Donohue won. But his edge was rarely lost. Mark Donohue spent many late nights in the bungaloo in front of the original Penske garage in Newtown Square, Pa. Marks wife, Sue, raised young David and his older brother Michael. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked . Mark Donohue drove the Porsche 917-30 Can-Am after making various aerodynamic and suspension modifications. Mark was an engineer from Brown University, Penske said. He was so gentlemanly, he was boring. 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 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. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. After the Arab oil embargo in 1973, it led the SCCA, IMSA and other race series to impose fuel limitations on motor sport racing as a whole, which hampered the performance of the 917/30, making it uncompetitive in the Can-Am series. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. Donohues dad was often racing in the United States or Canada for a fledgling operation called Penske Racing. 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.. [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 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. 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. Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Albany (Mark Donohue of counsel), for respondents. It was. The bungalow is where team manager Chuck Cantwell and the teams public relations director Dan Luginbuhl worked along with secretary Maryann ODonnell. He sustained a fatal head injury from the crash. This account has been suspended due to strange activity. But his thinking man's approach to racing, while successful on the track, was difficult off. His first marriage ended in divorce and some friends blamed racing. 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. 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. [17] That race was Penske's first NASCAR win in a long history of NASCAR participation. 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 . Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results, Inskip Family History & Competition Engineering staff. [5][19] Donohue is buried at St. Teresa Cemetery in Summit, New Jersey. Its always great that history is reviewed and remembered and adds more to the prominence and significance of the event to bring it all together. The 1972 Indy win was a classic race for the man who not only drove the race car but also served as its engineer and mechanic back at Penske Racing. One night I was in Philadelphia and was following Mark to the old shop in Newtown Square. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. He went on to assist TVR's David Hives in designing the Series 400 Griffith and then working on the ill-fated Bob Cumberford-designed, Intermeccanica-(Torino, Italy) produced Series 600 Griffith. The track chosen for the speed record attempt was the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. During their enormous success in Trans-Am, Penske and Donohue would begin to experiment with their Camaros. [citation needed]. Not true. He died in 1975 a day after a crash during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. When Donohue took the Ferrari to Le Mans, the car attained only 205 mph on the straight versus the Porsche 917s 235 mph. During its production life, there were 192 Series 200 Griffiths built, 59 of the Series 400 and only 10 of the Series 600. Donohue's racing tradition is carried on by his son, David Donohue, a successful road racer in his own right. 1975, resulting from an accident two days earlier during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. Email or password is incorrect. I don't think I could have handled that.. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? He was, I feel, the finest road race driver this country has ever produced, Allison told Hemmings Motor News years later. He could drive a car in the 24-hour race at Daytona, a Trans-Am Car, an Indy car and a NASCAR car. Please try again. It was August 9, 1975. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links. 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". IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane Going racing meant anywhere and everywhere, and the two chose to tackle stock cars. His retirement was short-lived, however, as he was lured back to full-time competitive driving by Penske when he formed a Formula One team, Penske Cars Ltd, to compete in the final two events of the 1974 Formula One World Championship, and to continue competing in 1975 with the new Penske PC1. He did the job for Roger, no question. There was also Earl McMullen and Bill Cox, who worked for the teams sponsor, Sun Oil. . Donohue paced himself that day and took the lead for the first time with 12 laps to go. 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. Seeing another man driving your car, a car you know so well. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked unconscious. And when he thought he had done enough, he quit. As one of the best test drivers and developers in the business, he would get the car ready, then Penske would have to turn it over to a younger hotshot. But the intended hotshot, Peter Revson, was killed in a grandprix accident in March, 1974. Mark Donohue returning from retirement to lead Roger Penske's Formula 1 team looked like a perfect match. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? Every dime I had I put into cars, he said. He was one of the best American roadracers in history, but his biggest triumph was on the oval at Indianapolis, where in 1972 he won the 500. Donohue raced in several NASCAR Grand American races and a NASCAR pony car division from 1968 until 1971. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. His true passion was racing. Instead, Donohue retired. We had the tragic crash in practice and he seemed like he was all right, but he ended up losing his life. 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. It began as a hobby in 1959 when Donohue sold his soupedup Corvette, which he used to drive around at Brown, and for $3,000 purchased his first racing cara little Elva with an MG engine. He was a sweet gentleman in every race. He began to spend more than time. Mark Donohue was killed during a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. Sometimes, I would leave early and take my own car to the airport because I didnt want to put up with him. Appeal from that part of an order of the Supreme Court (Platkin, J. It was always on to the next project.. You never saw him in an argument with anybody. In 69 Mark repeated his Trans-Am championship, winning six of 12. 