49 replies to this topic

[Graham Clayton]

In 1956 three-time Indy 500 winner Mauri Rose was a member of Herb Thomas' pit crew during the Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

How many other well-known drivers have acted as members of a pit crew for another driver, either during their racing career or after they have retired?

[raceannouncer2003]

Chuck Daigh was part of Sam Hanks' pit crew at the Indy 500 in 1957. At the following link, you can see Daigh directly behind Hanks in the winner's circle. Cyd Charisse kisses Hanks while Hanks' wife Alice looks on:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...#ht_4078wt_1017

Vince H.

[Gary Davies]

I wonder if we can include the incident, described by Jenkinson in 'The Racing Driver', in which Fangio's mechanics failed to get the engine to fire after a refuelling stop in the 4CLT Maserati at Pau despite endless starting handle winding. The great man realised both that they were not achieving sufficient crankshaft speed at the firing point and that he would be unable to make himself heard from the cockpit.

After a period of sitting impassively in the car as the mechanics progressively exhausted themselves, he got out, walked to the front of the car, moved the mechanics aside and gave a sharp pull upwards on the handle, just on the firing point, at which the engine burst into life.

Page 180 of the Batsford edition if anyone wants the full story.

[Hank the Deuce]

Alan Jones declared himself pit manager at the Oran Park enduro for Aussie tin-tops in 1982, after driving the Falcon he had commissioned from George Shepheard, and pronouncing it undrivable... Bob Morris drove the car solo to a win...

[Bauble]

When his Aston Martin was destroyed by a fire in the pits during the Goodwood Nine Hour, a fire which injured the team manager, Reg Parnell took over running the pits for the rest of the race, very successfully as they won the race.

I remember seeing previous Le Mans winners, Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton, marshaling at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1958. It was they who supplied Mike Hawthorn with his pint of beer on the slowing down lap.

[B Squared]

A.J. Foyt was well known for taking matters into his own hands during pit stops. This time, it is the 1982 Indianapolis 500. He led the first 22 laps at then record speeds, had fallen to 5th when his March 82C got stuck in gear on the 95th lap. In the photo, AJ lends a helping hand.

photo: IMS

[Glengavel]

I remember seeing a team manager's saloon car race on telly some years ago, and JYS himself hanging out a lap board for Ken Tyrrell. I think Graham Hill was doing the commentary (along with Murray Walker?) and was rather rude about Jack Brabhams' non-use of rear-view mirrors! Thought it might be on youtube, but can't track it down.

[Giraffe]

IIRC from my recordings, Bernie Ecclestone hung out the lap boards for Sidney Taylor Racing on one occasion, but without going through my recordings I cannot recall where or when this occurred. I will ask Sid for clarification.

[Doug Nye]

Doesn't quite fit but Hermann Lang was a Mercedes-Benz works team engine mechanic before becoming their dominant driver by 1939.

DCN

[Tim Murray]

I remember seeing a team manager's saloon car race on telly some years ago, and JYS himself hanging out a lap board for Ken Tyrrell. I think Graham Hill was doing the commentary (along with Murray Walker?) and was rather rude about Jack Brabhams' non-use of rear-view mirrors! Thought it might be on youtube, but can't track it down.

Not only JYS but François as well:

[D-Type]

Doesn't quite fit but Hermann Lang was a Mercedes-Benz works team engine mechanic before becoming their dominant driver by 1939.

DCN

Likewise Graham Hill was a Lotus mechanic on his way to becoming a works driver.

[Bauble]

Doesn't quite fit but Hermann Lang was a Mercedes-Benz works team engine mechanic before becoming their dominant driver by 1939.

DCN

Which did not go down well with the aristocratic Von Brauchitsch, amongst others.

[Eric Dunsdon]

Works Alfa-Romeo driver Consalvo Sanesi started out as a mechanic for the great Gastone Brilli Perri who lost his life in a practice crash at Tripoli in 1930. At the reccomendation of Vittorio Jano, Sanesi then joined the Alfa-Romeo team at the 1930 Italian Grand Prix as mechanic for Borzacchini.

