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Intro:
Dan Gurney is probably one of the greatest American drivers of all time that most everyday motorsport fans don’t know. He has multiple wins in NASCAR, Indycar (USAC), and Formula One, along with a 24 Hours of Le Mans win. This documents around 11 or so years of his racing career from 1956 to 1967, and a little beyond.
Daniel Sexton Gurney was born in New York on April 13, 1931 to John Gurney and Roma Sexton. Dan moved to California at a young age and was interested in midgets and drag racing. However at a young age he fought in the Korean War for 18 months on the frontlines but returned luckily unharmed. He had his first race at Torrey Pines in a sportscar event driving a Triumph TR2 and finished 10th overall, 3nd in his class.
Early Career
In 1956 Gurney would make miscellaneous sport car events (7 total recorded) and he had finished a best of 2nd with all the races being with a Porsche 356. 1957 he would start making entries for people, and had his first win at Riverside, a track that will be written about a lot later, while driving a Corvette. But then his first big moment came through after that first win, he started driving for Frank Arciero, a famous person equivalent to Kyle Busch or JRM, he found major talents such as Phil Hill, John Fitch, Carroll Shelby are just some examples.
1958:
1958 was probably the biggest year of his life at the time as it marked his national venture into motorsports along with his international motorsport start. He competed in the 24 Hour of Le Mans and didn’t finish (DNF). Gurney did however with the inaugural USAC Road Racing Championship finish, while may not seem impressive considering he didn’t win any races, but had people such as Jim Rathmann (1960 Indy 500 winner), Bob Said (Borris Said’s father), and others who made entries to Formula One races. Out of the four race season, Dan finished did not arrive (had an entry), wasn’t entered in the second event, and then finished second in the last two.
1959:
Something I didn’t mention earlier was that Arciero was a Ferrari type of guy and Gurney was called up after Mike Hawthorne retired by Maranello, one of Ferrari’s head people at the time. In 1959 Gurney had driven every race in a Ferrari, except for one (Maserati). Dan drove at the 12 Hours of Sebring, which he and Phil Hill won, along with Chuck Daigh, and Olivier Gendebien. The four won over their teammates who finished a WHOLE lap behind them, with third finishing FOUR laps back. Other famous racers include Sterling Moss and Wolfgang Von Tripps. While Dan and Daigh needed help for the race from Hill and Gendebien, they won the race with an amazing lead.
Another big sports car event that Gurney participated in was the 1000km Nurburgring in which he and Cliff Allison qualified 3rd and finished 5th overall out of 40 that finish, another 20 or so DNF. The 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans was a DNF for Gurney, and the last race for the World Sportscar Championship at Goodwood, Gurney had finished 5th. However Dan Gurney would also make his Formula One debut in 1959 driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
Dan Gurney made four Formula One starts in 1959 out of the nine total races he could have. His first race, the French GP, he DNF due to a radiator issue on lap 19 of 50 after qualifying 12th. The next race, the German GP at AVUS, would be his best result in Formula One until 1961, and the drive in Germany was something of another class.
Dan had a horrible start to the race (he started 3rd and fell back to 6th in position. He got passed Jack Brabham and Masten Gregory on the second lap (Gregory retired on lap 23) and got passed Moss after he had gear issue. During the race there was a lot of passing between the Coopers and Ferrari’s, and at one point Gurney had climbed the back of Gregory’s wheel but somehow managed to continue. While some could argue that Dan was helped by the fact of the horrible attrition rate (from mechanical failures) you can’t argue he earned it, finishing in second over a minute ahead of 3rd place Ferrari driver Phil Hill, yes, the Phil Hill who would win the WDC 2 years later. Dan also led 8 laps, the first of his career in Formula One.
The next race was at Portugal where Dan had another great finish, the bottom step of the podium, or third for you non F1 fans. Dan Gurney was the only Ferrari driver who finished in the points, and the only one in the top 8 only finishing behind Moss and Gregory. At Monza Dan Gurney didn’t have impressive of a result as he did in the last two but still finished in the points (4). Gurney would finish the season seventh in points.
