Dan Gurney
1970 Daytona 24-hour
Dan Gurney was my childhood hero – like virtually every baby boomer race enthusiast in America in the 1960s. I was surprised to see him at Daytona in 1970 where he drove a Ferrari 512 for Luigi Chinetti’s NART – a car that would need to be extensively modified to fit him! I got to see him race here and at Sebring the next month but never could muster the courage to go up and introduce myself. Even though the facilities at Daytona were luxurious compared to Sebring, drivers did not have motorhomes to retreat to when they weren’t needed. Dan obviously took some initiative to have a bike to quicken the trip to the Holiday Inn located across the street from the Speedway. This shot says something special to me because later in the year Dan would announce his retirement from racing.