Dan Gurney To Be Honored at Laguna Seca Walk of Fame

Dan Gurney, who is celebrating his 40th anniversary in racing, has been named as the first inductee into Legends of Laguna Seca, a brand-new walk of fame at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The program will honor Gurney and several other racing greats this year as part of the racetrack's own 50th anniversary celebration. An actual walk is to be installed later.
Gurney's induction will take place as part of the U.S. Sports Car Invitational at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the May 18-20 weekend. The others to be named to the honor include Eddie Lawson, Pete Lovely, Wayne Rainey and Bobby Rahal. They will be celebrated at other race weekends scheduled to take place at Laguna Seca this summer.

Gurney competed in the first professional race Laguna Seca, the Pacific Grand Prix of 1960. He was also a fixture at the Can-Am sports car races held there in the late 1960s. Later Gurney's team, All American Racers, built and entered IMSA sports car and CART IndyCar events at Laguna Seca, and his Toyota sports cars were four-time winners at the track.

Forty years ago, Gurney became the first and only American to be victorious in a World Championship Formula 1 Grand Prix race in an American car of his own construction. It was June 18, 1967, when Gurney won the Grand Prix of Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps in his All American Racers Eagle. That same month, he co-drove the winning Ford Mk IV at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with A.J. Foyt, Jr.

Gurney will not just be an honoree but also a spectator at the U.S. Sports Car Invitational, as his son Alex Gurney will be driving a Daytona Prototype in the main event.

© Source: insideline
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