I was informed yesterday by Willem that Walt passed away on September 9th at his residence in Lake Elsinore CA, age 83 of natural causes. Another link to the past has left us. Walt had a lengthy list of racing personalities in his Rolodex. Agnelli, Briggs Cunningham,Phil Hill, Denise McCluggage, Joe Sheppard and many many others. Walt, Willem and I conversed daily if not weekly over the last many years. His behind the scene stories offered a glimpse into what it took to compete, especially at LeMans. During the 1960 running Walt was instrumental in the Cunningham #3 Corvette winning its class. Walt described it as the “Ice Capade” . With the engine overheating late in the race, and unable to add water per the rules book , Walt asked Briggs “Why not Ice” ?l Thinking quickly, all the ice in a nearby food concession stand was pirated. Packed into every nook and cranny of the engine compartment it allowed the car to finish first in class. RIP Walt.
Walter “Walt” Carroll RIP
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#2
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- 409 posts
- Joined: June 08
New Member
Posted 20 September 2021 - 16:51
I was informed yesterday by Willem that Walt passed away on September 9th at his residence in Lake Elsinore CA, age 83 of natural causes. Another link to the past has left us. Walt had a lengthy list of racing personalities in his Rolodex. Agnelli, Briggs Cunningham,Phil Hill, Denise McCluggage, Joe Sheppard and many many others. Walt, Willem and I conversed daily if not weekly over the last many years. His behind the scene stories offered a glimpse into what it took to compete, especially at LeMans. During the 1960 running Walt was instrumental in the Cunningham #3 Corvette winning its class. Walt described it as the “Ice Capade” . With the engine overheating late in the race, and unable to add water per the rules book , Walt asked Briggs “Why not Ice” ?l Thinking quickly, all the ice in a nearby food concession stand was pirated. Packed into every nook and cranny of the engine compartment it allowed the car to finish first in class. RIP Walt.
Condolences about this news. Hilarious story.
#3
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- 145 posts
- Joined: July 09
Member
Posted 23 September 2021 - 16:29
Walt was always behind the scene. It takes more then just the car and drivers to be competitive in any discipline. Walt’s idea at Le Mans was just as instrumental in winning as Me “C” unlimited funding.
