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Oldest ever winner?


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#1 Richard Jenkins

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Posted 24 January 2005 - 17:59

Winner being a very loose term - winner of a heat, winner overall etc. but does Louis Meyer take the prize, I wonder?


From his biography on hall of fame:

In 1972, Meyer retired and then moved to Searchlight, NV with wife June to relax, enjoy the fishing and the sun. His wife died in 1990 after 65 years of marriage, but Meyer kept tinkering with cars until he "returned" to competition in 1992, at the age of 87. He drove a Ford that had been modified to electric power by one of 10 competing high school teams in the Solar and Electric 500. He averaged 60 mph for 40 laps and won his portion of the race , (whatever that means) thrilling youngsters who had only heard or read about his fabulous racing career


I know of a few octagenarian racers (Paul Newman being the most recent example - (PN 80 :eek: !) but I don't know if anyone over 87 won...

Can anyone top this or add an oldest winner list for series etc... Iggy Katona was 57 on a superspeedway, so i think he holds that record.....

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#2 thomaskomm

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Posted 24 January 2005 - 21:13

Hello Richi!

A.J. Foyt was in open wheeler the indy record master. He began racing in indy 1957 with age 22 years. He missed never a Indianapolis race in spring. He won fourtime the Indy.He qualified every year even with injuries.
He was one of the breaves (in my mind the breavest with Paul Russo) and toughest racer ever exist. He retired 1992 from Indianapolis racing.
He was in this year under the first five!
Next example: Morgan Sheperd, he drive yet in Nascar Nextel cup and Nascar Busch and Nextel Trucks!!! As regular Compititor!
Harvey Templeton drove until he was in the eighties Formula Ford, he changes in the midseventies from Formula Vee to Formula Ford. His first race was with Formula Vee 1966 with an age of 56 years. He built his own Formula Vee cars and the cars were very progressive example the first vee with zero-roll rearsuspension. He died 2004 with 94 years R.I.P.

Great Guys!

Thomas

#3 jph

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Posted 24 January 2005 - 21:26

Didn't Tom Delaney (c. 93) win a handicap race in his Lea Francis at the Silverstone Spring VSCC meeting in 2004?

#4 D-Type

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Posted 24 January 2005 - 23:52

Sir Francis Samuelson kept racing with the VSCC well into his eighties and may have won something. He raced cyclecars before WW1 so was the only man to race pre-WW1 and post-WW2. But I don't think he'll cap Louis Meyer's record.

#5 Lotus23

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 01:03

There've been some pretty senior winners at the SCCA Runoffs.

Not over 87 for certain, but wasn't Dan Carmichael well into his seventies (76 comes to mind) when he won a few years back?

#6 Disco Stu

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 01:10

76 indeed. I believe he was just a few days short of his 77th birthday.

#7 TheStranger

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 02:06

Indianapolis: I think Al Unser Sr. might be the oldest winner of that race (when he won his fourth in 1987) at 47 or so years old? I could be pretty off on that one though. (Emerson might have been older in his 2nd victory.)

Oldest guy to win a race in the series (Champcar/USAC/etc.) I think is Mario in 1993, he was 52 years old.

LeMans: I'd assume Hans Hermann, also just a guess.

#8 Disco Stu

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 02:42

Originally posted by TheStranger
Oldest guy to win a race in the series (Champcar/USAC/etc.) I think is Mario in 1993, he was 52 years old.


Here's one of those oddball technicalities. Louis Unser was 57 when he won the 1953 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, I think he gets the record. I suspect he gets the mark for oldest competitor as well, he was 69 when he ran at the Peak in 1965.

#9 Gerr

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 03:14

Maybe, Hershel McGriff....Oldest NASCAR winner at 61 and change, retired at 74.

#10 Ray Bell

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 05:57

Tom Sulman had a win at Warwick Farm a year or so before his death...

He looked plenty old, but I'm not sure how old.

#11 thomaskomm

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 08:12

Originally posted by Gerr
Maybe, Hershel McGriff....Oldest NASCAR winner at 61 and change, retired at 74.


How can i forget Hershel McGriff?

Oh yes, he competitet until 2002 and was the 1986 championship winner from the westcoast Stockcarseries (forget the correct name) . He was 1986 58 years old. Until 1999 or so he was a very strong and fast Racer. He raced with Bill France sen.

Oh, i forget an German actor, i don´t know his name, a shame then i´m a German guy. He raced until 80 years. He was not a frontrunner but he raced serious.

Thomas

#12 David McKinney

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 08:59

I don't think Tom Sulman was in this age league, Ray
What year was his accident?

#13 Ray Bell

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 12:26

Died in 1970... so I guess his win at the Farm was 1969...

And you're right, he was in his mid to late seventies. He just looked a lot older.

Bear in mind that Geoff Sykes told us about seeing him about to race his Kangaroo Stable Aston at Goodwood in 1955. "Surely they're not going to let that old man race!" he said... "yet here I am fourteen years later letting him race!"

