John mccomb likes to refer to himself as the best race driver that no ones ever heard of, though fans of trans am and sports car racing would. Pete let mike go during the 1972 season a little while after the rest of the team thought he should have gone, replacing him with sam posey. Neil mason steve masterton ken mathews frank matich doug mcarthur bernie mcclure lin mccoll stuart mccoll andrew mccomb john mccormack john mcdonald phil mcdonnell greg mcewin mel mcewin max mcginley joe mcginnes graham mcgrath david mckay jim. But the one name which hasstood the test of time best is that of johnny moss of iowa city, who is in his 21st year behind the wheel of a stock car. Hailing from clemmons, north carolina, jim was an engineer by trade, working for western electric. John fernandez chrysler motorsports, shelby, and more. An auto racing odyssey revisited sold out by sylvia wilkinson. He went on to race jalopies in south carolina before he dropped out of clemson university to attend carroll shelbys racing school at riverside raceway in california. He and his wife vici have been volunteers at the owls head transportation museum since early 2014. Yet john mccomb made the best of a tragic situation by racing this mustang to two. Pueblo 2002, gary spraggins meets john mccomb and terry doty. The big iron feature race was, for a change, the real feature race.
The owls head transportation museum in maine, usa is set to present the second instalment of its 2016 winter education series dedicated to the greatest race car driver youve never heard of. Taking a menial job working in carroll shelbys race shop, morton saved his money to purchase his first race car, a lotus super 7 which he raced in scca amateur races in 19. Ecurie cod fillet ecf rally team founded by roy fidler and john hopwood, a brief description of those derring do times of rallying in the 1950 1960 1970s era competing in international, national, club rallies, rac, btrda and motoring news rally championships. John won the 1975 scca national championship driving a tr6 triumph for group 44. The understudy to john morton in the 510 transam campaign was former group 44 national champion mike downs. John mccomb became a shelby team driver as of riverside, las vegas, and kent in 1967. He scored a total of 2 championship points with a fifth place in the 1970 south. Stephen cox co host mecum auctions on nbcsn linkedin. During his threedecade career, spanning the 1960s through the 1980s, john mac mccomb drove for six factories and numerous private.
He participated in 15 formula one world championship grands prix his career began on 6 july 1969, in the lotus 63 4wheel drive f1 car for which he was the official team lotus test driver. John had talked about his first race in the car at cdr. Drivers getting into the cars and cars starting out 3. In this revisited edition of the classic motor racing book, author sylvia wilkinson has added a new 45page chapter catching up with many of the people who made the bre team successful and the book so compelling, including john morton, the teams number one driver, who went on to race professionally for now close to 40 years. John miles racing driver simple english wikipedia, the. Winner of the panamerican 6 hour trans am race at green valley, texas 1966 with driver john mccomb john mccomb and this car helped ford claim the trans am manufacturers championship for 1966 participant in the 24 hours of daytona, 1967 feature cover car for sports car graphic in december 1966 long and successful racing history in scca until 1973. Find the photo auto racing driver you need at prices you want. Buy online photo auto racing driver photo auto racing. John fernandez had a long history with chrysler, ending when he left the company to work with chip ganassi racing. Ecurie cod fillet ecf rally team rallying navigators co. Leyland racing team drivers appeared on the cover of the kit given to press at the may 8 visit to their new herndon, va.
Racers restomod john mccombs 1967 mustang to cross the. Shelby was known, trusted, and respected by ford, thanks to his efforts engineering the cobra projects. An opportunity for young american drivers to showcase their talent internationally. To be clear, 1961 wasnt the first year an indianapolis 500 entry carried its engine behind the driver that would be the 1939 gulfmiller, but it was the first year that a midengine car proved successful in both q. John mccomb likes to refer to himself as the best race driver that no ones ever heard of, though fans of trans am and sports car racing would likely disagree. During his threedecade career, spanning the 1960s through the 1980s, john mac mccomb drove for six factories and numerous private owners. It was ordered via a local dealer and modified by bud moore. John rhodes cobb british motor racecar driver britannica. Originally built for famous legendary shelby american driver. Loper, who had been in the speed shop business for 40 years and still maintained two stores, died sept. Oneof16 shelbybuilt transam mustang headed to auction.
