Reliving Dan Gurney’s NASCAR Legacy at One of the Sport’s Most Dangerous Road Courses

Apr 3, 1960; Riverside, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; USAC driver Dan Gurney at the 1960 International Grand Prix road race at Riverside Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Darryl Norenberg-US PRESWIRE

In the fledgling 1960s and 1970s, when motorsports was a sport for people deviled by a passion for danger, Dan Gurney carved himself out as a hero for the American racing dream. Feared by his rivals, revered by his competitors, and outliving almost all his contemporaries, he passed away in 2018 at the age of 86. He left behind a legacy of excellence in every racing discipline he touched, but probably his best was at the revered Riverside Raceway in California.

The 20th of January marks the 62nd anniversary of his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series (called the Grand National Series back in the day) win at the grueling road course. Gurney ran only 16 NASCAR races in his storied career and won five — achieving every single one of them at the Riverside Raceway.

But what allowed him to make one of NASCAR’s most dangerous tracks his playground? “Some people just are good. You can learn to do things, but you have to have some knack for it other than just saying I’m going to do it and don’t know whether you can or not,” said Glen Wood, Gurney’s former team owner.

To put Gurney’s prowess behind the wheel of a Stock Car around Riverside into perspective one only has to look at the lives the track had claimed. While Gurney went on to master every nook, camber, and corner, the likes of Joe Weatherly — a two-time NASCAR champion — found the barriers and succumbed.

Maybe Gurney just had the knack of cheating death and finding the top step of the podium along the way. Or maybe, Gurney was blessed with the god-given right and talent to muscle roaring beasts as a gladiator.

“After all the experience I’ve had over the years watching him and listening to him, that’s so true. You’ll see a guy overdrive, and he pays for it coming off the corner. It’s so important to back off at the right place and get back on the throttle at the right place. He just knew how to do that so well,” adds Wood which proves the latter hypothesis.

One of his contemporaries, and arguably the greatest F1 driver ever, Jim Clark once called him the only driver he feared. And his fear was very well-founded. Today, Gurney stands as one of the first men to win across all the four major racing series in the world: F1, IndyCar, Sports Cars, and NASCAR.

Post Edited By: Srijan Mandal
Dan Gurney NASCAR Cup Series

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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