Old Tom was pretty weatherbeaten.

#14 Stephen W

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 12:30

British Hillclimber and Sprinters Keep on Ticking Over :cool:

Currently we have Allan Staniforth who takes part in both disciplines who is 80 (81 in June).

Roy Lane won a round of the British Hillclimb Championship at Le Val des Terres in 2003 aged over 60 (62 I think?).

There are many drivers in the sport who are over 50 and just seem to get better each year!

#15 lanciaman

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 13:24

Ralph "Ralphie The Racer" Ligouri was racing USAC sprint cars into his 70s and had just recently given it up when I spoke with him in 2000.

Mel Kenyon still builds and drives midgets and is competetive at 72!

#16 David McKinney

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 15:01

I've seen several DOBs given for Sulman, from 1896 to 1905. This would make him between 65 and 74 at the time of his death
Does anyone know for sure?

#17 Stephen W

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 15:06

Further to my previous post:

Roy Lane is over 65 (he already has his BUS PASS!).

The oldest driver currently holding a Racing License in Great Britain is Tom Delaney who will be 93 when he commences his 2005 VSCC campaign.

I'll try to find out when Tom last won an event/class.

The Golden Oldies just keep on trucking!

#18 gerrit stevens

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 15:26

Originally posted by TheStranger
Indianapolis: I think Al Unser Sr. might be the oldest winner of that race (when he won his fourth in 1987) at 47 or so years old? I could be pretty off on that one though. (Emerson might have been older in his 2nd victory.)

Oldest guy to win a race in the series (Champcar/USAC/etc.) I think is Mario in 1993, he was 52 years old.

LeMans: I'd assume Hans Hermann, also just a guess.


Al Unser was the oldest Indy 500 winner until now
Here is the top 5
1 Al Unser, 47y 360d (1987)
2 Bobby Unser, 47y 94d (1981)
3 Emerson Fittipaldi, 46y 133d (1993)
4 Gordon Johncock 46y 299d (1982)
5 Arie Luyendijk, 44y 249d (1977)

AJ Foyt was 42y and 134d still behind Sam Hanks and just before Johnny Rutherford and Mauri Rose.

And Mario was indeed the oldest winner in CART
Top 5 in CART
1 Mario Andretti, 53y 36 days (Phoenix 1993)
2 Johnny Rutherford, 48y 143d (Michigan 500 1986)
3 Emerson Fittipaldi, 48y 132d (Nazareth 1995)
4 Al Unser, 47y 360d (Indy 500 1987)
5 Gordon Johncock, 46y 253d (Atlanta 1983)

Top 5 in IRL
1 Arie Luyendijk, 45y 20d (Las Vegas 1998)
2 Eddie Cheever, 43y 178d (Kansas City 2001)
3 Mark Dismore, 43y 5d (Texas 1999)
4 Eliseo Salazar, 42y, 331d (Las Vegas 1997) only win
5 Jeff Ward, 40y, 248d (Texas 2002)


Gerrit Stevens

#19 bill moffat

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 16:41

Originally posted by Stephen W
Further to my previous post:

The oldest driver currently holding a Racing License in Great Britain is Tom Delaney who will be 93 when he commences his 2005 VSCC campaign.

I'll try to find out when Tom last won an event/class.

The Golden Oldies just keep on trucking!


I believe poor old Tom nearly wiped himself out at Silversone last year, but he'll be back...

Wally Pratt was active in the South East sprinting world in an Abarth and, latterly. an MG Metro. He was still competing in the year leading up to his death at the age of 88, I believe he was still knocking up the odd class win.

Frank Lockhart (not the Indy one) drove the Rover Special up until 2002 and he had, ahem, exceeded pensionable age.

In the hillclimb world I remember Tommy Pascoe hustling a Porsche 356 up the hills with the trademark cigar clenched between his teeth..but maybe he wasn't too old. ...

There was also another regular elderly competitor by the name of Ashley Cleave (?), I'll look it up when I get home.

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#20 bill moffat

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 18:11

..and in the 1966 Dutch GP at Zandvoort I remember a very old man with a beard and walking stick groaning his way towards his F1 car (although he was pretty quick when he got going)....forgotten his name though...;)

#21 thomaskomm

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 18:21

Originally posted by bill moffat
..and in the 1966 Dutch GP at Zandvoort I remember a very old man with a beard and walking stick groaning his way towards his F1 car (although he was pretty quick when he got going)....forgotten his name though...;)


Hello Bill Moffat, yes of course, it was Jack Brabham! Age 40 to this time

Thomas

#22 Alan Lewis

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 21:23

Originally posted by jph
Didn't Tom Delaney (c. 93) win a handicap race in his Lea Francis at the Silverstone Spring VSCC meeting in 2004?


Yes, he did.

