I had just put in 30 consecutive hours of writing, editing, and laying out race reports for CAR Weekly, which we sometimes spelled Weakly because there were only five of us and we possessed merely the slimmest notion of what we were doing. Foyt and Emerson Fittipaldi, among others tangible proof that, stock-car equipment being even, Donohue was a world beater. That long association resulted in the ultimate triumph for an American driver in 1972, when he won the Indianapolis 500. That took a couple of years. . Even with only three caution flags, the race lasted 12 minutes shy of five hours, a brutal exercise for the majority of the right-turn-averse stock car regulars, but nothing a veteran of the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring hadnt already experienced. To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. Its been 43 years since Donohues death, but he remains Penske Racings cornerstone. Toy cars at the gravesite of Mark Donohue in Summit, New Jersey. And neither found what they expected. That put Bettenhausen in the lead before a pinhole leak in the Bettenhausen cars cooling system with 12 laps to go put Donohue in the lead and the first of Penske Racings record 16 Indy 500 victories. A Pennsylvania native by the name of Mark Donohue, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, pedaled a red-white-and-blue AMC Matador to his only Cup Series victory in six career starts. A fire at the Sunoco refinery near the airport dominated the front pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer, but the sports section belonged to Mark Donohue, a racecar driver who had blown a tire during a practice run before the Austrian Grand Prix and died from complications related to the accident two days later, August 19, 1975. In August 1975, while practicing for the Austrian Grand Prix in a March 751, a tire failed, causing Donohue to lose control of the car. There were victories in stockcar racing against Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and the other Southern drivers; in the TransAm series, where three times he captured the season title competing against the best sedans the Detroit factories could produce; in the 24 hours of Daytona, against the best international sports cars endurance pilots, and in the initital Pocono 500 in 1971 against A. J. Foyt, Bobby and Al Unser, Mario Andretti and the other stars from the United States Auto Club championship circuit. This. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/20/archives/donohue-38-dead-of-racing-injuries-mark-donohue-is-dead-of-racing.html. Its always great that history is reviewed and remembered and adds more to the prominence and significance of the event to bring it all together. The 1972 Indy win was a classic race for the man who not only drove the race car but also served as its engineer and mechanic back at Penske Racing. The thing that impressed me most about Mark is how serious he was about racing, vehicle preparation and all of the things that we know that contribute to success, Czarnecki said. That was the most striking thing I ever saw him do. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. By the end of the crash, the front end of the car was missing, and Mark's legs were fully outside the car, with his only injury . It was, as they say in racing, a freak accident. Seeing another man driving your car, a car you know so well. He was just that way. Mark Donohue was an enigma. Sometimes, I would leave early and take my own car to the airport because I didnt want to put up with him. David Donohue drives his dad's 1972 Indy 500-winning car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. He finished the race in his McLaren-Offy setting a record speed of over 162mph (261km/h),[16] which stood for twelve years. At about 09h45 he left the pits again for another testing run. DON HUNTER, BILL OURSLER, THE MANUFACTURERS, Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. On his second lap, while at about 260 km/h a rear tire of his March 751 Ford suddenly blew, the out of control car went through the fence for about 180 feet, over a guard-rail and into a ravine. Back to Victory Lane, Every Indy 500 Winner from the Dawn of Time, In search of Team Penske racing legend Mark Donohue. The Penske grand prix car proved a disappointment and Donohue's best finish this season was a fifth place in the British Grand Prix. He turned out to be a real partner of mine. In the 19721973 season, driving an AMC Matador for Penske Racing in NASCAR's top division, the Winston Cup Series, Donohue won the season-opening event at Riverside. I was at Lime Rock, Connecticut, Donohue said. The winner of the 1972 Indianapolis 500 and the Can Am in l973. He thinks the same way. Donohue, too, recognized the accomplishment as something of a walk-off home run for his career, briefly retiring following his IROC championship before returning later that year with Penske to compete in the final two Formula 1 races. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Amazingly, Donohue only suffered an internal derangement of his knee with meniscus damage and limited cruciate plus collateral ligament damage. Hamilton: F1 retirement talk from Button and Hill not "helpful, How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy, How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy His true passion was racing. We had the tragic crash in practice and he seemed like he was all right, but he ended up losing his life. An investigation determined tire failure caused Donohues fatal crash, and the family won a $12 million settlement. Penske warned that any disqualification would have the potential of motivating Chevrolet to pull all support for the Trans-Am series. He was on for a second appearance at the Glen, but a practice accident saw Mark being replaced by David Hobbs. GRAZ, Austria, Aug. 19 (AP)Mark Donohue, who ended an eightmonth retirement as an auto driver last year because he couldn't keep away from racing, died tonight of injuries suffered Sunday at the Austrian Grand Prix. He won three times in IndyCar competition and won the 1973 NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California, driving an AMC Matador. But Donohue knew that time was running short and his skills and reflexes weren't getting any better. Her . The Newtown Square facility was a small, 4,000 square-foot garage out back with a small bungalow in front of the shop. They were just forging ahead, David Donohue recalled. [2] Donohue announced that he would retire from racing after the 1973 Can-Am season. Allison, the runner-up finisher, will forever be in awe of what he witnessed from Donohue, with whom hed eventually work while driving for Penske. Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. They changed the grille and taillight to the 1968 model, and then painted both cars identically. Walt Czarnecki, Team Penske vice chairman and among the operations early members, has a deep admiration and respect for what Donohue meant to the Penske organization. [citation needed]. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? Mark Donohue (1937-1975), pictured here with wife Eden and nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American race driver who is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp Can-Am Penske Porsche 917-30 and as the 1972 Indianapolis 500 winner in a Team Penske-entered McLaren.Sadly, he perished in an accident during practice for the 1975 Austrian Formula One Grand Prix. When Penske Racing took delivery of a Ferrari 512M, for instance, they immediately fabricated a bigger rear wing. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. Five weeks after winning the 500, Donohue was testing his Can-Am Porsche 917-10 at Road Atlanta when the car got airborne at 160 mph. With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. Strange and smart, but very driven., The drive set Mark Donohue apart and made him the winningest driver in Team Penske history. On 09 August he reached an average speed around the 2.66 mile high-banked oval, of 221.120 mi/h (about 355 km/h), this has been a World record for several years.Donohue and the Penske team then made the trip to Austria. The only person to beat Donohue was his former Penske Trans-Am teammate, George Follmer. We started to look at data Mark was an engineer at Brown (University), and that was certainly part of it, but we were committed. I think I was the first guy to assert that Mark was a better driver than an engineer, says Bedard. During his stay at Griffith Mark drove the Griffith-owned Shelby 289 Cobra making his mark on the SCCA circuit. Ford immediately signed Donohue to drive one of their GT-40 Mk II race cars campaigned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Holman & Moody racing team. IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane Mark Donohue Fatal Crash (Alternate Footage) Browse more videos Playing next 5:35 Airplane Crash Compilation 2015 SHOCKING FOOTAGE - Most Epic Plane Crashes Caught on Camera Fatal Ab Tak 4:59 Airplane Crash Compilation 2015 SHOCKING FOOTAGE - Most Epic Plane Crashes Caught on Camera Fatal punjabi & islamic tv 5:35 After an initial run of four laps, Donohue entered the pits for a routine check-up and a few adjustments. The front of the car was torn away, leaving Donohue, still strapped to his safety seat, with his legs dangling outside the car. Donohue won in 1972, driving for Penske. They were embarrassed, and like the streak of success following the 71 Indianapolis 500, they returned to Riverside in 1973 with a heavy chip on their shoulders. Maybe it was some Austrian rock, but whatever it was, one of Donohue's tires blew at 160 miles an hour. In 1968 he was USRRC champion again, winning five of eight, and he was also Trans-Am champion, winning 10 of 13. My friends began warning me., Racing was becoming an obsession, but in 1965, he realized: Maybe I can make a living out of something like to do. The book was published shortly before Donohue's death. On the phone, the editor said, You gotta come back in. The two drivers disagreed on many aspects of racing and car setup, but as a team were able to muster a fourth-place finish in the endurance classic.[13]. We will get back to you in 24 hours. He was the thinking man's driver, maybe because, unlike most of his rivals, he had an Ivy League education and maybe because looking at that cherubic face, which was several years younger than his racescarred body, there was no other way to explain how this kid was winning. He was so key in the operation when he was there its something we had to rebuild. Hangsen was killed testing a car for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that all memorial donations be sent to the Auto Racing Fraternity Foundation, 13539 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, Queens. He had been a national amateur champion and the Sports Car Club of America driver of the year in 1965. Mark Donohue. The 1975 season turned out to be a difficult one for Donohue and Penske. David Donohue is proof positive that apples dont fall far from the tree. And, according to Cox, Roger certainly did his part in coming up with next projects.. To be sure, it seems what we now know as The Penske Way gained steam with Donohue as its pied piper. Event the win at the 1972 Indianapolis 500 created more sleepless nights, because the win did not come on his own terms. It is core to the myth of Mark that he was just an okay driver but a genius engineer. Advertisement. In auto racing, though, even thinking man's drivers can get killed by punctured tires. We need an obit." Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar supporting a sign. An out-of-court settlement was reached Wednesday at Providence, R.I., in the appeal of a $9.6-million Superior Court verdict awarded the estate of race driver Mark Donohue, killed during practice . Search instead in Creative? "Going down the back straightaway, the wing, which produced a tremendous amount of downforce at high speeds, came off the back of the car," Donohue claimed.
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