Now I am not of an age that remembers Dan Gurney in racing, but I think I have a good feeling of how the man was perceived! I have never found a bad word printed about the man. Now that’s rare in any walk of life but even more so in the cut throat world of Motor racing. So it was a sad day last week when we lost the great man.
Dan first came to my attention when I collected Autosport Magazines, as his beautiful blue Eagle F1 was so often on the front cover. I personally think that car was one of the prettiest and best presented cars of it’s era. I mean just look at that neat riveting and wonderful stainless spaghetti exhaust! 
Being a Porsche fan I of course read everything on the factory entries in the 1960s and that man again Dan Gurney cropped up. How sad was it that the other big win at Solitude was not an official Grand Prix? 
Only recently after receiving some photographs, I found out more about the Gurney Eagle Indy racers of the 1970s with Roy Winkelmann. It of course fired my interest in the man even more, and since have read articles and listened to pod casts involving the great man.
So even though I never saw Mr Gurney race it was a sad day for me too when I learnt of his passing. But there is one other thing for certain, whether you saw him race or not; Dan Gurney has left an indelible mark on Motorsport that cannot and will not be forgotten. Some things are more obvious than you may think!

Spraying Champagne: A spontaneous action after his Le Mans win that now is part of all Motor Sport.
The Gurney Wing: A end plate described as such even today.
The Gurney Bubble: Dan was over six feet tall and the famous GT40 Bubble in the roof was for him.
The Porsche factory’s only F1 win: Dan Gurney French GP 1962
Brabham: The teams first Grand Prix win
Eagles first Win Belgium: Becomes the only driver to score the first win in F1 for three different manufacturers; Porsche, Brabham and Eagle
Introduction of the full face helmet in F1: Dan at the Nürburgring 1968 was the first driver to wear a full face helmet.
So there we are a racing driver never to be forgotten. Dan Gurney the Legend All American Racer Eagle Monaco GP 1967