[Doug Nye]

I believe that Graham Hill worked more as a storeman for Lotus at Hornsey than as a genuine race team mechanic, though he had been dickerring about as a mechanic previously for anyone else who might give him an occasional drive...e.g. Danny Margulies...

DCN

[Roger Clark]

I believe that Graham Hill worked more as a storeman for Lotus at Hornsey than as a genuine race team mechanic, though he had been dickerring about as a mechanic previously for anyone else who might give him an occasional drive...e.g. Danny Margulies...

DCN

There was an article in Continental Notes in 1960 about Hill working as a Lotus mechanic at Le Mans one year. DSJ was very impressed with NGH's calmness in refuelling, having realised that changing wheels would take longer than filling the tank, so there was no point in hurrying.

[Tom Smith]

In 1956 three-time Indy 500 winner Mauri Rose was a member of Herb Thomas' pit crew during the Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

How many other well-known drivers have acted as members of a pit crew for another driver, either during their racing career or after they have retired?

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[LB]

Kyle Petty worked as pitcrew for his dad in the 1979 Daytona 500 that I watched the other day. I doubt it was that unusual in Nascar.

[Gary Davies]

I remember seeing previous Le Mans winners, Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton, marshaling at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1958. It was they who supplied Mike Hawthorn with his pint of beer on the slowing down lap.

I knew that rang a bell. Sorry about the yellowness. My copy of Champion Year is very old!

[Graham Clayton]

Danny Oakes, who was a top midget driver on the US West Coast in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, but served as a pit crew member for the following drivers:

1960 - Jim Hurtubise
1964 - Johnny White
1965 - Paul Goldsmith

[Paul Newby]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Allan Moffat.

He crewed for Team Lotus in 1965 on Jim Clark's winning 38 and can be seen in official photos of the team that year, and driving the transporter.

At the time he was trying to make it in a Lotus Cortina in the Trans Am, years before he returned to Australia and became a touring car legend in his adopted country.

[David McKinney]

If "later to be famous" drivers are included the list would be endless

[Catalina Park]

I suppose Larry Perkins working on Formula Pacific cars at the early 80s Calder AGP's would count.

[Ray Bell]

Peter Hopwood was in the Romano camp when Bap's son Paul wanted to contest the HQ Nationals at Lakeside...

Peter's role was kind of like a coach. Which says a lot for Bap's recognition of his talents in the light of the incident where Bap spat on Peter after an on-track altercation in the sports cars some years previously.

Paul won the event and that probably helped pave the way for him towards driving V8 Stupidcars.

On the Hopwood front there were other incidents that could be counted. Jimmy Davidson, whose pace Peter quickly outstripped when they raced against each other in Elans, became a crew member for Peter. And that leads to the connections with Bob Holden, who crewed for many people over the years and was involved with Peter and Lyndon Arnel. I think I recall Lyndon playing crew member somewhere too.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Catalina Park
I suppose Larry Perkins working on Formula Pacific cars at the early '80s Calder AGPs would count.

Did he 'pit crew' on race (and/or practice) days?

Larry, going further back, prepared both the Stillwell FFs, his and Michael Stillwell's. The story goes that Michael's car got the money spent on it, Larry's was 'second string' in more ways than one.

But when Larry was preparing them for Warwick Farm events, they were out of the Boss' sight and filled a corner of the Jack Brabham Ford workshop. So there, for a circuit where it really counted, he was able to put all the new Rose joints onto his car and let Michael have the older stuff.

[Catalina Park]

Peter Hopwood was in the Romano camp when Bap's son Paul wanted to contest the HQ Nationals at Lakeside..

Peter was coaching Paul Romano at one meeting at Amaroo. Unfortunately he must have missed part of the lesson as he tangled with another car on the last corner of the first lap.

Did he 'pit crew' on race (and/or practice) days?