Given his success in the 1966 group 2 mustang, he ordered a new notchback for 1967 to pick up where he left off with the shelby program. See more ideas about racing, road racing and race cars. John mcomb was the national champion 1967 with points combined with the 67 car. Mccomb is a member of the exclusive road racing drivers club. Part 3 of a 3part series john mccomb ordered a new car for 1967. Drivers with last names starting with m racingreference. Originally from tasmania, mccormack became one of the leading formula 5000 racers in australia during the 1970s. Taking a menial job working in carroll shelbys race shop, morton saved his. Indianapolis racing driver stephen cox has added nasa pro racings fire on the prairie 6hour endurance race to his summer schedule after reaching an agreement with tulsas realautosport race team earlier this week.
After his father took him to a race at road america in 1957, morton became an avid racing fan. John rhodes cobb, automobile and motorboat racer, first to reach a speed of 400 mph on land. He started racing in 1957, and during his thirty year career he won more than 350 auto races. I have a couple stories that were told to me by john and terry doty mechanic for john. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Yet john mccomb made the best of a tragic situation by racing that. The greatest race car driver youve never heard of an. Capitalizing on this success, shelby began modifying. Moreorless complete results for the mgb, mgb gt, mg c, and a few prototypes notably the lightweight mgc gtss with special alloy body panels in the world championship series from 1962 to 1978, as well as other classic races and rallyes of the era. Driven by john mccomb, the number 12 chassis was responsible for putting ford motor company in a position to win the first scca transam championship at riverside international raceway in 1966. John miles 14 june 1943 8 april 2018 was a british former racing driver, engineer, journalist and music executive. John mccomb and this car helped ford claim the trans am manufacturers. Funeral services for johnny loper, a former funny car owner for drivers including national event winner tripp shumake, a former gasser pilot, and current speed shop operator, will be held later this week in arizona.
John mccormack is a former australian racing driver. Find great deals on ebay for vintage car racing seats. They are from top john kelly, john mccomb, brian furstenau, and bob tullius, all of whom have won championships in triumph cars over. Regular members racing drivers who have participated successfully in major professional events, i.
Click on the link to be directed to a photograph of the person. The 1971 australian touring car championship was a camssanctioned motor racing title for drivers of group c improved production touring cars and group e series production touring cars. I have received a lot of original paperwork to support its origin and race history. The nasa 6hours will be held on heartland motorsports parks 2. Page dedicated to the career of john mccomb, professional sportscar racing driver 19641989. John cobb is remembered for his many successes at brooklands with a 10litre fiat, the 10. The greatest race car driver youve never heard of an interview.
Mickey thompson ramp truck vintage muscle cars, race. April 1974 race report by gordon warren and bill king. Nov, 2017 this pin was discovered by mike sader american automotive. Gary spraggins one of the previous owners gave us a personal insight. He joined chrysler corporation in 1969 as a coop intern after watching richard petty and others racing on the dirt tracks. The last transam race of the 1967 season was at kent, washington, where jerry titus drove this car after crashing his team car. It wasnt the cars fault, it was the driver, mccomb recalled. Their finest six hours the next weekend john mccomb was racing again. Originally from tasmania, mccormack became one of the leading formula 5000 racers in australia during the 1970s mccormack won the australian drivers championship three times, driving an elfin mr5 repco holden in 1973, an elfin mr6 repco holden in 1975 and a mclaren m23leyland in 1977. Racing driver john mccomb usas main page containing all achievements covered by racing sports cars website.
John morton is an american racing driver from waukegan, illinois. Tim olive presents the 1969 solana bud moore built 1969 mustang racer for the first time to the larger audience dear mustang racing friends, o n july 12 th of 2019 i bought a 1969 mustang that i had been trying to buy for many years. Mccormack won the australian drivers championship three times, driving an elfin mr5 repco holden in 1973, an elfin mr6 repco holden in 1975 and a mclaren m23 leyland in 1977. Jim fitzgerald in the bob sharp racing 260z set out in practice saturday to give his first driving lesson as partowner of the newlyformed fitzgeraldwhite school of. John mccomb became a shelby team driver as of riverside, las vegas, and kent in 1967 and 1968.