Contact sheet of cars and portraits
I said that I would give the answers as to the subjects of these drawings. Here they are, beginning at the top row, left side:
Chris Economaki, sometimes I think that he has been an automotive journalist since before there were cars!
Next, Bruce Meyer, the man that formerly ran the Petersen Auotmotive Museum, in Los Angeles. Now he runs the membership organization for the museum, assuring that it has a secure future. He is also a car collector extraordinaire!
Next, in the cap, is Walker Edmiston, he posed for this picture, then never got to see it before he died. Walker raced sports cars, had his own local L.A. TV show in the fifties and sixties, and also did a lot of acting and voice work.
Bobby Rahal is next (you knew that one if you read the post about him.
Next is Al Unser Sr., four time winner of the Indy 5oo! I drew this portrait for his induction into the “Legends of Ascot” event in 2006.
Next to “Big Al,” is another one of my real heroes, Dan Gurney. I get to see him from time to time. A real classy guy.
Finishing out the top row is John Morton. Not only was John a great racer, but he taught many people how to race, as a racing instructor.
In the second row, is none other than Davey Jordan. In addition to being a legendary Porsche racer, he is a wonderful person. I attend a regular breakfast with Davey, and his terrific wife, Norma once a month, and am proud to call them friends.
Next is Tony Adamowicz, the man that never learned the meaning of “slowing down.” At 69 years, he is as fast as ever, and has raced very successfully in the last couple of months. If I owned a vintage race car, I would have Tony race it, it could have no better chance of victory!
Scooter Patrick is next. Another go-fast guy, Scooter has many interests, including his love of flying his own plane. I’m told that he flies it with the same joy as auto racing. That’s not hard to believe, his eyes light up when he tells me about flying.
Next is Derek Hill. Not only was he a successful racer, but he is a second-generation racer, his father is the late Phil Hill. I took the photo that served as the basis of this portrait at a literature fair, he was selling some of his father’s books, and prints of Phil’s racing photographs.
Bob Bondurant may have taught more people how to race than any other person alive today. He is still going strong, and I saw him this past April, and he looks great.
Jim Busby won the 24 Hours of LeMans, in class, TWICE! To have won once could have been a fluke, but twice, that makes you officially fast! He did it in a Lola/Mazda, and they still honor him for it.
Rick Knoop was Jim Busby’s co-driver at LeMans, and he is also Jim’s business partner. He is a super storyteller, and a very approachable driving star, like most of these guys.
Bud Meyer is next , he is from the family that developed the Meyer/Drake Offenhauser engine, the one that “owned” the Indy 500 for decades. Bud was a racer in his own right, setting several World Records on various dry lakes all across the U.S. He also raced inboard hydroplanes, very successfully. I’ve known Bud for more than fifty years! Once, when Bud was recovering from a racing accident, he asked my dad to race his boat for him. My father was a racer, but had never driven Bud’s boat before. In spite of that my dad won both races that day. Afterward, he told me that Bud’s boat was so beautifully prepared, it nearly raced itself!
Last, and certainly not least, is the perhaps the luckiest man in the World! Having won the 24 Hours of LeMans, Carroll Shelby knew that the chest pains that he was having were going to end his racing career. He didn’t have any money, and no prospects, but he had a charm that just made the impossible come true. He was the right guy in the right place, at the right time.
The Ford Motor Company realized that the average age of drivers was getting younger, and they took the risk to build cars for these younger buyers. They had to look good, of course, but they had to be FAST! Along comes a Texas car racer, and it was a marriage made in Heaven! Ol’ Shel may have embellished his story a bit, but the important thing is that he got it done, and he changed automotive history. He arguably started more people racing than other individual. A few years back, at The Petersen Automotive Museum, there was a dinner honoring Carroll. When they asked all of his former employees in attendance to stand up, they did, all sixty four of them! I wonder how many bosses could get that many people to honor them? Carroll Shelby is an American original!
Next time, I’ll tell you about the cars…