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. * Most laps led. Brad Keselowski is second with 54 wins in NASCAR Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup Series racing. There was no real color out of it. To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. The victory was the first for Penske in the Indy 500. 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 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. Its been 43 years since Donohues death, but he remains Penske Racings cornerstone. David Donohue is proof positive that apples dont fall far from the tree. Through racing and after more than four decades after the tragic death of his father, David Donohue believes he has found Mark Donohue. The key factors behind F1s Premier League-style managerial revolving door, The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets, The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets At first, the former Indianapolis 500 winner was thought to have just a mild concussion. The Newtown Square facility was a small, 4,000 square-foot garage out back with a small bungalow in front of the shop. Donohue drove the Javelin to three victories, with AMC finishing second overall in the Manufacturers' Championship. Driver who fled fatal Olney crash gets 20-year sentence. 500-mile (800km) SCCA endurance event, which he won. Mark Donohue. He was passionate about racing. Michael is another guy but there is this thing between Mark and David, even in terms of their life experiences. His 59 wins remain the most of any driver for Team Penske. "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 No one knew, but Mark Donohue had just 10 days to live. 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. [2], Donohue was hired on March 29, 1964, by Jack Griffith [Griffith Motors, Syosset, N.Y./Plainview, N.Y.] as design engineer for the Griffith, formerly TVR Grantura Mk III, powered by a Ford 289 cid (4.7l) V8 engine. That long association resulted in the ultimate triumph for an American driver in 1972, when he won the Indianapolis 500. In fact, Mark often wasnt the engineer at all. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/20/archives/donohue-38-dead-of-racing-injuries-mark-donohue-is-dead-of-racing.html. We went to Phoenix and tested it with the wings off and then put the wings on and couldnt believe how fast it was. Clark, J. Toy cars at the gravesite of Mark Donohue in Summit, New Jersey. Your message has been sent. [4] He was survived by his wife and two sons from his first marriage. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Hangsen was killed testing a car for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. That was the most striking thing I ever saw him do. [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. 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 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. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. 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. He would greet those who didnt know him with a smile, but he was so focused and obsessed with making the race car go fast, he was distant. Upstairs was a small room with a bed that had an outside private entrance. What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles, Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards, Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards The original Penske Racing team included Penske, Donohue, chief mechanic and crew chief Karl Kainhofer. Donohue was about to have his race victory taken away for cheating, but Roger Penske stepped in. GRAZ, Austria, Aug. 19 (AP)Mark Donohue, who ended an eightmonth retirement as an auto driver last year because he couldn't keep away from racing, died tonight of injuries suffered Sunday at. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. 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. Police have not yet released his identity. 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. Some of his most notable accomplishments included being the Indy 500 rookie-of-the-year, Trans AM champion and a winner in The 24 Hours of Daytona all in 1969. 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. 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. The only engineering Donohue went back to concerned race cars. 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. However, the Penske Formula One car proved unsound and Donohue's best finish this year was a fifth place. And my wife gave me permission, so when something like that happens you have to go. 66 McLaren/Offenhauser that Mark Donohue drove to win the 1972 Indy 500. He knew racing drivers couldn't come back. The team was third at Daytona and second at Sebring. Mark Donohue racked in 59 career wins for Team Penske in several different series. He knew, maybe all along, that he would come back. There was little question then that Donohue, who would testdrive the new car and help supervise its development, would come out of retirement. To those who knew him best, he had a tremendous sense of humor and enjoyed pulling pranks. 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. He approaches things the same way. The driver must accept the risks involved, which I did and I spent my time in the hispital as a result., See the article in its original context from. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that all memorial donations be sent to the Auto Racing Fraternity Foundation, 13539 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, Queens. Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. And given enough time just one more year, maybe he wouldve become Americas first world champion.. 66 Penske Racing entry went on to win at Indianapolis in 1972 to give Roger Penske the first of his 17 Indy 500 wins. Watts.) The Penske PC1 was developed but the car proved problematic and midway through the season they decided to switch to a March 751 chassis. Fellow racer and former teammate Sam Posey called Donohue, a gunslinger who also happened to have designed the gun.. Donohues degree from Brown in Mechanical Engineering got him a job designing filters for air conditioners -- not quite what he had in mind. Today, he works for Porsche Cars North America as client relationship manager. And, according to Cox, Roger certainly did his part in coming up with next projects.. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? Donohue dominated the 1967 race, driving a Lola T70 MkIII Chevrolet for Penske. Ferraris chief engineer Mauro Forghieri glared at it and said, Theyll never let you run that wing at Le Mans. Mark replied, Well, I wouldnt want to run this wing at Le Mans, would I?, Partly because we were both engineers, Mark and I hit it off, recalls Patrick Bedard. The email you entered is not registered with us. Its a goal he had and a goal he checked off. Several minutes later Donohue regained consciousness and spoke with his rescuers, who took him to Knittelfeld hospital. The search for Mark Donohue concludes in the upscale community of Summit, New Jersey just outside of New York City. He was on for a second appearance at the Glen, but a practice accident saw Mark being replaced by David Hobbs. "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. Despite this, Donohue still dominated the series, even though he suffered three DNFs during the season due to mechanical problems with the M6A. Instead, the Racemark GT had Bedard, also a racer, showering praise. Don Cox would later join the team in 1969 after working as an engineer for General Motors. That day at Indy, Bobby Unsers Eagle dominated the contest before Unser dropped out. He will be ranked with A. J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Andretti in the leading group of American drivers. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. 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 grand prix car proved a disappointment and Donohue's best finish this season was a fifth place in the British Grand Prix. They won the race, finished third overall, and went on to win 10 out of 13 races that year. I know their first conversation after the race, he didnt say (that he had won). To be sure, it seems what we now know as The Penske Way gained steam with Donohue as its pied piper. With the Corvette money, he also bought a trailer to hold the car and a station wagon to tow the trailer.. They changed the grille and taillight to the 1968 model, and then painted both cars identically. First to go was his marriage, says Argetsinger. 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. Worse yet, when Donohue wasnt racing, he was working 18- to 20-hour days at the teams small race shop, located in a garage in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, and later, a more modern facility in nearby Reading. He needed something he could do well., Alas, Penske Racings first F1 car, the PC1, was so mediocre that Donohue persuaded Penske to replace it with a customers March 751, a curious crack in the myth that was Mark. 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. There, he was Godthat was his way of distinguishing himself. His divine touch extended to his street cars; a friend once described riding in Donohues Porsche 911 as a Wall of Death thing most of the time., The relentless pursuit of perfection eventually took its toll. 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. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. We brought some technology. During a post-race inspection, race stewards discovered that the car was 250 pounds lighter than the 2,800-pound minimum weight requirement. Password Donohue was able to muster fifth-place finishes at the Swedish Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix, but the new Penske PC1 chassis proved problematic, as evidenced by three retirements in the first six races. Mark Robert Bonhag, 56, of the Highland, Md., area was driving north on New Hampshire Avenue in the . He had one religion: testing. Today, he works. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. . That took a couple of years. Prior to racing in Formula One, Donohue was a racer in the Ford GT40, Trans-Am, Indy car, NASCAR, Can-Am and IROC racing series. When Penske decided late to enter Formula One full time, Donohue had a difficult decision to make. But if his father, Mark Sr., a successful patent lawyer, never envisaged a racing career for his son, neither cid young Mark. He was just 22 years old when he had won his first race, a local hill climb. Brian Redman drove it once in 1974, and that was it for the car as far as Penske campaigning it. My involvement in racing has been like a jigsaw puzzle, David Donohue told Autoweek. A Montgomery County man who crashed his car and fled from the wreck, leaving three of his friends dead or dying, on Thursday was sentenced . He turned his last race, the first International Race of Champions finalin which top driver from all forms of racing competed into an easy victory Feb. 15, 1974, and then concentrated on his new duties as president of Penske Racing. Most of Donohues wins (28) came in Trans-Am, the United States Road Racing Championship (12) and Can-Am (10). An investigation determined tire failure caused Donohue's fatal crash, and the family won a $12 million settlement. 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]. During the development of this motor, the German Porsche engineers often asked Donohue if the motor finally had enough power. 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. I think I was the first guy to assert that Mark was a better driver than an engineer, says Bedard. 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. This time, the interlopers would leave no doubt as they set out to prove their reputations for calculated dominance. For him, it was a check in the box, Penske recalled. 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. Mark told me, Sometimes you just have to get it done., That was my take, too, says Michael Argetsinger, who has just written a riveting biography called Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed (David Bull Publishing, $39.95). (key) (Bold Pole position. After going to the hospital in Graz the next day, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a cerebral hemorrhage and died. 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. Were far from having too much horsepower, he asserted. 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. His fathers absence from the family took its toll, and eventually the marriage dissolved into divorce. He died from severe head injuries sustained August 16 in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at Graz, Austria. [citation needed] Hansgen arranged for Donohue to become his teammate in 1965, co-driving a Ferrari 275 at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race,[2] which they finished in 11th place. That put Bettenhausen in the lead before a pinhole leak in the Bettenhausen cars cooling system with 12 laps to go put Donohue in the lead and the first of Penske Racings record 16 Indy 500 victories. But he always had good equipment, too. (He was operated on at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Drs. 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. Donohue qualified his Penske midway the grid, and took it to the morning warm-up session before the start of the race.
Ritz Carlton Los Angeles Residences For Lease, Canberra Death Notices, Calculate Acceleration Due To Gravity Calculator, Dirt Track Racing In Georgia This Weekend, Articles M