at the school for a year. He would soon reach an agreement with Restore Auto Care Products to sponsor a limited NASCAR Winston Cup Series campaign in 1984 and a full-time campaign in 1985, driving a car he co-owned with his girlfriend Barbara Pike.

He made his Winston Cup debut at Rockingham Speedway in 1984, driving his own #42 Chevrolet home to a 21st place finish. The next race, at Atlanta International Raceway, on lap 129 Schoonover was involved in an accident where he hit the outside wall, then slid into the infield and struck a dirt embankment head on at a fairly high rate of speed. The safety crew had to cut the roof of his car and roll it back in order to extricate Schoonover from the car and he was eventually airlifted from the speedway to a local hospital where he died of massive head and internal injuries. His death was the first fatality at the Atlanta track.

Adrian Newey Born In Stratford-upon-Avon, England - December 26, 1958

December 26, 1958

Adrian Newey

(Photo; theguardian.com)

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

He is currently the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team. Newey has worked in both Formula One and IndyCar racing as a race engineer, aerodynamicist, designer and technical director and enjoyed success in both categories.

Newey gained a First Class honours degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Southampton in 1980. Immediately after graduation he began working in motor sport for the Fittipaldi Formula One team under Harvey Postlethwaite. In 1981, he joined the March team. After a period as race engineer for Johnny Cecotto in European Formula 2 Newey began designing racing cars. His first project, the March GTP sports car, was a highly successful design and won the IMSA GTP title two years running.

 Considered one of the best engineers in Formula One, Newey's designs have won numerous titles and over 150 Grands Prix. With ten Constructors' Championships he has won more than any other designer and is the only designer to have won constructor's titles with three different Formula One teams, while six different drivers have won the Drivers' Championship driving Newey's designs. After designing championship-winning Formula One cars for Williams F1 and McLaren, Newey moved to Red Bull Racing in 2007, his cars winning the Formula One drivers' and constructors' championships consecutively from 2010 to 2013.

Newey designs also won the 1985 and 1986 CART titles. Newey's March 85C design took the 1985 CART title in the hands of Al Unser, and the 1985 Indy 500 with Danny Sullivan. In 1986 Newey moved to Kraco to engineer Michael Andretti's car, while his March 86C design won the CART title and Indy 500 with Bobby Rahal.

Newey is an avid sports car collector and driver, having participated in the Le Mans Legend races for a few years. He destroyed a Ford GT40 while competing in 2006, but escaped with only a cut finger. He later wrecked a Jaguar E-Type at the Goodwood Revival Meeting.

In 2007, he made the move to modern racing, becoming part of the driver line-up in the AF Corse Ferrari F430 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Newey and co-drivers Ben Aucott and Joe Macari managed to finish 22nd outright, and fourth in class.

On June 8, 2014, Red Bull Racing announced that Newey has extended his contract for the next few seasons giving Newey a wider responsibility including “new Red Bull Technology projects”.

His son Harrison Newey has embarked on a career in motorsport, competing in his first full season of motor racing in 2015, finishing as runner-up in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship and also racing in German Formula 4. He went on to race in the MRF Challenge over the winter before stepping up to the European Formula 3 Championship for 2016

Happy Holidays!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

(Photo; pinterest.com)

Have a Safe & Happy Holidays from all your friends at This Day in Motorsport History.