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Drexel University 1973 Lexerd (Yearbook), pp. Instead, Donohue retired. Forgot password? 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. Mark Donohue returning from retirement to lead Roger Penske's Formula 1 team looked like a perfect match. No, I never worried about the dangers of racing, he said in March, 1974, in New York while being honored at a luncheon. Bernie Ecclestone hopes BBC agrees new Formula 1 UK TV deal, Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice, Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice As Roger Penske said, Mark wasnt flashy, but he put the numbers on the board.. As a person, he was always fun to be around, but I always admired that work ethic he displayed when it was time to race., Donohue was known as Captain Nice. To some, however, Donohue seemed distant and was later nicknamed Dark Monohue., Donohue was a good guy, said long-time racing journalist Robin Miller, who was a young reporter for The Indianapolis Star when Donohue raced at Indy. Revson's death made it almost inevitable that Donohue would come out of retirement. During a practice session for the race, Donohue lost control of his March after a tyre failed, sending him into the catch fencing at the fastest corner on the track, Vest Hgel Kurve. I didnt get to know my father very well because he passed away when I was young, but racing has given him back to me. He was my original partner in racing, Penske told Autoweek. 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. [17] That race was Penske's first NASCAR win in a long history of NASCAR participation. Seeing another man driving your car, a car you know so well. Neither Donohue or Penske forgot that remark, even after Donohue drove an astounding race and finished third. Donahue qualified fourth and passed Bobby Allison for the lead on Lap 10. See the article in its original context from. Acid-dipping car bodies was prevalent with competing Trans-Am teams also. To be sure, it seems what we now know as The Penske Way gained steam with Donohue as its pied piper. He did everything he could to lose me. Please try again. They made four NASCAR Cup Series starts in 1972 and while they displayed commendable speed Donohue never qualified worse than 11th, including a third-place start at Riverside they failed to finish three of the four races and earned a best finish of 15th at Atlanta. Cars that Donohue raced include: AMC Javelin, AMC Matador, Chevrolet Camaro, Eagle-Offy, Elva Courier, Ford GT40 MK IV, Ferrari 250LM, Ferrari 512, Lola T70, Lola T330, Lotus 20, McLaren M16, Porsche 911, Porsche 917/10, Porsche 917/30, Shelby Cobra, and Shelby Mustang GT350R. He knew racing drivers couldn't come back. Today, he works for Porsche Cars North America as client relationship manager. Donohue had stepped out of driving retirement . We started with a Lola 4-wheel drive, and in 1971 we got a McLaren. His body will be flown to the United States tomorrow and the funeral will take place Monday in Summit, N. J., where Donohue grew up and first got caught up in the hotrod phenomenon. A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 1 P.M. in St. Teresa's Church. Losing a driver is something you cant replace. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp "Can-Am Killer" Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1972. Showing Editorial results for mark donohue. Clark, J. In 1968 he was USRRC champion again, winning five of eight, and he was also Trans-Am champion, winning 10 of 13. Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results, Inskip Family History & Competition Engineering staff. It was. No one piece tells you what the puzzle is. Two weeks ago, he took the 1973 CanAm car out of mothballs and set a world speed record for a closed course of 221.160 miles an. Conversely, Mark had one of the greatest senses of humor of anybody I ever met. How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy, Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return, Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return On his second lap he approached the Vst-Hgel very fast right-hander at the end of the main straight when, at about 162 mi/h (260 km/h), a rear tyre of his March 751-Ford Cosworth suddenly blew up. He was sleeping at the shop, and he couldnt say no to Rogercouldnt decline more development, more cars, more projects., Weary and still recuperating from leg injuries sustained in an awful crash at Road Atlantawhich briefly left him allegedly abusing alcoholDonohue announced his retirement at the end of 73. Donohue was about to have his race victory taken away for cheating, but Roger Penske stepped in. Thank you. An investigation determined tire failure caused Donohue's fatal crash, and the family won a $12 million settlement. Donohue demolished Al Unser's IMS track record of 170.221mph with a 181.2mph practice lap on May 12, a day that still makes Penske chuckle. Please try again. In the four-race series, Donohue won the first and third of three races at Riverside and the final race of the year at Daytona. Mark Donohue's Fatal Crash - sterreichring 1975 (42 years ago) Humphrey The Auto Racing Fan 1989 2.38K subscribers