1960:
The start of the new decade for the American would be a lot different than what he was probably expecting. The 1960 season for Dan Gurney would show horrible reliability on the new BRM P48, probably named for the position he thought he would finish every race. After missing the Argentine GP next was Monaco which was his first Monaco Grand Prix. He was unhappy with the car in qualifying and qualified 14th, but only managed to get finish P10 (retired from race) after having suspension issues, he only completed 44 of 100 laps. For the Dutch Grand Prix our friend Dan wasn’t too happy during practice having difficulties with the car, yet amazingly qualified sixth, however his teammates, Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill, qualified fourth and fifth respectively. On lap 11 of the race Dan Gurney had an issue with his brakes, and his front wheels locked up and got sent over a bank and broke bones in his forearm, luckily those were his only injuries. Unluckily for Gurney, his teammate, Graham Hill, took P3, the only podium for the BRM team for the season.
For the Belgium Grand Prix at Spa, Dan Gurney qualified 12th, and dropped out of the race due to engine issues on lap 4, his teammate Graham Hill out on lap 6, and Bonnier out on lap 14. Luckily for the BRM squad none of their drivers were hurt or killed due to the amount of casualties for this race weekend which saw 2 drivers seriously injured (Moss and Taylor) during practice and two drivers killed during the race (Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey). France had an interesting start to the weekend when the cars for Bonnier and Gurney were late to the track, while Hill had his on time. However, two BRM cars started in the first two rows (3rd and 6th), as the grid was 3x3, however Gurney would retire only lap 17 due to engine issues again. Great Britain would be his only finish of the season, and he finished 10th after qualifying 6th. The last two races, the Portugal GP (qualified P2!) and his home race, the USGP, at his home track, Riverside International Raceway (qualified P3) would be retirements, only completing around 43 of the total 130 laps he could have. BRM and other British constructors didn’t show up to the Italian Grand Prix due to the dangers of running the banked Monza track.
Probably his worst run in Formula One, Dan Gurney finished the season without being classified, 6 retirements in 7 attempts in the BRM P48 didn’t show his talents, but in sports cars he did okay I guess at the 1000km Nurburgring. Or he won the race driving with his co-driver Stirling Moss driving a Maserati Tipo 61. I guess not all of 1960 was a disappointment, but 1961 gets better.
1961:
Porsche made their first full season with Dan Gurney and Jo Bonnier, who is someone you read about earlier (they were teammates in 1960 at BRM). At Monaco Dan qualified one spot behind his teammate in 10th, but managed to finish fifth two laps down at the end, earning his first points since 1959. For the Dutch Grand Prix Gurney had qualified sixth but finished 10th, and this race was historical due to the fact it was the first race without any retirements, and no pit stops were needed as well. For the Belgium Grand Prix Dan Gurney started 10th on the grid but worked his way up to sixth place scoring more points (first through sixth got points). The 1961 French Grand Prix would be the closest Dan Gurney got to winning that year, and it was a phenomenal race between him and the young Italian driver, Giancarlo Baghetti.
While Dan Gurney finished second that race, I bet he was almost in tears with how close he was to winning his first Formula One race, he was leading out of the final corner after battling Baghetti for the lead during the last 10 laps, interchanging the top position, it was Baghetti who pulled out from behind Gurney on the final straight and won by 0.1 seconds, around half a car length over Dan Gurney in one of the closest Formula One finishes. The next two races at the British and German Grand Prix he was off, finishing 7th in both events, which was still better than the previous season. The Italian Grand Prix overshadowed his amazing drive from 12th to second by Wolfgang Von Trips horrible crash killing 16 people (15 spectators and himself) and would end his chance of a championship.
The next race was the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and it was the final race of the 1961 season, and the end of Dan Gurney’s best season (arguably). Dan qualified seventh on the grid and finished second for the third time of the season bringing him to fourth in the final standings, tied for third to Stirling Moss, one of the all time greats. Porsche was a great team for Dan Gurney as he had great reliability finishing every race and scoring points in every race but two where he barely missed it (seventh twice). While he did not do anything too special in the sports car world, I think Dan was gaining experience still after losing a lot to the horrible 1960 Formula One season. Gurney finished fourth in the standings.
