No, I never worried about the dangers of racing, he said in March, 1974, while being honored at a luncheon following his retirement. Your message has been sent. 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. Of 55 Trans-Ams he entered, he won 29. Im sure David really missed out on a lot. "Donohue is no angel out there on the track Parnelli Jones", "Donohue, on the Way Out, Views Things From Top; Calendar of Motor Sports", "1965 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance Race Profile", "1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors", "1967 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors", "Mark Donohue Named '500' Rookie of Year", "Mark Donohue set Indy speed record in 1972", "1973 Winston Western 500: Donohue Dominates", "Hall of Fame Members (Mark Donohue Jr.)", "Mark Donohue, Sports Cars, Class of 1990", Mark Donohue's IROC and NASCAR stats at racing-reference.info, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Donohue&oldid=1136103335, Brown University School of Engineering alumni, International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees, SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2014, Pages using small with an empty input parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, run as the Daytona 3 Hour Continental (196263), 24 Hours of Daytona (196671/ 1973/ 1975present), This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 19:22. Coming out of turn seven at about 150mph (240km/h), the rear bodywork flew off the car, which became extremely unstable, lifted off the ground, and tumbled down the track. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. We need an obit.. (Photo: Bob DOlivo / The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images). They discovered that using a drag racing trick of dipping a car in an acid bath would eat away small amounts of metal, which in turn made the car incrementally lighter, and allowed it to be driven faster. In fact, Mark often wasnt the engineer at all. But he always had good equipment, too. During their enormous success in Trans-Am, Penske and Donohue would begin to experiment with their Camaros. Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. When he came out, he was a different person. He was, I feel, the finest road race driver this country has ever produced, Allison told Hemmings Motor News years later. He was so gentlemanly, he was boring. The email you entered is not registered with us. The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023, What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles, What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. Appeal from that part of an order of the Supreme Court (Platkin, J. At about 09h45 he left the pits again for another testing run. 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. Its been 43 years since Donohues death, but he remains Penske Racings cornerstone. Mark won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 when David was just five. Portrait of American racing driver Mark Donohue as he poses with his car after winning the Indianapolis 500 race, Speedway, Indiana, May 1972. . I was at Lime Rock, Connecticut, Donohue said. Acid-dipping car bodies was prevalent with competing Trans-Am teams also. The pressures of racing and designing the car took their toll on Donohue. Late in 1973, when Penske decided to build a Formula One car for the 1975 season, Donohue knew what would happen. 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. The book was published shortly before Donohue's death. But where other youngsters were souping up cars to impress girls, I was only interested in the mechanics, Donohue said. * Most laps led. What I realize now is that I wouldnt have succeeded in my other businesses if Mark hadnt completely taken over the race team., In the Penske garage at Indy in 71, someonecertainly not Donohue or Penskeerected a sign that said: Those of you who think you know it all are particularly annoying to those of us who do., .css-dhtls0{display:block;font-family:GlikoS,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:400;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-dhtls0:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 61.25rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Elana Scherr: Dodge Challenger Challenge Accepted. If we're right, by next season we could be the dominant team in Formula One.. His son, David, told me: The legend was that my dad and Roger conquered all. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. He was a partner, he was a friend and a critical piece of the foundation of our race team.. The Porsche engineers obliged, but the new ducts interfered with the bodywork closure pins that attached body panels to the car. When she brought us in to see the finish, I dont think she knew he had won. 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. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/21/archives/mark-donohue-returns-to-die.html. Donohue went on to win 10 of 13 races, a Trans-Am series record which would stand until Tommy Kendall went 11 for 13 in the 1997 Trans-Am championship, winning the first 11 races that year in his All-Sport liveried Mustang. Mark Donohue's Fatal Crash - sterreichring 1975 (42 years ago) Humphrey The Auto Racing Fan 1989 2.38K subscribers Subscribe 54 Save 13K views 5 years ago Notice Age-restricted video. He was killed during a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. 