Subscribe 54 Save 13K views 5 years ago Notice Age-restricted video. There was little question then that Donohue, who would testdrive the new car and help supervise its development, would come out of retirement. If we're right, by next season we could be the dominant team in Formula One.. In February of '65 Donohue was named as comptroller at Griffith Motors but was soon spirited away from Griffith by Roger Penske early in 1966. His fathers absence from the family took its toll, and eventually the marriage dissolved into divorce. That long association resulted in the ultimate triumph for an American driver in 1972, when he won the Indianapolis 500. He won Indy and we juiced him up and he was out there giving a speech and he was so funny that his sense of humor came out and everybody loved it. So in a televised interview after the incident, race driver Mark Donohue told the story of his horrific practice crash at Road Atlanta with carefully chosen words. Not true. We were there to go racing.. You can go away and the void that you leave gets filled quickly, but when you come back, you are greeted with open arms. In all, he won 57 major races and more than $1million. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. They also acid-dipped the body on the Camaro and had to caution people not to lean against it, for fear it would dent. He had one religion: testing. The singleseat, opencockpit Formula One cars used in grand prix racing have been called torpedoes. Mark Donohue & Manfred Schaller's Fatal Crash @ sterreichring 1975 (Aftermath) FatalMotorsportChannel 26.2K subscribers Subscribe 24K views 4 months ago Mark Donohue and Roger Penske had. Mark Donohue. I saw him race at Lime Rock in an Elva, and (longtime Penske friend and later president of the IROC series) Jay Signore said I should watch this guy. When Donohue took the Ferrari to Le Mans, the car attained only 205 mph on the straight versus the Porsche 917s 235 mph. The four-race schedule consisted of three races at Riverside and a finale on Daytonas road course. The $9500 price was a 50-percent premium over the fully optioned Camaro Racemark started with. He died two days later. I dont remember him changing a bit.. Donohue was the driver of Penskes first Brickyard effort in 1969. The two had a tremendous respect for each other and put their own personal egos aside to win races. Donohues degree from Brown in Mechanical Engineering got him a job designing filters for air conditioners -- not quite what he had in mind. He is known for Formula 1 (1950) and The Trans-Am Challenge (1972). The bungalow is where team manager Chuck Cantwell and the teams public relations director Dan Luginbuhl worked along with secretary Maryann ODonnell. Browse 481 mark donohue stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. He answered, "It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear.". Both Donohue and Penske changed teams to American Motors Corporation in 1970 and won their third championship in 1971. In 1967 and 1968, Trans-Am schedule included two of the most prized endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Donohue began his Trans-Am series campaign in 1967, winning three of twelve races in a Roger Penske-owned Chevrolet Camaro. When Mark Donohue died in Austria 40 years ago this week, motor racing lost not only a hugely successful driver, but also someone who would surely have enjoyed a long and productive career on the other side of the sport. It became official last September. 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]. Maybe it was some Austrian rock, but whatever it was, one of Donohue's tires blew at 160 miles an hour. Donohue chronicled his entire racing career in the book, The Unfair Advantage (co-written with noted motorsports and engineering journalist Paul Van Valkenburgh). The track chosen for the speed record attempt was the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Carrying the number 66, Donohue qualified 13 th for the California 500, but a burned piston ended his day early, on lap eight. The Penske PC1 was developed but the car proved problematic and midway through the season they decided to switch to a March 751 chassis. The Penske team leader, Heinz Hofer, said Donohue had told him after the crash that the left front tire had been punctured as he was traveling about 160 m.p.h. Donohue qualified his Penske midway the grid, and took it to the morning warm-up session before the start of the race. David Donohue is proof positive that apples dont fall far from the tree. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 917-30 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. He will be ranked with A. J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Andretti in the leading group of American drivers. When Penske decided late to enter Formula One full time, Donohue had a difficult decision to make. It was hard to believe because Donohue and team owner Roger Penske were then the cleverest guys in racing. Penske's new Penske Racing complex in Mooresville, North Carolina is decorated with various murals of Donohue and his racing cars, most notably the AMC stock car and the various Porsche prototypes that Donohue drove through his career. Please try again. But there was always that missing link, as he called itgrand prix. Riverside was over 2.6 miles long and the duration of the race 500 miles meant this particular event was more of an endurance contest. Czarnecki saw the brilliance, humor and darkness -- all part of Donohues character. Prof. Fritz Heppner, head of the neurosurgical department at Graz Hospital, said irreparable damage had been done to that part of the brain that controls involuntary body functions. Born in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Donohue grew up in Summit,[7] graduated from the Pingry School in Hillside, and entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. His Porsche 917-30 was so dominant it was called the Can-Am Killer, as he won seven of eight races and the 1973 Can-Am Championship. It would have been really fun to watch the two of them because they are so much alike. Harry Gant was a champion in 1985, Ricky Rudd was a champion in 1992 and Mark Martin became a five-time champion; all three failed to secure NASCAR championships. He took the lot to Lime Rock, Conn., and finished fourth in a sports car race. And my wife gave me permission, so when something like that happens you have to go. 12 and current Alltel decals) at the fall Rockingham, North Carolina, race. His lone NASCAR race win was just part of his narrative, but that victory another hurdle in auto racing cleared in partnership with Penske helped ignite a flame thats lasted over 50 years across different genres of the sport and in turn elevated the quality and intelligence of American racing. They discovered that using a drag racing trick of dipping a car in an acid bath would eat away small amounts of metal, which in turn made the car incrementally lighter, and allowed it to be driven faster. Truth is, they often didnt know if something would work., Thirty-three years after the big crash, Penske told Argetsinger: Mark was my best friend [this, despite Donohue once spearing his boss with an AMC Javelin in the pits, tossing Penske 15 feet]. Its as if his father is in his presence. 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 . Think about the championships we won together, the first Indy 500 victory for the team, three Trans-Am championships. He died two days later. It was August 9, 1975. He was a sweet gentleman in every race. The two proved to be like-minded peas in a pod. Donohue raced in the inaugural IROC series in 197374, racing identical, specially-prepared Porsche RSRs. Toy cars at the gravesite of Mark Donohue in Summit, New Jersey. With Donohues methodical approach and his commitment to work for Penske fulltime that counted for a lot Penske said. He just decided it was time to get out, and he wanted to do the Formula 1 program, Penske said. Directing other drivers, making suggestions, helping mechanicseven sweeping up around the garagewere not enough. In 1971, of the ten races that the Over 2.5L Class cars participated in, Donohue won seven of them, including the final six races in a row, with AMC winning the Manufacturers' championship for the first time ever. 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. That got everybodys attention -- the polished wheels, the way our guys looked, the way the cars were prepared and obviously, the performance was good. His average speed around the 2.66-mile (4.28 km) high-banked oval was 221.120 mph (355.858 km/h). As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The victory was the first for Penske in the Indy 500. 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. But he kept complaining of headaches and Mario Andretti, who also has an obsession with grand prix racing, said Donohue was lapsing in and out of consciousness, Donohue was rushed to a hospital at Graz where grays revealed blood clot on the brain. "We had stop watches back then, with a timing chart taped on the back that converted seconds to miles per hour, but 180mph didn't exist on the timing chart." 12 But he always had good equipment, too. Make sure you track out all the way for Turn 7. In an interview then, he talked of his disappointing grand prix showing. It became official last September. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? 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. Once, in 1971, he and Penske showed up at the Canadian Grand Prix and Jackie Stewart, the former world champion, kidded them: Welcome to the major leagues.. He died in 1975 a day after a crash during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. He wanted to know how we were doing. At the age of twenty-two,[citation needed] while a senior at Brown, Donohue began racing his 1957 Corvette. Since his remarriage eight months ago, those same friends found Donohue relaxed and cheerful, something he had not been while retired. When David Donohue was young, he never really got to know his father -- Mark Donohue. Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards, The key factors behind F1s Premier League-style managerial revolving door, The key factors behind F1s Premier League-style managerial revolving door He won three national sports car championships as an amateur before he turned professional in 1966, first as the late Walt Hansgen's codriver, then for the rest of his life with Penske. He was really the first person that I knew in racing that not only had the driving skills, but also the technical knowledge. 