1962:
Remember Dan’s friend Frank? Well Dan still raced for Frank at the beginning of the 1962 3 Hours of Daytona race to start the World Sportscar Championship. However, this race was won by amazing thinking by Dan as his car engine started to expire, he stopped right before the start/finish line. He was one lap ahead of his next competitor and if he waited just the right amount of time all he would have to do is cross the start/finish line to win, but if he went early he would have to do another lap and probably lose the race. Dan won the inaugural 24 Hours of Daytona race, which was then only 3 hours.
I’m not sure if Holman-Moody or any other NASCAR teams were watching the 3 Hours of Daytona race but Dan Gurney also made his first two NASCAR Grand National (now MENCS) starts, the first for the Daytona Duel #1 where he finished 5th behind NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts and Cotton Owens and finished ahead of Junior Johnson (although Johnson had issues at the end). Top 5 wasn’t bad, but he would finish 27th during the Daytona 500 due to an engine failure ending his NASCAR season, his first two starts.
Probably not satisfied for having to leave Daytona early he also competed in the Indianapolis 500, After qualifying eighth, I think people started to take him more serious due to the position in his first USAC Champ Car Series start (he won the 1958 USAC Road Racing Championship) finishing 20 of 33 having rear end issues which resulted him retiring nearly halfway through on lap 96.
Gurney also participated in the USAC Road Racing Championship for the final season before the series folded. Dan won the first race beating someone you may know, his name is Roger Penske, The next race Gurney would finish 16th due to an issue, and the third race he returned to the top and won the Kent race. However Gurney would retire from the last two races which ended his hopes on a championship again in the series. Roger Penske won one of those races.
Gurney returned with Porsche as a hopeful competitor for the 1962 Formula One championship battle, yet this would not be the case as the first race he would have gearbox issues and retire after qualifying eighth for the Dutch Grand Prix. Monaco was the next race and he qualified fifth, and was hoping for a better race. This was not the case as there was a typical street circuit pile up to due to heavy, unexpected braking. Others taken out include American Richie Ginther, Trintignant, and then Ireland was also involved but could continue. After that abysmal start to the season Gurney looked ahead to the Belgian Grand Prix- a race he and Bonnier, his teammate at Porsche, did not start. He was entered for Wolfgang Seidel but the car was deemed “unraceworthy” by Dan Gurney.
The 1962 season was appearing to be a repeat of 1960, if not a little worse. Up next was the French Grand Prix where Dan Gurney qualified his typical mid top 10 area in sixth. Ferrari drivers did not compete due to a strike, and Phil Hill along with two other drivers missed the race. With the track being rough, it would do harm to the field taking out around half of the competitors, greatly helping Dan Gurney throughout. Dan was in a world of his own that race however after lap 42 when the person most likely to win, Graham Hill, lost the race with a fuel injection issue and Gurney’s closest competitor at the end was second place Tony Maggs, his first podium, and Richie Ginther in third, Maggs a lap down and Richie two laps down. After four second place finishes along with one third place finish, Daniel Gurney was officially a Formula One winner!
Between the French and British Grand Prix there was the Solitude Grand Prix which was not counted for the championship. Dan Gurney qualified second but around the halfway point Jim Clark crashed out and Gurney led after that point winning the race, and Bonnier finished second. The British Grand Prix Dan qualified his typical sixth but finished 10th, two laps down. The German Grand Prix pole was won by Dan Gurney, but had poor handling during the race and finished third. Dan Gurney finished fifth for his last race of the 1962 season after qualifying fourth at the United States Grand Prix, and did not participate in the South African Grand Prix. Gurney finished fifth this season.
