People: America?s Elder Statesman of Speed August 6, 2006
An exhibit that opened last month at the Saratoga Automobile Museum, ?John Fitch: An American Racing Hero,? pays tribute to this long, diverse career.
AUTO racing may not offer the equivalent of a golfer shooting his age, but John Fitch, who turned 89 last week, plans something like it in October. That is when he hopes to break a speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, a feat that will require a speed almost twice his age.
If he sets a new record for the class, it will be just another mark in a lifetime of automotive achievements that include driving for the legendary Mercedes-Benz factory team in the 1950?s; helping Chevrolet establish the Corvette?s racetrack credentials; building his own roadgoing sports cars; and creating a crash barrier that has saved an indeterminate number of lives on American highways and racetracks.
An exhibit that opened last month at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ?John Fitch: An American Racing Hero,? pays tribute to this long, diverse career ? one that is not over yet.
?The record right now is just under 170 m.p.h.,? Mr. Fitch said, referring to the speed mark for production cars with 3-liter engines. ?We?d like to do 175 or more, so it will stand for a while.?
The car he will drive, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing owned by Robert Sirna, a businessman from suburban Detroit, is among the cars displayed in the museum show, which runs through Nov. 15 (though the Gullwing is likely to make an early departure for Bonneville).
Given his history as a survivor of one of auto racing?s most treacherous eras (and of being shot down as a fighter pilot in World War II), Mr. Fitch has reason to hope he?ll live long enough to enjoy any speed record he sets for at least a few years.
Mr. Fitch, who still walks with a steady if somewhat slow gait, spoke at his home just across the road from Lime Rock Park, the racetrack in northwestern Connecticut whose early history he had a significant role in. The house, where he lives with Elizabeth, his wife of more than 50 years, dates to 1767 and is a rambling repository for a trove of automotive history, including books, photos, mementos and trophies..
No need to worry about his driving 170, he assured his visitor. ?It?s an absolute piece of cake,? Mr. Fitch said of the upcoming record attempt. ?It?s wide open. There?s nothing for you to hit, and you?re not going fast enough to fly, which I?ve already done.?
He wasn?t referring to his days as a P-51 pilot; Mr. Fitch crashed after becoming airborne racing Briggs Cunningham?s C5R at Rheims, France, in 1953.
That John Fitch made his name racing sports cars rather than open-wheel racers might seem curious given his early introduction to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by his stepfather, an executive at the Stutz car company, who drove the young boy around the speedway.
?It didn?t interest me,? Mr. Fitch said, pointing out that all Indianapolis racecars seemed mechanically similar.
In 1939, after a year at Lehigh University, he abandoned his formal education. ?I had a $15,000 inheritance from my grandfather,? he said, ?and I decided to see the world before it was destroyed, so I took a freighter to Europe.?
In England, he attended a sports car race and saw all sorts of fascinating cars. ?I decided to get involved in it,? he said.
He drove his first race through the streets of Bridgehampton, on Long Island, in 1949. Besides victories in the United States ? including the 1952 Seneca Cup on the old street circuit in Watkins Glen, N.Y., in a Jaguar, Mr. Fitch raced overseas, becoming one of the pioneers for a generation of American drivers.
(A late addition to the museum?s exhibit is the Allard J2 that Mr. Fitch raced to victory in March 1951 at the General Per?n Grand Prix in Buenos Aires; with it will be the sterling-silver trophy that Eva Per?n presented to him ? along with a kiss.)
His performance in 1952 in a Porsche at the N?rburgring in Germany led to a test-drive for Mercedes, where he impressed Alfred Neubauer, the manager of the company?s postwar racing team. He became the only American on the team, which included Stirling Moss and Peter Collins of England and Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina.
- Posted in : Uncategorized
- Author : arnold
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?