10 replies to this topic

[Gil Bouffard]

From: http://motorsport.co...le.asp?ID=56749
Jim Gilmore killed in accident
HISTORY CART IRL

2001-01-01
Kalamazoo, Michigan: James Stanley "Jim" Gilmore, Jr., Championship car sponsor, Kalamazoo businessman, and public servant was killed early Sunday afternoon in a freak traffic accident.

Gilmore, 74, was pronounced dead at the scene. He and a passenger were returning from shopping when Gilmore hit a patch of ice and lost control of his 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup truck.

The truck skidded into some deep snow, flipped on to the drivers side, and to continued to slide into a fence. Sheriff deputies said that snow poured into the driver's side window and sunroof. Fire and rescue from Comstock Township had to dig Gilmore's body out of the snow.

Gilmore sponsored Championship race cars from 1967-1990, most notably for A. J. Foyt. He sponsored Gordon Johncock from 1967 to 1970 in the Gilmore Broadcasting Specials. In 1970, he raced two cars, one with Johncock, the other with Jack Brabham. In 1971, Mel Kenyon, Art Pollard and Jimmy Caruthers raced under the Gilmore banner. Mel Kenyon returned in 1972 along with Wally Dallenbach and Lee Kunzman.

In 1973, Gilmore began his relationship with A.J. Foyt. This pairing lasted until Gilmore retired from sponsorship in 1990.

Gilmore sponsored cars won a total of thirty races.

One of the grand men of racing has now departed. He will be missed.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

--Jack Durbin - Motorsport.com

[JJ]

R.I.P.

Always sad to lose a person in the motorsports.

[John B]

It was somewhat curious that A.J. Foyt in his book made only one passing reference to Gilmore, his longtime partner in racing.

Sad news just weeks after Stan Fox's traffic accident death in New Zealand

[The Swerve]

Can someone enlighten me as to why this guys was so important to motorsport? He was just a sponsor after all, right? Like Marlboro and West etc etc??

Apart from money (obviously) did he contribute in other ways that other sponsors did not?

[Uncle Davy]

Sjeez, Swerve, you don't wait until the body is cold, do you?

Gilmore was also a team owner; he was actively involved in the running of his teams, beyond just providing sponsorship, and was well thought of in the Indycar community.[p][Edited by Uncle Davy on 01-02-2001]

[Uncle Davy]

For more on Gilmore, go here:

http://www.speedvisi...ws/010102a.html

[aross]

How Important was he? As much as I hate to admit it, sponsors, or more accurately patrons, are critical to the sport and drivers. There is many a driver who would not be in the big leagues without someone taking a personal interest.
Hell, F1 racing would continue without Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Flavio Briatore and even Herr Schuey. Could we do without the sponsors? Not bloody likely.
And, hell, as far as A.J. is concerned, his biography hardly mentions anyone else other than himself. Hardly a good judge of other's importance.

[The Swerve]

Whats the problem?

I don't know who he is and I'm asking a question for more information. I'm intrigued to find out what it was about this man that marked him out as special in a lot of peoples eyes.

[John B]

Swerve,

Look at it this way. If it was any one individual that was identified with a given corporate sponsorship, say a "Bernie Marlboro" or "Heinrich West" then I suspect they would be pretty well known figures in F1. Gilmore the individual was identified with Foyt, who was perhaps the biggest name in American racing during the time of their collaboration. Winning the high profile media friendly Indy 500 for the record 4th time in 1977 didn't hurt either.

[desmo]

I went to school with his daughter Ruth and remember well that he would have the previous year's Indy car on the roof of his house as a Christmas decoration! Also he had an automatic gate on his driveway that would close with great commotion if you tripped the light beam a hundred feet or so past the street. If you were fast you could get out before it shut. I'll bet I annoyed him good a few times! About a block from his house is a corner of High, Low, Short and Long Streets.

[aross]

Sorry if I sounded a bit miffed Swerve, but it's too often that we forget how important the money guys are to this sport. I'm not saying that they should run it in every detail, but let's not refer to them as "just a sponsor" okay?
What was great about the old days of sponsorship was that it was often an identifiable individual behind the money who did more than write a cheque. I'd love to see Paul Newman on the radio to the drivers and getting his hands dirty on occasion. I know he could, so why doesn't he?
I recently caught a film on Speedvision that chronicled Jim Garner's short time as a team owner. There he was hunting around for a distributor for the Formula A, then writing the cheque too!