I became a racing fan in my childhood in the 60's, when ABC started a show called "Wide World of Sports" and among many other things, they showed highlights of Formula One races, Le Mans, and other things I never knew existed, having grown up in Washington DC, with just baseball, basketball, and American Football available to me. As soon as I saw those beautiful cars in those exotic locations I was hooked.
I started attending races in the 70's, including Formula One at Long Beach and Watkins Glen, and I started attending the Daytona 24 Hour race annually in 1980. In 1986 Dan Gurney, one of my all-time heroes, brought a team of Toyota Celicas to compete in the GTU class for cars under 2.5 litres.
At about 11pm, I was wandering through the paddock, and saw Dan supervising a transmission change on one of their cars. I knew I could not leave without at least saying hello, so I walked up to him, excused myself, said hello, and thanked him for all of the thrills and excitement his driving had given me through the years. He told the crew to keep working and he stepped away from the car, shook my hand, asked me my name, and we had a wonderful conversation for several minutes, ending with him thanking me for being a fan and coming to the races.
You always want your heroes to be so kind and gracious when you meet them, and Dan Gurney more than lived up to that. It's a memory that always brings a smile.
Jim Casey
Memory added on April 24, 2014
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