Password The original Penske Racing team included Penske, Donohue, chief mechanic and crew chief Karl Kainhofer. [2], Donohue was invited back to Le Mans by Ford in 1967. FIA grants Hamilton medical exemption to wear nose studs, Hamilton: F1 retirement talk from Button and Hill not "helpful, Hamilton: F1 retirement talk from Button and Hill not "helpful He was the thinking man's driver, maybe because, unlike most of his rivals, he had an Ivy League education and maybe because looking at that cherubic face, which was several years younger than his racescarred body, there was no other way to explain how this kid was winning. After going to the hospital in Graz the next day, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a cerebral hemorrhage and died. Oops! Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked . Of 55 Trans-Ams he entered, he won 29. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue's career, along with Roger Penske's Formula One aspirations, took a tragic turn. He tinkered his way all through Pingry School, Brown University and a job as a mechanical engineer with the Pulverizing Machinery Corporation in Summit. The real Mark came out.. The Porsche engineers obliged, but the new ducts interfered with the bodywork closure pins that attached body panels to the car. I did everything I could to keep up. He was so gentlemanly, he was boring. And neither found what they expected. It was, as they say in racing, a freak accident. But Donohue knew that time was running short and his skills and reflexes weren't getting any better. who retired from one of the greatest careers in auto racing history at age 36, unretired at 37 and died Tuesday night at 38 of brain injuries suffered in a crash before the Austrian Grand Prix. Revson's death made it almost inevitable that Donohue would come out of retirement. For him, it was a check in the box, Penske recalled. A mechanical engineering graduate from a wealthy New Jersey background, Donohue won everything in sight on the US scene, in every major category. He was passionate about racing. He sustained a fatal head injury from the crash. Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return, IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice On his second lap, while at about 260 km/h a rear tire of his March 751 - Ford suddenly blew, the out of control car went through the fence for about 180 feet, over a guard-rail and into a ravine. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway . Donohue was about to have his race victory taken away for cheating, but Roger Penske stepped in. Its been 43 years since Donohues death, but he remains Penske Racings cornerstone. In his career, Donohue started 311 races and won 119 of them, a winning average of 38 percent. We werent out there to have fun. It affected the whole team. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Anyone can read what you share. By 1973, the "Captain Nice" nickname he had earned earlier in his career was being supplanted by the nickname "Dark Monohue". During the day, being the state of health still worrying, he was airlifted to the Universittsklinik of Graz where he was operated by Dr. Fritz Heppner. They won the race, finished third overall, and went on to win 10 out of 13 races that year. I think at that point we started to bring the sport to a higher level, Penske said. He became a great friend of mine, Penske said in an IMS tribute to Donohue. The guy that is most like Mark that Ive ever met is David, said Don Cox. 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Drexel University 1973 Lexerd (Yearbook), pp. It was hard to believe because Donohue and team owner Roger Penske were then the cleverest guys in racing. We need an obit." Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar supporting a sign. The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets, Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery, Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery What I realize now is that I wouldnt have succeeded in my other businesses if Mark hadnt completely taken over the race team., In the Penske garage at Indy in 71, someonecertainly not Donohue or Penskeerected a sign that said: Those of you who think you know it all are particularly annoying to those of us who do., .css-dhtls0{display:block;font-family:GlikoS,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:400;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-dhtls0:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 61.25rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Elana Scherr: Dodge Challenger Challenge Accepted. He was helped by Emerson Fittipaldi, Bob Evans and Hans-Joachim Stuck, who arrived to the scene of the accident and parked their cars. Sponsored by Ancestry. He will be ranked with A. J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Andretti in the leading group of American drivers. Donohue raced at Indianapolis each year following,[15] finishing second in 1970 and 25th in 1971. During testing at Road Atlanta, Donohue recommended larger brake ducts, believing that more cooling would slow the brakes' degradation during a race. ', On Wednesday morning, August 20, 1975, the phone rang in my dingy beige apartment in Burlington, Ontario. When David Donohue was young, he never really got to know his father -- Mark Donohue. With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. Search instead in Creative? An investigation determined tire failure caused Donohues fatal crash, and the family won a $12 million settlement. Mark Donohue & Manfred Schaller's Fatal Crash @ sterreichring 1975 (Aftermath) FatalMotorsportChannel 26.2K subscribers Subscribe 24K views 4 months ago Mark Donohue and Roger Penske had. He was really the first person that I knew in racing that not only had the driving skills, but also the technical knowledge. I got to know Mark and hired him to run our Can-Am car. Fellow racer and former teammate Sam Posey called Donohue, a gunslinger who also happened to have designed the gun.. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. Anyone can read what you share. He answered, "It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear.". 