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 just that way. Mark Donohue was an enigma. He tried to be a team manager; that didnt work. Donohue won in every type of race car he climbed into except for one -- the Formula 1 March 751 that ultimately cost him his life. To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. August 19th marks twenty-five years ago that Mark Donohue passed away from brain trauma, which was caused from an accident while practicing for a Formula 1 event. Donohue dominated the 1967 race, driving a Lola T70 MkIII Chevrolet for Penske. For him, it was a check in the box, Penske recalled. The car did a series of cartwheels, and Donohue broke both legs. I used to hate riding with him to the airport, said Don Cox, a former chief engineer at Penske Racing when Donohue was with the team. [11] Earlier that year, co-driving with Hansgen, Donohue finished third at the 24 Hours of Daytona and second at the 12 Hours of Sebring. 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. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? This remains the last time a ringer captured a win in a Cup Series road course race, but the victory took on a far greater meaning in hindsight. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. Donohue died in the one aspect of auto racing he Had not conqueredgrand prix. Donohue, who also competed in endurance racing, IndyCar, NASCAR, Can-Am,. 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. Oops! Donohue finished fourth at Daytona and won the Trans-Am class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. (Photo: Bob DOlivo / The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images). We need an obit.. He was hit on the side of his helmet with debris as his car, which had suffered a punctured tire, went out of control in prerace practice and crashed through four rows of wire catchfences and some billboards along the Oesterreichring race course. Police have not yet released his identity. An experienced race driver named Walt Hansgen (who worked for Inskip Motors in New York & Rhode Island) recognized Donohue's ability[2] and befriended him, eventually providing an MGB (through Inskip Motors in Providence, RI and prepped by their race shop Competition Engineering)[8] for Donohue to race at the 1964 Bridgehampton His average speed around the 2.66-mile (4.28km) high-banked oval was 221.120mph (355.858km/h). 66 McLaren/Offenhauser that Mark Donohue drove to win the 1972 Indy 500. [4] He was survived by his wife and two sons from his first marriage. Coming out of turn seven at about 150mph (240km/h), the rear bodywork flew off the car, which became extremely unstable, lifted off the ground, and tumbled down the track. By 1973, the "Captain Nice" nickname he had earned earlier in his career was being supplanted by the nickname "Dark Monohue". After considering the potential consequences, the race stewards allowed Donohue's victory to stand, but the rules for the 1968 season incorporated a change whereby all cars would be weighed during the technical inspection before the race. He approaches things the same way. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). 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. I could see myself helping to develop the Formula One car, setting it up and then having some younger hotshot driver take over. Sometimes, I would leave early and take my own car to the airport because I didnt want to put up with him. Donohues dad was often racing in the United States or Canada for a fledgling operation called Penske Racing. Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design wont copy F1 rivals, FIA grants Hamilton medical exemption to wear nose studs, FIA grants Hamilton medical exemption to wear nose studs We were the college kids with the crew cuts and the polished wheels, Penske said. 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. Ford had developed a new GT, the Mark IV. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. His 59 wins remain the most of any driver for Team Penske. He never regained consciousness. But if his father, Mark Sr., a successful patent lawyer, never envisaged a racing career for his son, neither cid young Mark. Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. (born March 18 1937 in Haddon Township, New Jersey, United States - died August 19 1975 in Graz, Austria) was an American racing driver who most notably drove in Formula One and sports cars. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Donohue won. He knew, maybe all along, that he would come back. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. Donohue was able to obtain two fifth places in the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp and in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but scored five DNF's in the first 11 races of the season.A few days before going to Zeltweg for the Austrian Grand Prix, scheduled to be contested on 17 August 1975, Penske and Porsche attempted to set the world closed-course record.