His retirement was short-lived, however, as he was lured back to full-time competitive driving by Penske when he formed a Formula One team, Penske Cars Ltd, to compete in the final two events of the 1974 Formula One World Championship, and to continue competing in 1975 with the new Penske PC1. Two weeks ago, however, he showed he had not lost his skill at getting a race car around a track when he set a world speed record of 221.160 miles an hour for a closed course. And my wife gave me permission, so when something like that happens you have to go. Hed eventually swap leads with Richard Petty, but took the reins of the race for good for the final 75 circuits, lapping the entire field in the process. (Photo: Bob DOlivo / The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images). Walt Czarnecki, Team Penske vice chairman and among the operations early members, has a deep admiration and respect for what Donohue meant to the Penske organization. He was passionate about racing. Penske's first race shop in Newtown Square, Pa. All of these tiny little stories you get to put all of these puzzle pieces together and get a much better picture of my father. 500-mile (800km) SCCA endurance event, which he won. An experienced race driver named Walt Hansgen (who worked for Inskip Motors in New York & Rhode Island) recognized Donohue's ability[2] and befriended him, eventually providing an MGB (through Inskip Motors in Providence, RI and prepped by their race shop Competition Engineering)[8] for Donohue to race at the 1964 Bridgehampton In 69 Mark repeated his Trans-Am championship, winning six of 12. * Most laps led. That was the most striking thing I ever saw him do. Then they put both cars in the race, number 15 and 16, one car being 250 pounds lighter. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Mark Donohue was one of the daredevil drivers of the 1970's. He exuded boyhood charm, was a speed demon behind the wheel, and was a legend of US racing, with wins at Daytona, the Indy 500, and Trans-Am Champion. Its a goal he had and a goal he checked off. Donohue was a . Appeal from that part of an order of the Supreme Court (Platkin, J. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp "Can-Am Killer" Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1972. It was an iconic car, iconic colors for the day and it really brings back memories. Or, signing some autographs. In the 19721973 season, driving an AMC Matador for Penske Racing in NASCAR's top division, the Winston Cup Series, Donohue won the season-opening event at Riverside. Donohue was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mark Neary Donohue Jr. (March 18, 1937 August 19, 1975), nicknamed "Captain Nice,"[1][2] and later "Dark Monohue,"[2] was an American race car driver and engineer known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories.[3][4][5][6]. The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets, Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery, Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery He was a partner, he was a friend and a critical piece of the foundation of our race team.. Please try again. The car did a series of cartwheels, and Donohue broke both legs. We started with a Lola 4-wheel drive, and in 1971 we got a McLaren. Why Las Vegas is key to F1's growth plans, Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design wont copy F1 rivals, Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design wont copy F1 rivals Seeing another man driving your car, a car you know so well. 1968 would be a banner year for Donohue in the Trans-Am series, as he successfully defended his 12 Hours of Sebring victory by partnering with Craig Fisher and driving his Penske Chevrolet Camaro to victory. The singleseat, opencockpit Formula One cars used in grand prix racing have been called torpedoes. At first, the former Indianapolis 500 winner was thought to have just a mild concussion. Donohue was obsessed with finding any possible advantage through engineering -- and loopholes in the rules. Its made me realize its an honor to be his son. It became official last September. The driver of the Honda was killed. Even with only three caution flags, the race lasted 12 minutes shy of five hours, a brutal exercise for the majority of the right-turn-averse stock car regulars, but nothing a veteran of the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring hadnt already experienced. We need an obit." Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar supporting a sign. [2], Donohue was invited back to Le Mans by Ford in 1967. [2] Donohue announced that he would retire from racing after the 1973 Can-Am season. With Donohues methodical approach and his commitment to work for Penske fulltime that counted for a lot Penske said. He was young Roger Penskes equal. They also acid-dipped the body on the Camaro and had to caution people not to lean against it, for fear it would dent. I had just put in 30 consecutive hours of writing, editing, and laying out race reports for CAR Weekly, which we sometimes spelled Weakly because there were only five of us and we possessed merely the slimmest notion of what we were doing. During testing at Road Atlanta, Donohue recommended larger brake ducts, believing that more cooling would slow the brakes' degradation during a race. Her . He won three times in IndyCar competition and won the 1973 NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California, driving an AMC Matador. He was one of the best American roadracers in history, but his biggest triumph was on the oval at Indianapolis, where in 1972 he won the 500. I know their first conversation after the race, he didnt say (that he had won). He won three national sports car championships as an amateur before he turned professional in 1966, first as the late Walt Hansgen's codriver, then for the rest of his life with Penske. Donohue demolished Al Unser's IMS track record of 170.221mph with a 181.2mph practice lap on May 12, a day that still makes Penske chuckle. Mark Donohue and Roger Penske had planned an hard assault to the 1975 Formula 1 Championship, but the season soon turned out to be difficult. "They posted me to the infield, taking care of people who got too much sun or had too much to drink," Olvey said. He turned out to be a real partner of mine. He was so gentlemanly, he was boring. Allison, the runner-up finisher, will forever be in awe of what he witnessed from Donohue, with whom hed eventually work while driving for Penske. The winner of the 1972 Indianapolis 500 and the Can Am in l973. It was, as they say in racing, a freak accident. Donohue raced at Indianapolis each year following,[15] finishing second in 1970 and 25th in 1971. Donohue began working with cars while growing up in the nineteenfifties in a comfortable neighborhood in Summit, N. J. racing was concerned, he had done it all. Donahue qualified fourth and passed Bobby Allison for the lead on Lap 10. Found a bug?SuggestionsCopyrightNeed help?Business DevelopmentGeneral inquiry, PopScreen - Video Search, Bookmarking and Discovery Engine. With the Corvette money, he also bought a trailer to hold the car and a station wagon to tow the trailer.. Back then it was tape-delayed, and she was watching the race on TV. IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane Jackie Stewart interviews Mark Donohue prior to an IROC race in 1974. On his second lap, while at about 260 km/h a rear tire of his March 751 Ford suddenly blew, the out of control car went through the fence for about 180 feet, over a guard-rail and into a ravine. Watts.) Donohue disagreed. Auto Race Car Driver. [2], Donohue was hired on March 29, 1964, by Jack Griffith [Griffith Motors, Syosset, N.Y./Plainview, N.Y.] as design engineer for the Griffith, formerly TVR Grantura Mk III, powered by a Ford 289 cid (4.7l) V8 engine. So they fiddled with it in non-meaningful ways, then Mark went back out. He gained 11.5 secondsthe quickest Ferrari in the field and fourth overall. Seeing it in real life when you come into the museum here, I know one thing -- I fit in it really well. A motorist was killed early Tuesday in a single-car crash in Montgomery County, police said. Donohue did not start the first race of the year at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City due to problems getting the engine to start. Racing is a very weird circus that way. Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times Sometimes, I would leave early and take my own car to the airport because I didnt want to put up with him. We think we've made a major discovery. Donohue dominated the 1967 race, driving a Lola T70 MkIII Chevrolet for Penske. In February of '65 Donohue was named as comptroller at Griffith Motors but was soon spirited away from Griffith by Roger Penske early in 1966. Prof. Fritz Heppner, head of the neurosurgical department at Graz Hospital, said irreparable damage had been done to that part of the brain that controls involuntary body functions. For him, it was a check in the box, Penske recalled. After coming out of retirement with his former boss, Penske, Donohue returned to Formula One, entering into the final two races of the 1974 Formula One season. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Nine weeks before the Le Mans race, while testing a GT40 Mk II in the rain, Donohue's friend and former teammate Walt Hansgen lost control and crashed his car into an escape road barrier, suffering fatal injuries. Donohue and Hawkins completed only twelve laps due to differential failure and finished 47th. I think the people at Indy thought we were the college guys with the crew haircuts and the polished wheels. It affected the whole team. George Follmer, Donohue's old Trans-Am teammate, took over testing the 917-10 for Donohue, who said: It just doesn't feel right. We had a polished yellow tile floor in our garage in Gasoline Alley and took everything out at night and cleaned the floor. The driver must accept the risks involved, which I did and I spent my time in the hispital as a result., See the article in its original context from. Instructions on how to reset your password have been sent to your email. [2][6], Donohue won the SCCA national championship