1963:
Dan Gurney decided to try NASCAR again and teamed up with Holman-Moody in the #0 car at Riverside for the Riverside 500, the first ever NASCAR event on a road course that was 500 miles, and it was a long race. A very long race which lasted nearly 6 hours, and Dan Gurney had qualified eleventh. With AJ Foyt, Paul Goldsmith, and others, Dan Gurney had a tough field to get through at his home track. AJ Foyt started second, but quickly took the lead for the first two laps, Paul Goldsmith passes him and leads until lap 5 when Parnelli Jones who started 15th takes the lead and leads for 30 or so laps, was also a favorite to win (led 120 of 200 laps in the 62’ Indy 500). Gurney leads his first NASCAR laps during green flag pit stops and leads a total of 18 until Jones takes the lead back on lap 60, he leads for 10 laps only to drop out due to transmission issues.
Gurney, knowing the track better than anyone, is the favorite after Jones retires. Fireball Roberts leads for some laps until Gurney catches up, and Roberts pits but now has car troubles helping Gurney. After lap 100 Dan Gurney dominated at his home track to win in just his third NASCAR start, and led 120 of the 185 laps with AJ Foyt in second. Danny Weinberg, Jim Paschal flipped (the latter a lot worse) and Clem Proctor jumped a guardrail, and another car climbed the car ending the race.
The next race was the Daytona Duel #1, and our boy, now 32, finished fifth in the first duel race, finishing behind the likes of Junior Johnson, Paul Goldsmith, and AJ Foyt. The 5th Daytona 500 was a race which Ford finished first to fifth, and also tenth. In the amazing story for Tiny Lund, Dan Gurney finished an almost equally impressive fifth place (one lap down).
Dan Gurney returned for the 1963 Indianapolis 500 which featured the famous race where Jim Clark almost won, but finished second with the inability to pass Parnelli Jones. Dan qualified 12th but finish seventh in his second Indy 500 start. The next race that Dan Gurney took place for the 1963 USAC season was at the Milwaukee Mile, and he qualified second at his first time at the track. The person who won the pole was his teammate, Jim Clark. You may have heard of him if you’re a historical F1 fan, but Jim Clark won the race while Dan Gurney finished third, with AJ Foyt splitting them in the middle.
The next race that Gurney and Clark took place in was the Trenton 200 at Trenton, and the duo would start 1-2. Clark would lead until lap 49 and then Gurney took the lead and led for around 100 laps, but dropped out due to an oil line issue finishing 16th (Clark dropped from the lead and DNF due to the same reason).
Formula One for Dan Gurney would be, spoilers, winless, in 1963 as he joined Brabham due to Porsche pulling out of F1 despite the win Gurney earned. Dan Gurney would be taking a risk joining the young team as it was formed a year before, however he would join two time world champion (at the time) Jack Brabham. Dan Gurney would qualify where he normally does at the Monaco Grand Prix (sixth) and have differential issues earning a retirement. At the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix Dan would qualify an impressive SECOND place for the young brabham, beating the world champion who qualified sixth. Jim Clark would lap everyone but McLaren (second), however on the podium was Gurney, who had just earned Brabham’s first podium.
Clark killed the field at the next race (Dutch Grand Prix) where Gurney qualified sixth but managed an impressive SECOND place (1 lap down). One year before Gurney had won the French Grand Prix, he qualified third for the 63’ season, but finished only managing to get fifth. Gurney would qualify second again at the British Grand Prix only to have engine issues and dropout, but the German Grand Prix he only managed to qualify 13th and had gearbox issues issuing a retirement. Gurney would once more finish due to an issue but qualified fifth, finishing 14th (was classified). Gurney would qualify again sixth but retire again due to issues at the United States Grand Prix. Dan Gurney would qualify fourth for the Mexican Grand Prix and score a point, but three laps down. The South African Grand Prix was a lot better for Gurney as he qualify third and finish the race second, finishing the season which was probably sad in the middle but the beginning and end on a good note. He would finish fifth in the standings.
1964:
Gurney would return to NASCAR, this time with the Wood Brothers, and this combination of driveteam would be deadly at Riverside. Dan Gurney’s closest rivals on track retired (Richard Petty and Fred Lorenzen) and he dominated leading 142 of the 185 laps, and had second place one lap down (Marvin Panch), Fireball Roberts two laps down, and fifth was 5 laps down. Absolutely killed the field this race.
