Dan Gurney passed yesterday, January 14th. He died of complications following pneumonia. He was 86.

Though he had finished his racing career by the time I was coherent, he was still a hero of mine. Like Andretti and Foyt, Gurney seemed to move effortlessly between different types of racing. But Dan was more than just a driver: he invented the Gurney flap, was a very early user of full-face helmets, and (of course) created the post-victory champagne spray celebration.

Gurney seems a very modern race car driver, though he started racing in the late 1950s. Quite tall for a racer (6 feet 4 inches) and ridiculously good-looking, he became an emblem of California cool to the racing world.

The redoubtable Andy Blackmore has quickly produced a commemorative helmet sticker. I hope to see them when we are down at the Rolex at the end of this month.

"At no time did we exceed 175 mph."—Dan Gurney following his win of the first Cannonball Run.