in an Elva Courier in 1961. The bumpy, rain-soaked course around J.F.K. This was not merely a celebrity autobiography, but a detailed, step-by-step record of the engineering approach he took to getting the absolutely highest performance from every car he drove, always looking for that elusive "unfair advantage". Mark Donohue is killed during a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. He was the thinking man's driver, maybe because, unlike most of his rivals, he had an Ivy League education and maybe because looking at that cherubic face, which was several years younger than his racescarred body, there was no other way to explain how this kid was winning. We had the tragic crash in practice and he seemed like he was all right, but he ended up losing his life. I realized then that if I wanted to do better in this business I had to spend more time on my car, he said. His condition quickly worsened and he passed away two days later, victim of a blood clot in his brain.Following the fatal accident the sterreichring first turn was tightened in 1976 and the track lenght passed from 5.911 to 5.906 kilometers. Donohue had stepped out of driving retirement . Except I knew it wouldnt last, recalls Penske Racings timer/scorer Judy Stropus. In winning the first IROC championship, Donohue beat the best racing drivers of that era from all of the major championships, such as Denny Hulme, Richard Petty, A. J. Foyt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Peter Revson, Bobby Unser, and Gordon Johncock. Aug 21, 2015, 4:28 PM. To appreciate what Donohue and Penske accomplished that day, lets consider three important points: Its safe to say Donohue, an Ivy League-educated engineer, was Penskes muse when it came to auto racing; the burgeoning team owner offered Donohue a driving job at a funeral for Donohues friend, Walt Hansgen, his co-driver in sports cars whod helped guide young Donohues career to that point. In 1969, Penske and Donohue raced in their first Indianapolis 500,[14] with Donohue finishing seventh, winning the rookie of the year award. The Penske overturned into a ravine, just a few meters beyond an underpass in which several people were standing.Debris from Donohue's car, particularly a wheel, hit a policeman, Richard Httner from Baden, who sustained critical head injuries, and three marshals - seriously injuring two of them, Gottfried Crnic and Manfred Schaller. But in eight months of retirement, the quiet, wellspoken kid from the other side of the tracks learned that the hobby that had become an obsession still haunted him. Revson's death made it almost inevitable that Donohue would come out of retirement. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 91730 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. The guy never gained that flashy status. 4445. Instead, Donohue retired. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that all memorial donations be sent to the Auto Racing Fraternity Foundation, 13539 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, Queens. Please try again. The 1975 season turned out to be a difficult one for Donohue and Penske. The out-of-control car left the track at high speed, tore some 60 meters of the catch-fence on the left side of the track and crashed against the guard-rail, vaulting over it. August 19, 1975 in Graz, Styria, Austria (car accident) Birth Name: Mark Neary Donohue Jr. Mini Bio (1) Mark Donohue was born on March 18, 1937 in Haddon Township, New Jersey, USA. He did it at Talladega, Ala., in the turbocharged Porsche he drove to the 1973 CanAm title. It includes information and additional photography that was not available before the first edition was published. . In addition, the horrific events at the 1973 Indianapolis 500 and the subsequent death of his friend, Swede Savage, pushed him to quit. Midway through the 1975 F1 season, Penske abandoned the troublesome PC1 and started using the March 751. During its production life, there were 192 Series 200 Griffiths built, 59 of the Series 400 and only 10 of the Series 600. Penske's new Penske Racing complex in Mooresville, North Carolina is decorated with various murals of Donohue and his racing cars, most notably the AMC stock car and the various Porsche prototypes that Donohue drove through his career. Donohue paced himself that day and took the lead for the first time with 12 laps to go. He wanted to know how we were doing. Mark was an engineer from Brown University, Penske said. His son, David, told me: The legend was that my dad and Roger conquered all. Its been 43 years since Donohues death, but he remains Penske Racings cornerstone. As a person, he was always fun to be around, but I always admired that work ethic he displayed when it was time to race., Donohue was known as Captain Nice. To some, however, Donohue seemed distant and was later nicknamed Dark Monohue., Donohue was a good guy, said long-time racing journalist Robin Miller, who was a young reporter for The Indianapolis Star when Donohue raced at Indy. He also gave us our first NASCAR win.
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