Next up was the Daytona Duel #2 race. Dan started and finished 10th, one lap down. The Daytona 500 would see the superstar starting 20th, but finishing 14th, eight laps down. He would take part of his first non Riverside/Daytona NASCAR sanctioned event at Atlanta for the Atlanta 500 which would be Gurney’s worst result due to a crash. He ended up 36 of 39 and only completing 17 laps. Only 10 people would finish this race and this would be Gurney’s last race outside of Riverside, his home track.
Gurney also competed in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT class, and he actually finished, first in his class and fourth overall. It would be his only sports car “win” of the year, having a best place finish second in other competition. Dan also competed for the 1964 Indianapolis 500, qualified sixth and finished 17th after having tire issues, retiring from the race.
1964 was in a way okay in Formula One getting a couple of wins. The Monaco Grand Prix he would qualify fifth but drop out due to gearbox issues, but Gurney would win the pole for the Dutch Grand Prix but retire again after a fourth of the race distance completed. Gurney would win the pole for the Belgian Grand Prix and led for the majority of the race, all but 5 or so laps. However he ran out of fuel with two laps to go and finished sixth. For the French Grand Prix Dan Gurney would be looking for revenge, and I think it is safe to say he got that revenge.
I would say this was one of the drives of his career, reported as the 50th French Grand Prix, Dan Gurney was looking for his second win at Rouen, back in 1962. Gurney qualified second right behind the legendary Jim Clark. After a couple laps it was Jim Clark and Dan Gurney all by themselves dominating the field, no one close by to either one of them. While Gurney was making bold moves (aka crashing the Ferrari while lapping them) Clark’s engine went down a cylinder and on lap 30 Gurney took the lead, 27 laps later taking the win for the second win of his career, his second win at Rouen. Gurney winning also meant the first win for Brabham which would later be very successful.
For the British and German Grand Prix Gurney would start third both races but fall out of contention in both. For the Austrian GP, Gurney would qualify fourth but jump to lead the first lap, fell back but regained the lead until lap 46 where he dropped out due to suspension issues. After qualifying second at Monza, he would be a favorite to win the race. He would lead the first lap, but with the constant battle with Clark, McLaren, and Surtees, with only Gurney and Surtees leading. There were at least 27 lead changes, however it would be Surtees who’d win as Gurney dropped out of contention on lap 66 and just lapped the rest of the race slowly after leading 22 laps overall.
With the second to last round being at his home country, Gurney was looking to impress at Watkins Glen, and he he had a good chance after qualifying third but dropped out, and completed only 69/110 laps. Looking to end his season on a high note in Mexico, Gurney qualified second once again. Jim Clark dominated the race, while Gurney didn’t have competition in second place. It was looking like a second place finish until Clark’s car started to leave a trail of oil on the track, and Clark pulled into the pits coming into the last lap. Gurney took the lead of the race and won his third race, while Clark lost another championship, Surtees won his first and only Formula One Championship.
Gurney had an average qualifying position of 2.6, and that’s including the fifth and fourth place starts. Also impressive, he led 1/5 of the total laps he completed, and finished sixth in the points. Unfortunately it was looking like 1965 would not be a win filled season, but rather a good, consistent, season for Gurney.
1965:
The 1965 NASCAR Grand National race at Riverside appeared to be another thriller as Junior Johnson and Dan Gurney would battle it out for the win, Gurney looking for his third in a row win at Riverside, but he would have to climb through the field after qualifying 11th. Parnelli Jones took the early lead, and lead did he for the first 36 laps before encountering mechanical issues taking him out of contention giving Junior Johnson the lead, who was the pole sitter for a couple laps before Gurney takes the lead again.
