He tried to get a car dealership; that didnt work. Then, in March, 1974, Peter Revson, Penske's first choice as driver for the Formula One car that was to make its debut later in the season, was killed in an accident practicing for the South African Grand Prix. "Donohue is no angel out there on the track Parnelli Jones", "Donohue, on the Way Out, Views Things From Top; Calendar of Motor Sports", "1965 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance Race Profile", "1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors", "1967 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors", "Mark Donohue Named '500' Rookie of Year", "Mark Donohue set Indy speed record in 1972", "1973 Winston Western 500: Donohue Dominates", "Hall of Fame Members (Mark Donohue Jr.)", "Mark Donohue, Sports Cars, Class of 1990", Mark Donohue's IROC and NASCAR stats at racing-reference.info, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Donohue&oldid=1136103335, Brown University School of Engineering alumni, International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees, SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2014, Pages using small with an empty input parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, run as the Daytona 3 Hour Continental (196263), 24 Hours of Daytona (196671/ 1973/ 1975present), This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 19:22. 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]. 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. Two weeks ago, however, he showed he had not lost his skill at getting a race car around a track when he set a world speed record of 221.160 miles an hour for a closed course. Mark Donohue was one of the daredevil drivers of the 1970's. He exuded boyhood charm, was a speed demon behind the wheel, and was a legend of US racing, with wins at Daytona, the Indy 500, and Trans-Am Champion. ', On Wednesday morning, August 20, 1975, the phone rang in my dingy beige apartment in Burlington, Ontario. . 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. 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. They changed the grille and taillight to the 1968 model, and then painted both cars identically. Mark Donohue - Biography - IMDb What I realize now is that I wouldnt have succeeded in my other businesses if Mark hadnt completely taken over the race team., In the Penske garage at Indy in 71, someonecertainly not Donohue or Penskeerected a sign that said: Those of you who think you know it all are particularly annoying to those of us who do., .css-dhtls0{display:block;font-family:GlikoS,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:400;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-dhtls0:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 61.25rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Elana Scherr: Dodge Challenger Challenge Accepted. Mark Donohue racked in 59 career wins for Team Penske in several different series. It was at Hangsens funeral that Roger Penske approached Donohue to drive for him. As ADAM COOPER recalls, though, it ended in tragedy. 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. He could drive a car in the 24-hour race at Daytona, a Trans-Am Car, an Indy car and a NASCAR car. I know their first conversation after the race, he didnt say (that he had won). It was August 9, 1975. Going racing meant anywhere and everywhere, and the two chose to tackle stock cars. 500-mile (800km) SCCA endurance event, which he won. One track marshal was killed by the crash and another seriousy injured. 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. Donohue finished fourth at Daytona and won the Trans-Am class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Donohues father was a patent attorney. 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. racing was concerned, he had done it all. Mark Donohue is killed during a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. Not true. The Unfair Advantage, at Indy - Mark Donohue's 1970 Lola T-153 Donohue co-drove in the No. After going to the hospital in Graz the next day, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a cerebral hemorrhage and died. Instead, the Racemark GT had Bedard, also a racer, showering praise. ), entered April 29, 2014 in Albany County, which granted a motion by defendants James Finck and Tougher Industries Enterprises, LLC for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against them. The book told how Donohue learned to exploit the antilock braking system and the powerful turbocharged engine of several prototype Porsches, as well as how he learned from various mishaps, including a near-fatal crash. To appreciate what Donohue and Penske accomplished that day, lets consider three important points: Its safe to say Donohue, an Ivy League-educated engineer, was Penskes muse when it came to auto racing; the burgeoning team owner offered Donohue a driving job at a funeral for Donohues friend, Walt Hansgen, his co-driver in sports cars whod helped guide young Donohues career to that point. The car did a series of cartwheels, and Donohue broke both legs. But in eight months of retirement, the quiet, wellspoken kid from the other side of the tracks learned that the hobby that had become an obsession still haunted him. Donohue raced in seven of the eight races that year, winning six (at Las Vegas, Riverside, Bridgehampton, Watkins Glen, Pacific Raceways, and Mid-Ohio) and finishing third at the Laguna Seca Raceway round behind Lothar Motschenbacher and Mike Goth. Mark Donohue. That is something I would have never had if I didnt go to races. 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. Twice before he had had serious accidents and he walked like a man who had had his knees shattered and put back together again. Drexel University 1973 Lexerd (Yearbook), pp. And given enough time just one more year, maybe he wouldve become Americas first world champion.. The singleseat, opencockpit Formula One cars used in grand prix racing have been called torpedoes. We need an obit.. 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. Every time David Donohue sees that car, he sees his father. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. Neither Donohue or Penske forgot that remark, even after Donohue drove an astounding race and finished third. I got to know Mark and hired him to run our Can-Am car. During a post-race inspection, race stewards discovered that the car was 250 pounds lighter than the 2,800-pound minimum weight requirement. Strange and smart, but very driven., The drive set Mark Donohue apart and made him the winningest driver in Team Penske history. 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. [12] In his first race for Penske, at Watkins Glen in June 1966, Donohue qualified well but crashed the car at the top of a hill, destroying it. There was also Earl McMullen and Bill Cox, who worked for the teams sponsor, Sun Oil. A motorist was killed early Tuesday in a single-car crash in Montgomery County, police said. They won the race, finished third overall, and went on to win 10 out of 13 races that year. The 1967 Z-28 won its last race by lapping the entire field of cars, causing suspicion throughout the paddock. Its made me realize its an honor to be his son. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. Email or password is incorrect. The email you entered is not registered with us. 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. Mark won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 when David was just five. Mark Donohue. That took a couple of years. 