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. Not that Donohues career or his one win in NASCAR needed validation, but IROC has long crystallized what fans thought of the talent in drivers who never outwardly succeeded in the Cup Series. Several minutes later Donohue regained consciousness and spoke with his rescuers, who took him to Knittelfeld hospital. I didnt get to know my father very well because he passed away when I was young, but racing has given him back to me. 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. It became official last September. Donohue won in 1972, driving for Penske. By the end of the crash, the front end of the car was missing, and Mark's legs were fully outside the car, with his only injury . We may earn money from the links on this page. Walt Hangsen, a former SCCA champion and road racing veteran who even make a pair of F1 starts, helped Donohue get a ride in John Mecoms Ferrari 250LM at Sebring in 1965. The four-race schedule consisted of three races at Riverside and a finale on Daytonas road course. [2] Donohue announced that he would retire from racing after the 1973 Can-Am season. What we learned from Friday practice at F1's 2023 Bahrain GP. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? Ford had developed a new GT, the Mark IV. Mark Donohue began racing at the age of 22 in a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette . Aug 21, 2015, 4:28 PM. He was passionate about racing. He died from severe head injuries sustained August 16 in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at Graz, Austria. Make sure you track out all the way for Turn 7. In the 1971 Indianapolis 500, Donohue started second and led 52 of the first 66 laps before breaking a gearbox. In 1967 and 1968, Trans-Am schedule included two of the most prized endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Though he walked away from the resulting crash, he fell into a coma the next day and, shortly after, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. It was an epic stomping; he led over 361 miles that day, and in perusing the finishing order Bobby Unser finished fourth while West Series drivers Ray Elder, Jimmy Insolo, Jack McCoy and Richard White, all of whom made regular stops at Riverside, finished third, fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively it was clear this was a race decided by the interlopers, the kind of race we no longer see in modern-day NASCAR, where drivers have been cross-trained and educated on technology and data to the point each race contains 38 different versions of the Donohue prototype. David Donohue drives his dad's 1972 Indy 500-winning car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. Some day, they promised each other, Donohue would try to become the first American since Phil Hill in 1961 to win the world driving chmpionship. Twice before he had had serious accidents and he walked like a man who had had his knees shattered and put back together again. Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return, IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice Donohue began the 1975 Formula 1 season as a 38-year-old rookie and the oldest driver on the grid. He said, Just follow me. Following Mark Donohue on a two-lane road with no street lights was an exercise. Directing other drivers, making suggestions, helping mechanicseven sweeping up around the garagewere not enough. 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. He would greet those who didnt know him with a smile, but he was so focused and obsessed with making the race car go fast, he was distant. A lot of the things we saw on todays cars are things Mark thought about and brought to the surface., Mark Donohue stood out more ways than one when he was dominating the Can Am Series in the early. Donohue had stepped out of driving retirement . In 1969, Penske brought his team -- and the Penske way -- to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. Jackie Stewart interviews Mark Donohue prior to an IROC race in 1974. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links. A mechanical engineering graduate from a wealthy New Jersey background, Donohue won everything in sight on the US scene, in every major category. [12] In his first race for Penske, at Watkins Glen in June 1966, Donohue qualified well but crashed the car at the top of a hill, destroying it. 4445. We used to clean our garage out every night, and that was something people didnt understand.. The original Penske Racing team included Penske, Donohue, chief mechanic and crew chief Karl Kainhofer. Donohue. At first, the former Indianapolis 500 winner was thought to have just a mild concussion. The victory was the first for Penske in the Indy 500. Despite this, Donohue still dominated the series, even though he suffered three DNFs during the season due to mechanical problems with the M6A. Donahue qualified fourth and passed Bobby Allison for the lead on Lap 10. There was little question then that Donohue, who would testdrive the new car and help supervise its development, would come out of retirement. But there was always that missing link, as he called itgrand prix. "Going down the back straightaway, the wing, which produced a tremendous amount of downforce at high speeds, came off the back of the car," Donohue claimed. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. During a post-race inspection, race stewards discovered that the car was 250 pounds lighter than the 2,800-pound minimum weight requirement. He was good in Trans-Am, Indy cars, Can-Am and Formula One. August 19th marks twenty-five years ago that Mark Donohue passed away from brain trauma, which was caused from an accident while practicing for a Formula 1 event. But his edge was rarely lost. And given enough time just one more year, maybe he wouldve become Americas first world champion.. He became a great friend of mine, Penske said in an IMS tribute to Donohue. As Roger Penske said, Mark wasnt flashy, but he put the numbers on the board.. He was helped by Emerson Fittipaldi, Bob Evans and Hans-Joachim Stuck, who arrived to the scene of the accident and parked their cars. In the final race of the season, Javelins finished in first, second and third place, with George Follmer becoming the only other Javelin driver to win besides Donohue. Mark Donohue drove the Porsche 917-30 Can-Am after making various aerodynamic and suspension modifications. My definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear., Burge Hulett, Donohues lifelong friend, told Bedard: Mark was actually a bit of a doofus, awkward everywhere except behind the wheel. After the Arab oil embargo in 1973, it led the SCCA, IMSA and other race series to impose fuel limitations on motor sport racing as a whole, which hampered the performance of the 917/30, making it uncompetitive in the Can-Am series. Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results, Inskip Family History & Competition Engineering staff. The Penske team leader, Heinz Hofer, said Donohue had told him after the crash that the left front tire had been punctured as he was traveling about 160 m.p.h. That was the most striking thing I ever saw him do. Donohue (along with Penske) were pioneers in many rights, some as notable as the use of a skidpad as a tool for developing and perfecting race car suspension designs and setups. A fire at the Sunoco refinery near the airport dominated the front pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer, but the sports section belonged to Mark Donohue, a racecar driver who had blown a tire during a practice run before the Austrian Grand Prix and died from complications related to the accident two days later, August 19, 1975. With Roger Penske, you are always going to have good equipment. At Donohue's bedside were his wife of eight months, Eden; his father, Mark Sr., a retired patent lawyer, and Roger Penske, for whom he drove since 1966 and a close personal friend. Brad Keselowski is second with 54 wins in NASCAR Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup Series racing. Mark Donohue. He never regained consciousness. We went to the Speedway in 1971 and we had this card that translated the speed on the stopwatch to your average speed. Donohues degree from Brown in Mechanical Engineering got him a job designing filters for air conditioners -- not quite what he had in mind. Were far from having too much horsepower, he asserted. (He was operated on at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Drs. In the four-race series, Donohue won the first and third of three races at Riverside and the final race of the year at Daytona. Riverside was over 2.6 miles long and the duration of the race 500 miles meant this particular event was more of an endurance contest. Our car experts choose every product we feature. George Follmer, Donohue's old Trans-Am teammate, took over testing the 917-10 for Donohue, who said: It just doesn't feel right. 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. It began as a hobby in 1959 when Donohue sold his soupedup Corvette, which he used to drive around at Brown, and for $3,000 purchased his first racing cara little Elva with an MG engine. 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 The Griffith company closed its doors in November, 1966. Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. (born March 18 1937 in Haddon Township, New Jersey, United States - died August 19 1975 in Graz, Austria) was an American racing driver who most notably drove in Formula One and sports cars. Two weeks ago, he took the 1973 CanAm car out of mothballs and set a world speed record for a closed course of 221.160 miles an. 500-mile (800km) SCCA endurance event, which he won. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 91730 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. He wanted to show he could do it all again. We started to look at data Mark was an engineer at Brown (University), and that was certainly part of it, but we were committed. Try a week on us. But he was still, a great driver. How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy, Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return, Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return The singleseat, opencockpit Formula One cars used in grand prix racing have been called torpedoes. We think we've made a major discovery. No one piece tells you what the puzzle is. He had one religion: testing. I know their first conversation after the race, he didnt say (that he had won). With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. Both Olvey and Trammell got their start in trackside medical response in similar fashion: Answering a bulletin board call for med students to help out at the Indianapolis 500 - Olvey in about 1969, Trammell in 1972. To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. His car was almost inexplicably fast, so much so that, according to Donohues book The Unfair Advantage, race winner Al Unser sought him out after the race and said: Look, weve been competitors for a long time, and you have your way of doing things and I have mine, but when you come here and run six miles an hour faster than everyone else I gotta shake your hand.. DON HUNTER, BILL OURSLER, THE MANUFACTURERS, Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. The Ferrari lived up to none of Marks calculations, and he was devastated, Bedard recalls. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue's career, along with Roger Penske's Formula One aspirations, took a tragic turn. He wanted to know how we were doing. Police have not yet released his identity.