Towards the middle of the race it appears Gurney’s teammate (Marvin Panch) and AJ Foyt look strong for contention as Ned Jarrett's car explodes, luckily he is uninjured. Gurney and Foyt have one of the battles for the lead which makes road course racing fun to watch, however the battle would end with Foyt spinning himself after tailing Gurney and racing too hard. Towards the later stage of the race, AJ Foyt has a terrible crash where he goes airborne (lost his brakes) and hit the ground causing him to flip front over end a few times and was in critical condition due to it. However the race continued and Gurney gets his third Riverside win in a row, and leads an incredible 128 laps of the 185 total, and had a roughly 30 second lead at the end.
In USAC, Gurney would start in his own car, driving for AAR, or All American Racers. He would qualify in the top three for all three events (third 2x, second 1x) and would finish 26th at the Indy 500, third at Milwaukee, and 12th at the second Milwaukee race where he led 28 laps, but drop out due to an engine failure. His teammate in previous attempts at the Indy 500, Jim Clark, would take the 1965 Indy 500 win in dominating fashion leading 189 of the 200 laps, with close rival Parnelli Jones finishing second.
In Formula One Dan Gurney would have a really decent season, but with no wins. The South African Grand Prix would see Gurney drop out with yet another mechanical failure and then miss the next race at Monaco (similar to Alonso in 2017) to race in the Indy 500 and finished 26th, Clark would win. In Belgium, Gurney would qualify fifth but finish 10th, and then do the same qualifying result in France (fifth) but retire on lap 16. After a horrible first half of the season Gurney finally turned it around coming towards the second half.
Dan would manage only seventh in qualifying for the British Grand Prix but fight and finally finish in the points, rather earning only one point, but being the only non-British driver in the points. For the Dutch Grand Prix Dan would manage to get third after qualifying fifth, then replicated the results in the German (qualified p5) and the Italian Grand Prix (qualified ninth). At Watkins Glen, second to last race, Gurney managed to qualify eighth, but have a phenomenal drive to fighting to lead the race for a good section along with his team boss, Jack Brabham, fighting against Graham Hill who would eventually win with Gurney in second. At the final race of the season Dan would qualify second and finish in the same position, and fellow American Richie Ginther won the Mexican Grand Prix. Graham Hill, Clark, and Stewart all dropped out allowing it to be a win for someone else.
Final points position: Fourth again with five podiums (in a row), zero wins however kind of halted his run. This would be his final season with Brabham where he got two wins, and ten total podiums in 29 races, and ten total retirements for the American. The 1966 season is where our story starts coming to a close with two more total seasons left in our story, but Dan’s story goes on still today.
1966:
Dan Gurney would return in 1966 with the Wood Brothers yet again at Riverside attempting his fourth win in a row at the historical track, his home track at that. Dan Gurney would qualify an impressive second, his best to date in NASCAR, while David Pearson, won the pole. Also impressive was Curtis Turner who would be in contention for the win at Riverside on that January afternoon. Gurney would take the lead early on but then a little later Turner and Gurney begin to battle, similar to AJ Foyt at the previous years event. Unlike the previous year's event, Turner gets around Gurney.
Gurney would lead and then Turner would lead, and flip flop for a while. However Gurney would remain to lead as Turner spins out and Pearson gets by ending the chances for him, Gurney would go on to lead the last 102 laps consecutively, and would win his fourth in a row at Riverside. Gurney would finish 70 seconds in front of second place David Pearson while Curtis finished fourth, two laps down. Gurney would lead 148 laps of the 185 scheduled and set a new track record with 97 miles per hour.
In USAC Gurney would race for AAR again in 1966, however he would just start the Indy 500 and no other events. Gurney would finish 27th after qualifying 19th, while fellow Formula One stars Graham Hill and Jim Clark would top the box score, and Stewart finishing sixth in his first attempt (led 40 laps). Gurney would be taken out in a crash which would also take out ten other drivers before the first corner. Luckily Gurney would be unhurt, but the same can’t be said about his car.
Formula One would be his first year for his own team, and he did decent compared to other teams first season in Formula One who would miss being taken out in the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, but still be five laps down due to issues. Gurney would finish the season 12th in points with four total, and didn’t complete a single event for the full length of any race (his best being one lap down). He finished fifth twice for his best result in the following the season of finishing on the podium on the last five races.