I think Larry was running the car, he was hands on the whole weekend. During the race he was in the pitlane getting ready to change the tyres to wets for Roberto Moreno when it looked like rain. (this was after he borrowed our wets and some of the crew because we were already out of the race and they had no wets in the pitlane)

[Henri Greuter]

After his own car was wrecked in the Sachs-MacDonald disaster, and his services as relief driver were not needed, Bobby Unser served as crew member on the Novi team in 1964.
Ryan Falconer was the only crew member still willing to refuel the remaining cars, Bobby volunteered to be the man with the fire extuigisher rivht next to him.


Henri

Edited by Henri Greuter, 05 July 2011 - 11:13.

[Lee Nicolle]

Peter was coaching Paul Romano at one meeting at Amaroo. Unfortunately he must have missed part of the lesson as he tangled with another car on the last corner of the first lap.




I think Larry was running the car, he was hands on the whole weekend. During the race he was in the pitlane getting ready to change the tyres to wets for Roberto Moreno when it looked like rain. (this was after he borrowed our wets and some of the crew because we were already out of the race and they had no wets in the pitlane)

In the not so distant days Larry was 'crew cheif' for the Brock operation. he built the cars and worked on them at race meetings.Though generally as a supervisor.
With the regular winning Castrol cars in the 90s he was crew chief at race meetings and often worked on the cars [and customer cars too] during race meetings. As did sometimes Russel Ingall too.
I can remember one Mallala round where the entire team for 2 cars was 2 people and one local 'gopher'. Both the drivers did plenty that weekend. Wheras the Winfield team had about 20 people for 2 cars.
Though about the same time Mal Rose was his entire team, as was Murray Carter in production cars and Terry Finnegan had his wife

[Ray Bell]

I think it's about equidistant, actually...

Both were in the early eighties.

[Tom Smith]

When Mickey Thompson raced the Baja 1000, some of his drag team drivers were on the support crew. Danny Ongias and Pat Foster were two of them. MT got the idea for stadium races when Parnelli was running him down during a Baja race, he figured that people should be able to see that kind of driving. Image of MT crewing for Ongias.
photo/my-images/543/mtfcburnout.jpg/][/URL]

Edited by Tom Smith, 06 July 2011 - 18:07.

[RS2000]

Kyle Petty worked as pitcrew for his dad in the 1979 Daytona 500 that I watched the other day. I doubt it was that unusual in Nascar.

I watched it in period from just opposite the end of pit road and I never noticed that, although "Grand National Scene" probably reported on it.

(so I was just about as far away as it was possible to be for the boxing bout "Allison brothers vs Cale Yarborough"!)

Edited by RS2000, 06 July 2011 - 19:14.

[RS2000]

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Junior was usually the jackman for his driver Cale Yarborough at most of the races I attended in 78/9.

I often thought of the guys who handled two dump cans in NASCAR when F1 complained about the weight of the refuelling hose...

Edited by RS2000, 06 July 2011 - 19:19.

[RS2000]

I'm not sure what he actually did (perhaps Graham Gauld can tell us) but Jim Clark joined the service crews on the 66 RAC Rally after retiring from it, rather than just clearing off.

[Lee Nicolle]

In speedway I have often seen big name drivers assisting in rebuilding a car after a crash, or doing engine changes and not always on the car they are driving either. Sometimes it can be on a competitors car to get them out for the next race.
And at Mt Gambier Speedway[and some others too!] Bill Barrows was well known to be driving the grader in a race suit. Assisted by David Vears on the water truck. While also competitors at the meeting! And this was at big meetings too.
And I am sure others have done similar.

[Lutz G]

Is this Jody Scheckter (as a mechanic (far right) - 1968)?



Lutz

Edited by Lutz G, 07 July 2011 - 23:46.

[Hank the Deuce]

Ref Larry Perkins... the occasions when he wasn't spannering on something would possibly be more remarkable

I recall a pic of him at Bathurst in 1986, after his rather quick Commodore lunched a gearbox, crouched in the workshop, shimming up a replacement to get them out again...

Locally, Dick Johnson was another one who compulsively spannered his own cars, and (at least in the early days) others, for a good while...