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. In 1961, Donohue bought the Elva and battled with another young racing star, Peter Revson, for the SCCA divisional championship. Mark Donohue racked in 59 career wins for Team Penske in several different series. Mark Donohue was killed during a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. He died two days later. Mark felt he had to devote all his time to the team. In the four-race series, Donohue won the first and third of three races at Riverside and the final race of the year at Daytona. Directing other drivers, making suggestions, helping mechanicseven sweeping up around the garagewere not enough. Once, in 1971, he and Penske showed up at the Canadian Grand Prix and Jackie Stewart, the former world champion, kidded them: Welcome to the major leagues.. The email you entered is not registered with us. When Mark Donohue died in Austria 40 years ago this week, motor racing lost not only a hugely successful driver, but also someone who would surely have enjoyed a long and productive career on the other side of the sport. On January 21, 1973, the NASCAR Cup Series opened its season with a road course race at Riverside International Raceway in California. Its made me realize its an honor to be his son. The trip to the airport was like the Mille Miglia. Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Albany (Mark Donohue of counsel), for respondents. A 25-year-old passenger in the Infiniti, a woman from Olney, was seriously hurt and taken to the hospital. My involvement in racing has been like a jigsaw puzzle, David Donohue told Autoweek. He knew, maybe all along, that he would come back. They were embarrassed, and like the streak of success following the 71 Indianapolis 500, they returned to Riverside in 1973 with a heavy chip on their shoulders. Through racing and after more than four decades after the tragic death of his father, David Donohue believes he has found Mark Donohue. Mark obviously brought an air of professionalism. Walt Hangsen, a former SCCA champion and road racing veteran who even make a pair of F1 starts, helped Donohue get a ride in John Mecoms Ferrari 250LM at Sebring in 1965. Mark Donohue and Roger Penske had planned an hard assault to the 1975 Formula 1 Championship, but the season soon turned out to be difficult. He won three times in IndyCar competition and won the 1973 NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California, driving an AMC Matador. We need an obit.. He was young Roger Penskes equal. 66 Penske Racing entry went on to win at Indianapolis in 1972 to give Roger Penske the first of his 17 Indy 500 wins. The victory was the first for Penske in the Indy 500. This account has been suspended due to strange activity. The four-race schedule consisted of three races at Riverside and a finale on Daytonas road course. No one knew, but Mark Donohue had just 10 days to live. Email or password is incorrect. In 1969, Penske and Donohue raced in their first Indianapolis 500,[14] with Donohue finishing seventh, winning the rookie of the year award. So in a televised interview after the incident, race driver Mark Donohue told the story of his horrific practice crash at Road Atlanta with carefully chosen words. Autoweek participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. During the development of this motor, the German Porsche engineers often asked Donohue if the motor finally had enough power. Some day, they promised each other, Donohue would try to become the first American since Phil Hill in 1961 to win the world driving chmpionship. To those who knew him best, he had a tremendous sense of humor and enjoyed pulling pranks. Mark told me, Sometimes you just have to get it done., That was my take, too, says Michael Argetsinger, who has just written a riveting biography called Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed (David Bull Publishing, $39.95). He finished the race in his McLaren-Offy setting a record speed of over 162mph (261km/h),[16] which stood for twelve years. Mark Donohue spent many late nights in the bungaloo in front of the original Penske garage in Newtown Square, Pa. Marks wife, Sue, raised young David and his older brother Michael. Coming out of turn seven at about 150mph (240km/h), the rear bodywork flew off the car, which became extremely unstable, lifted off the ground, and tumbled down the track. The two drivers disagreed on many aspects of racing and car setup, but as a team were able to muster a fourth-place finish in the endurance classic.[13]. We may earn money from the links on this page. Maybe it was some Austrian rock, but whatever it was, one of Donohue's tires blew at 160 miles an hour. He tried to get a car dealership; that didnt work. It was at Hangsens funeral that Roger Penske approached Donohue to drive for him. Back to Victory Lane, Every Indy 500 Winner from the Dawn of Time, In search of Team Penske racing legend Mark Donohue. Forgot password? Acid-dipping car bodies was prevalent with competing Trans-Am teams also. Then they put both cars in the race, number 15 and 16, one car being 250 pounds lighter. IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane, Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane He joined Roger Penske, a former sports car rival who had set up his own team, the following year as a fulltime professional. His true passion was racing. Donohue was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. To appreciate what Donohue and Penske accomplished that day, lets consider three important points: Its safe to say Donohue, an Ivy League-educated engineer, was Penskes muse when it came to auto racing; the burgeoning team owner offered Donohue a driving job at a funeral for Donohues friend, Walt Hansgen, his co-driver in sports cars whod helped guide young Donohues career to that point. Donohue had stepped out of driving retirement . U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 91730 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. When she brought us in to see the finish, I dont think she knew he had won. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. . It became official last September. Donohue died in the one aspect of auto racing he Had not conqueredgrand prix. Penske's new Penske Racing complex in Mooresville, North Carolina is decorated with various murals of Donohue and his racing cars, most notably the AMC stock car and the various Porsche prototypes that Donohue drove through his career. Since his remarriage eight months ago, those same friends found Donohue relaxed and cheerful, something he had not been while retired. He had been a national amateur champion and the Sports Car Club of America driver of the year in 1965. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023, The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023