3-time F1 champ Jack Brabham died today at 88 years old.
RIP Jack. We love you.
updated by @eric-cardona: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
3-time F1 champ Jack Brabham died today at 88 years old.
RIP Jack. We love you.
R.I.P. Jack. I remember it just as though it were yesterday listening to Freddie Agabashian describe Jack on Memorial Day 1961 driving that little Cooper Climax, the first rear engine car in Indy 500 history.
I definitely stand corrected. And... thank you, Perry, for the terrific history lesson.
(Photo: William Palmer / File photo)
A legend among the Indianapolis 500 legends died Monday.
A.J. Watson, whose cars dominated the roadster era of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's heydays, died four days after his 90 th birthday.
Watson-built cars won the 500 six times between 1956 and 1964, and he was the winning chief mechanic four times.
He was a fixture in Gasoline Alley for more than 50 years, and he'd counsel anyone seeking his advice.
"I don't know if there were many ever comparable to him," said A.J. Foyt, who won the 1961 race in a car copied from Watson's design.
Foyt won the '64 race in an actual Watson roadster, joining Pat Flaherty, Rodger Ward (twice), Jim Rathmann and Parnelli Jones as 500 winners driving Watson's work.
Watson was the model of professionalism and presentation, and he never strayed from his neatly cropped white crew cut. Foyt said it was amazing that Watson could build a car without getting dirty.
The simple Watson had a simple motto: If it's not broke, don't fix it.
"An amazing man, the most impressive mechanic, engineer and designer I ever worked with," said John Barnes, who in 1998 started Panther Racing. "He's who I want to grow up to be like."
Watson left John Zink's team to join Bob Wilke and Ward, forming the Flying W's as part of Leader Card Racing, which spanned the careers of Ward in the late 1950s through Buddy Lazier in the early 1990s.
"He was a leader in the garage area, both him and his cars," Roger Penske said of Watson, who was born in Mansfield, Ohio, but was known as a Californian. "His integrity as an individual was amazing."
Foyt was at Watson's side Thursday in celebration of Watson's birthday. Foyt spent 45 minutes there as his Verizon IndyCar Series cars practice just four blocks west of IMS. For years, Watson lived near the intersection of Lynhurst and Crawfordsville Roads.
"I'm so glad I got to see him and be there," Foyt said. "We talked about building (engines) in a garage. His cars were No. 1 here; they were the ones to beat."