[Lutz G]

Is this Jody Scheckter (as a mechanic (far right) - 1968)?

Or just a Scheckter look-alike? Anyone?

Lutz

[Michael Ferner]

Is this Jody Scheckter (as a mechanic (far right) - 1968)?

Or just a Scheckter look-alike? Anyone?

Neither.

[Michael Ferner]

Danny Oakes, who was a top midget driver on the US West Coast in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, but served as a pit crew member for the following drivers:

1960 - Jim Hurtubise
1964 - Johnny White
1965 - Paul Goldsmith

Danny Oakes wasn't merely a pit crew member, he was the chief mechanic for several teams over many years. A chief mechanic in American racing is comparable to an engineer in GP racing, and those jobs were taken on by a big number of former or even then current drivers, like Russ Snowberger, Tommy Hinnershitz, Frank McGurk or Dempsey Wilson, to name only a few of those who were active at the same time as Oakes. In fact, there's a case to be made for the statement that Oakes was a famous chief mechanic who also acted as a racing driver.

[szautke]

At Milwaukee in 1989, Bill Vukovich III was the right-front tire changer and Stan Fox was the refueler for A.J. Foyt. Somewhere I have a photo, I should dig that up and post it here.

[Ralliart]

I saw a photo of Phil Hill holding out the board during a race. There's also the, perhaps better known, photo of Jochen Rindt hefting a wheel in pit lane and of Jim Clark working on a car - think the latter was during the Tasman series. Mario Andretti was photographed wielding a hammer, working on his seat belts (it looked like) and I wouldn't be surprised if a photo of Jim Hall and/or Paul Newman doing similar things surfaced.

[Lutz G]

Neither.

Means? Jody Scheckter, Racing Driver in the pits?

Lutz

[Michael Ferner]

Means, the person in question does look nothing like Jody Scheckter to me!

[rdmotorsport]

Means, the person in question does look nothing like Jody Scheckter to me!

John Paul Snr often attended to JP Jnr at sprint races, in fact got in the bloody way!

[Amphicar]

John Paul Snr often attended to JP Jnr at sprint races, in fact got in the bloody way!

Bearing in mind JP Snr's previous, would you want to tell him to leave?

[B Squared]

Danny Ongais crewed for Smokey Yunick's driver, Joe Leonard, at Indianapolis in 1969. I think Leonard was up to second. Replacing a holed radiator on his Eagle dropped him to sixth.

I'm sure I've seen photos of Dan Gurney working on his own cars.

[Robin Fairservice]

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Jack Brabham working on his F 2 Cooper at Brands Hatch, October 19, 1956

[Graham Clayton]

On a similar theme to the AJ Foyt photo earlier in the thread, here is Richard Petty working on his own car during the 1968 Daytona 500:

http://lupum.tumblr....nyl-roof-of-his

Edited by Graham Clayton, 15 August 2011 - 02:15.

[Graham Clayton]

Paul Russo doing some emergency repairs ( at 7 minutes 26) after being involved in the big crash on the first lap of the 1958 Indy 500:

Edited by Graham Clayton, 09 July 2015 - 04:53.

[Lee Nicolle]

Not quite so famous but when Mark Poole was co driving Chris Smerdons Commodore at the Sandown 500 88?  some of the pitcrew was myself, Sports Sedan competitor James Rosenberg,[later Marks car owner and then Percat Tim Slade among others] and Marks dad well known Vee & off road [and others] racer Keith. 

I was roped in as a refueler because noone else had a mandatory race suit! I was a competitor at the meeting in my Sports Sedan.

We also crewed on the the ex Perkins VP when James owned that car.

 

It probably still happens, many 'big timers' help out others when not involved, or help up and comers too. 

 

And people who engineer, build, maintain cars are often very busy. Larry ofcourse is the prime example.

[GMACKIE]

Simon Scuffham [Lotus drver, left], Alf Bargwanna [Torana driver, right], David Mackie [Lotus driver, under]...doing some 'minor overnight adjustments' at Bathurst.