1967:
NASCAR was probably tired of Gurney/Wood Brothers domination duo so in the 1967 Gurney raced for Bill Stroppe instead. Gurney would still manage to qualify third for the event and for a couple laps around lap 20 of the event between stops, and then would lead for 30 laps around lap 50 until Parnelli Jones would take the lead and win, thus ending Gurney’s four race win streak and stopping his ability to win his fifth in a row. Gurney would finish 12th after blowing up on lap 143 of the 185 lap event.
Probably disappointed, Gurney would return to the Indy 500 with high hopes, mainly because he qualified second for the race in his AAR car (probably). Surprisingly Gurney would only lead two laps and finish again in 21st after having piston issues with only a fifth of the race left. Also a Formula One driver did not win the race, AJ Foyt did and the best F1 driver at the time that won was Denny Hulme who finished fourth. Gurney returned at Riverside for the last race of the season at Riverside where he would take the pole and lead the first twenty or so laps. He would lose the lead and not have fully regained it until two laps to go where he would emerge victor after Andretti and Unser (Bobby) would get passed.
Formula One in 1967 was the last time Gurney would see the podium and also see results similar to 1960. The South African and the Monaco Grand Prix’s both were retirements, and sadly he would only complete 48 of the 180 total in the first two combined. For the Dutch Grand Prix he would start second, an amazing qualifying result, but drop out on lap eight of the 90 and sadly retire once more.
However at Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix something clicked- Gurney would qualify second again somehow. The race he would be in third for a while as Jim Clark would have a 20 second gap over Stewart, and then Gurney following close behind in second. Only lap 12 Clark had dropped a cylinder and gave the lead to Stewart while Gurney was still trailing close behind until he had issues which he had to pit losing around 20 seconds. At the halfway mark of the race (lap 14/28) Gurney was 14 seconds behind Stewart who had a comfortable lead, and at 17 laps in Gurney had gained only two seconds total bringing him 12 seconds back behind Stewart. Yet Stewart would have gear issues and by lap 21 Gurney had gotten right up to him gaining four seconds a lap on the British driver, then Gurney would win the race. He would set a new record for quickest Belgian Grand Prix and set the fastest lap of the race, which he did chasing Stewart down.
The rest of the season wouldn’t be as amazing as Spa was, and it would be the last win for Gurney in Formula One, he would retire in the next six out of seven races yet qualifying fifth or better for all those races. He had an average start of 4.5 in 1967, which to me seems really good for a newer team. Gurney would also get his last podium at the Canadian Grand Prix in Bowmanville, and yes, Mosport was a track back then.
24 Hours of Le Mans: While I may have skipped 1966 Le Mans (fastest lap and quickest in qualifying) I wouldn’t dare skip this race as it was probably Gurney’s biggest race win of his life. He drove alongside AJ Foyt, one of his biggest rivals in all of racing. AJ was given tips on how to drive the Ford and Foyt did well on his first time out. The two of them led for 22 hours and 30 minutes, all but the first 90 or so minutes. The duo would win by over four laps and would be the only fully American win for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two American drivers, American manufacture, and American team.
Closure:
Dan Gurney lived the American Dream, quite literally. He is arguably one of the best American racers ever, some argue better than Mario Andretti. Gurney would go on to win one more NASCAR event at Riverside and retire later. Gurney would be teammates with Dale Earnhardt in a one off race at Riverside but would blow an engine in 1980. Jim Clark feared him in Formula One, and he is arguably one of the best drivers ever (Clark is). He would run his own team which became very successful, winning the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona, along with myriad other victories in years. Dan was just one of the best all around drivers winning in every vehicle he could with.
-5 NASCAR wins (all at Riverside), 4 in a row
-1967 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (won in his class before)
-4 time Formula One winner- beat his teammates almost every year
-Won the first Daytona race for the sportscar series which would later be the 24 Hours of Daytona.
...Sir Jackie went on, “Dan is a great gentleman apart from anything else. He’s one of the nicest men you could meet, a great credit to motor sport around the world.”