Dan Gurney, American racer and five-time NASCAR winner, dies at 86

Dan Gurney, one of America's greatest racing talents on the international stage and a five-time winner in NASCAR's premier series, died Sunday. He was 86. Gurney was the first driver to win races in NASCAR, Formula One and IndyCar. Only Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya have done so since. Gurney's family issued a statement confirming his passing, due to complications from pneumonia. "With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today, January 14, 2018," read the statement, attributed to his wife, Evi, the Gurney family and his All-American Racers teammates. "In deepest sorrow, with gratitude in our hearts for the love and joy you have given us during your time on earth, we say 'Godspeed.' " Gurney scored five victories in what is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, all at the former Riverside International Raceway road course in California during the 1960s. Four of those Riverside wins came with Wood Brothers Racing, the other with the Holman-Moody Ford operation. Gurney also made three starts in the Daytona 500, with a best finish of fifth place in 1963. He also won the three-hour Daytona Continental sports-car race in 1962, the inaugural event which was the predecessor to IMSA's Rolex 24 endurance race. "The word 'legend' can sometimes be overused, but in describing Daniel Sexton Gurney, it's the only word that fits," said IMSA President Scott Atherton. "Dan Gurney was an American racing legend who accomplished nearly all there was to accomplish as a driver in our sport, from sports cars to NASCAR, Indy cars to Formula 1. Dan was an innovative car builder and a lifelong steward of motorsports beyond his on-track performance." Gurney made numerous contributions in the areas of aerodynamics and safety, and he also made his mark as a car builder. He developed a rear-wing extension nicknamed the "Gurney Flap," which improved downforce, and he was also widely credited as the first driver to wear a full-face helmet. [caption id="attachment_99825" align="alignright" width="300"] Ford Motor Co.[/caption] The last of Gurney's four Formula One wins -- in the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix -- came in a car he constructed. The previous week, Gurney achieved another momentous victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloting a Ford GT40 with co-driver A.J. Foyt. That triumph led to a motorsports tradition that continues today. Handed a bottle of champagne at Le Mans for the customary post-race sip, an excited Gurney instead drenched bystanders in Victory Lane with a spray from the large bottle. "I was so stoked that when they handed me the magnum of Moet, I shook the bottle and began spraying at the photographers, drivers, Henry Ford II, Carroll Shelby and their wives," Gurney told author Eoin Young in 2013. "It was a very special moment. What I did with the champagne was totally spontaneous. I had no idea it would start a tradition. I was beyond caring and just got caught up in the moment. "It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime occasions where things turned out perfectly. … I thought this hard-fought victory needed something special." Gurney also won seven times in IndyCar competition. He also prevailed in the Trans Am Series, driving for NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore. "Of course it was fun," Gurney said of his racing career, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2000. "It was more than fun. It was something that consumed one's whole life. I think you're fortunate if you can end up doing something that you love to do, and that was it for me. I wasn't sure I would sustain that feeling, but I did."