Dan Gurney
Race car driver, Person or entity appearing in film
1931 –
Who is Dan Gurney?
Daniel Sexton Gurney is a retired American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.
The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager. He has been a driver, a car manufacturer, and a team owner at racing's highest levels since 1958.
Gurney also won races in the Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series. Gurney was the first driver to win races in Sports Cars, Formula One, NASCAR, and Indy Car. In 1967, after winning the 24 hours of Le Mans together with A.J. Foyt, he spontaneously sprayed champagne while celebrating on the podium. Apart from starting this tradition, he also was the first to put a simple right-angle extension on the upper trailing edge of the rear wing. This device, called a Gurney flap, increases downforce and, if well designed, imposes only a relatively small increase in aerodynamic drag. At the 1968 German Grand Prix he became the first driver ever to use a full face helmet in Grand Prix racing.
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- Born
- Apr 13, 1931
Port Jefferson - Also known as
- Герни, Дэн
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
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"Dan Gurney." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/dan_gurney>.
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