APL

#23 Oversteer1

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 22:44

Lotus 23 :

You are correct! Dan Carmichael won Formula Atlantic at the SCCA Runoffs
in 96' or 97' etc... He was a P-51 Mustang Pilot in WW II, so I guess that
the speed and excitement of racing was nothing new to him. Good call!

Mark

#24 Ian McKean

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 22:56

Originally posted by bill moffat


There was also another regular elderly competitor by the name of Ashley Cleave (?), I'll look it up when I get home.


Ashley Cleave used to drive a supercharged Morris Special that was indecently quick for a what it was. I saw him/it in about 1957 at Shelsley or Prescott. The commentator got quite excited when he came to the line, as one would for a legend. I suppose by the late 50's a Morris Special was never going to look quick compared to Lotus 6's etc. but it was surprising quick for what it was and judging from the engine note attained astonishingly high revs for a Morris 8 engine. Perhaps it was feature of the age that he drove this car in so many forms of competiton from mud trials to circuit racing and drove it to and from events.

#25 Bob Riebe

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Posted 25 January 2005 - 23:08

When Ward quit the Indy cars he went back to riding motorcyles, not very often that happens.

Bob

#26 Lotus23

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Posted 26 January 2005 - 02:33

Somewhat OT, but to follow Bob's remarks, I have a co-worker who still rides his Harley regularly. He's a Big War veteran and a very young 81.

#27 Bob Riebe

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Posted 26 January 2005 - 03:28

Originally posted by Bob Riebe
When Ward quit the Indy cars he went back to riding motorcyles, not very often that happens.

Bob


to clear slightly, he came from and returned to professional dirt bikes, a bone jarring sport.

#28 fines

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Posted 28 September 2008 - 12:18

Originally posted by thomaskomm
Oh, i forget an German actor, i don´t know his name, a shame then i´m a German guy. He raced until 80 years. He was not a frontrunner but he raced serious.

Thomas

Gunter Phillip (sp)?

#29 thomaskomm

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Posted 28 September 2008 - 14:34

Hi Michael!
Yep!
Thomas :wave:

#30 rx-guru

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Posted 29 September 2008 - 14:25

http://de.wikipedia....ns_Affentranger

Wonder when he won his last race? He died in December 2005 when he was 89-years-old and AFAIK he raced at least till the mid 1990s.

#31 doc knutsen

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Posted 29 September 2008 - 17:17

Swedish saloon car star of the Cortina Lotus and Escort Twin Cam era, Erik Berger, made his comeback in Nordic Historic racing a few years ago. In the wet and slippery final Nordic Championship race at Våler in Norway,three weeks ago, he took outright victory, driving his Mk I Escort with a 2-litre BDG, beating several other BDG Escorts as well as the cream of the Nordic Period G saloons. Erik walks with a spring in his step, from having a second career just about as successfull as he was in the Sixties. He is 83...

#32 Graham Clayton

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Posted 08 August 2011 - 02:30

At the age of 77, former NASCAR driver Red Farmer won a late-model sedan race at the Eldora Speedway in Ohio in June 2005, and was still racing at the nearby Talladega Short Track in 2009 at the age of 81.

#33 cheapracer

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Posted 08 August 2011 - 03:44

Jim Richards is 63 and still winning races at top level Australian motorsport and is not a man you would bet against for the Targa Tasmania.


#34 Allan Lupton

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Posted 08 August 2011 - 08:05

Didn't Tom Delaney (c. 93) win a handicap race in his Lea Francis at the Silverstone Spring VSCC meeting in 2004?

Just found this thread and post and, although Tom has died since Jeremy posted this, he won a race at BDC Silverstone in August 2005 at the age of 94½.
I rest my case!

#35 Jim Thurman

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Posted 08 August 2011 - 08:22

I mentioned him years ago in another thread, but to update...dirt late model racer Larry Damitz has 8 feature wins so far this season, at age 82. His last win, thus far, came on July 31 at Merced Speedway, Merced, California.

He has raced continously since 1950.

#36 stevewf1

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Posted 09 August 2011 - 12:08

I seem to remember a fellow by the name of Dan Carmichael (I think) who was winning SCCA regionals when he was in his late 60s...


#37 Ray Bell

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Posted 09 August 2011 - 14:14

He won't be the oldest, but worth a mention...

Barrie Watt proudly displays a photo of himself in his midget with his crew standing around it. Photo taken in 1956. And he has another photo, this one shows him sitting in the same midget with the same crew members standing around in the same order... taken 2006.

But he doesn't race that one seriously any more. He has more modern midgets to race, and he told me a couple of years ago (he would be the wrong side of 70, he was an avid teenaged spectator at immediate post-war events) that he won a feature event at Yandina or somewhere that year.

#38 Disco Stu

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Posted 09 August 2011 - 14:39

I seem to remember a fellow by the name of Dan Carmichael (I think) who was winning SCCA regionals when he was in his late 60s...


That's covered early in this thread.