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. The Medical Causes of Racing Deaths with Examples - Parathyroid Donohue's racing tradition is carried on by his son, David Donohue, a successful road racer in his own right. Donohue took three victories and the series championship, besting the likes of Petty, Allison, David Pearson, A.J. I get all of these tiny little stories from everybody where my dad grabbed this guy as a kid and sat him in the car -- and that motivated him enough to go to engineering school. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway. Donohue chronicled his entire racing career in the book, The Unfair Advantage (co-written with noted motorsports and engineering journalist Paul Van Valkenburgh). The latter passed away at 09h20 on Tuesday 19 August 1975, while being treated at a Knittelfeld hospital.Donohue was hit in the head by one of the catch-fence supporting posts and was knocked unconscious. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Try a week on us. Not that Donohues career or his one win in NASCAR needed validation, but IROC has long crystallized what fans thought of the talent in drivers who never outwardly succeeded in the Cup Series. How famous was Mark . - Remembering Mark Donohue - FormulaSpy [4] He was survived by his wife and two sons from his first marriage. Then they put both cars in the race, number 15 and 16, one car being 250 pounds lighter. 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. Czarnecki saw the brilliance, humor and darkness -- all part of Donohues character. Mark wasnt an emotional guy. Instead, Donohue retired. I was at Lime Rock, Connecticut, Donohue said. Directing other drivers, making suggestions, helping mechanicseven sweeping up around the garagewere not enough. It served as the first NASCAR victory for aspiring team owner Roger Penske, a proverbial snowball sent rolling down a path thatd alter the entire American auto racing landscape. Late in 1973, when Penske decided to build a Formula One car for the 1975 season, Donohue knew what would happen. But this was a safe driver, a man who knew his limits, his car's limits and didn't go over the edge, as they say in racing. My involvement in racing has been like a jigsaw puzzle, David Donohue told Autoweek. 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. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? It was an epic stomping; he led over 361 miles that day, and in perusing the finishing order Bobby Unser finished fourth while West Series drivers Ray Elder, Jimmy Insolo, Jack McCoy and Richard White, all of whom made regular stops at Riverside, finished third, fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively it was clear this was a race decided by the interlopers, the kind of race we no longer see in modern-day NASCAR, where drivers have been cross-trained and educated on technology and data to the point each race contains 38 different versions of the Donohue prototype. With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. Instructions on how to reset your password have been sent to your email. Donohue was the driver of Penskes first Brickyard effort in 1969. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. Donohue, who also competed in endurance racing, IndyCar, NASCAR, Can-Am,. He was my original partner in racing, Penske told Autoweek. The Griffith company closed its doors in November, 1966. this email address already registerd with us. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. Donohue's rocketed 7 through four wire catchfences and several roadside billboards. This. 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. In 1969, Penske and Donohue raced in their first Indianapolis 500,[14] with Donohue finishing seventh, winning the rookie of the year award. When you see the car in real life, it becomes so much more real.. 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. No, I never worried about the dangers of racing, he said in March, 1974, while being honored at a luncheon following his retirement. * Most laps led. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? Mark Donohue - Human Side of Racing Penske warned that any disqualification would have the potential of motivating Chevrolet to pull all support for the Trans-Am series. Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023, The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023 He wanted to know how we were doing. 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. Mark Donohue's Fatal Crash - sterreichring 1975 (42 years ago) I realized then that if I wanted to do better in this business I had to spend more time on my car, he said. But where other youngsters were souping up cars to impress girls, I was only interested in the mechanics, Donohue said. In 1969, Penske brought his team -- and the Penske way -- to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. 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. This was not merely a celebrity autobiography, but a detailed, step-by-step record of the engineering approach he took to getting the absolutely highest performance from every car he drove, always looking for that elusive "unfair advantage". Le cavalier du diable : Toutes les informations de diffusion, les bandes-annonces, les photos et rediffusions de Le cavalier du diable avec Tl 7 Jours The bungalow is where team manager Chuck Cantwell and the teams public relations director Dan Luginbuhl worked along with secretary Maryann ODonnell. The Newtown Square facility was a small, 4,000 square-foot garage out back with a small bungalow in front of the shop. But he was still, a great driver. We started to look at data Mark was an engineer at Brown (University), and that was certainly part of it, but we were committed. Event the win at the 1972 Indianapolis 500 created more sleepless nights, because the win did not come on his own terms. the email address you entered is invalid. Every dime I had I put into cars, he said. It would have really been great watching those two together in the later years if it had gotten that far. He never regained consciousness. Hangsen was killed testing a car for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Donohue was a . He lost his life doing what he wanted to do, which is one thing, but it took us a long time to get over that. Mark returned [a year later] because he realized he wasnt good at anything else. Donohue went on to win 10 of 13 races, a Trans-Am series record which would stand until Tommy Kendall went 11 for 13 in the 1997 Trans-Am championship, winning the first 11 races that year in his All-Sport liveried Mustang. 8W - Who? - Mark Donohue - Autosport Donohue won. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). Mark Donohue's tragic comeback - Autosport We may earn money from the links on this page. 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. Donohue finished in 12th place at the Canadian Grand Prix, but failed to finish at the United States Grand Prix. We had a polished yellow tile floor in our garage in Gasoline Alley and took everything out at night and cleaned the floor. The highlight of his entire career was winning the . 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. 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.. In 1961, Donohue bought the Elva and battled with another young racing star, Peter Revson, for the SCCA divisional championship. Donohue, 38, Dead Of Racing Injuries - The New York Times

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