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IndyCar
INDYCAR: 10-Time Indy 500 Starter Jerry Grant Passes Away
He was burly, bald and brave with a wicked sense of humor but Jerry Grant should be remembered as one of the most under-rated racers of his day.
Jerry Grant. (Photo: IMS Photo)
He was burly, bald and brave with a wicked sense of humor but Jerry Grant should be remembered as one of the most under-rated racers of his day.
“Absolutely he was,” declared Dan Gurney, who more or less brought Grant into big time auto racing in the 1960s with All-American Racers. “He damn near won the Indy 500 for us in 1972, we had Sebring in the bag in ’66 and we won our class together in the Targa-Florio in Sicily.
“He was one of those guys who could step into any car and gas it and he did it more than once. I had a lot of admiration for his ability and his bravery.
“I always thought Jerry had a lot of natural talent, like a Lloyd Ruby.”
Grant, who passed away Sunday at the age of 77, was a 10-time starter at Indy who will always be remembered for his heartbreak in May of 1972.
Holding almost a lap lead on Mark Donohue in Gurney’s sleek blue Mystery Eagle with only 12 laps left, Jerry suffered a punctured tire and had to pit.
But he overshot his pit box into teammate Bobby Unser’s, where his crew changed the tire and added some fuel. He managed to salvage second place but was penalized to 12th for violating USAC rules on being refueled.
“There was some consolation in that he became the first driver to run 200 mph later that summer (at Ontario Motor Speedway) but the one that got away at Indianapolis always hurt,” continued Gurney, who would win Indy three years later with Unser.
Driving sports cars in northern California in the early ‘60s, Grant gained notoriety with success in a 3-liter Ferrari before being hired by Gurney for the USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship), where he was impressive in the Lola T70.
He and Gurney were less than five minutes away from victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966 when struck down by a mechanical issue and they suffered a similar fate a couple months later in France.
“He was my co-driver at Le Mans in 1966 with the Ford GT and we led for about 10 hours before losing a head gasket,” said Gurney, who would team with A.J. Foyt for victory in that same car the following June.
Grant failed to qualify at Indy in 1964, made his initial start in ’65 but got his first good ride with a Gurney Eagle in 1966. And that’s the only chassis manufacturer he raced for at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from that May until 1977 when he retired.
At 6-4 and 240 pounds, Grant was quite a load for those early rear-engine cars and watching him get in the car could be quite entertaining. But no more so than his quick change “under the hood.”
Bald at an early age, Grant usually wore a hat but had a special drill for disguising his hairline when driving. “He had a trick way to take his toupee on and off when he took off his helmet and we got real good at it,” recalled Gurney, with a big laugh.
“Jerry was always a fun guy to be around and he was probably lucky to survive some of the practical jokes we played on him but it was a great time in our lives.”
After racing, Grant was a mainstay in the Champion Spark Plug Highway Safety Team and always made it to Indy or Long Beach to see his old friends.
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
“Absolutely he was,” declared Dan Gurney, who more or less brought Grant into big time auto racing in the 1960s with All-American Racers. “He damn near won the Indy 500 for us in 1972, we had Sebring in the bag in ’66 and we won our class together in the Targa-Florio in Sicily.
“He was one of those guys who could step into any car and gas it and he did it more than once. I had a lot of admiration for his ability and his bravery.
“I always thought Jerry had a lot of natural talent, like a Lloyd Ruby.”
Grant, who passed away Sunday at the age of 77, was a 10-time starter at Indy who will always be remembered for his heartbreak in May of 1972.
Holding almost a lap lead on Mark Donohue in Gurney’s sleek blue Mystery Eagle with only 12 laps left, Jerry suffered a punctured tire and had to pit.
But he overshot his pit box into teammate Bobby Unser’s, where his crew changed the tire and added some fuel. He managed to salvage second place but was penalized to 12th for violating USAC rules on being refueled.
“There was some consolation in that he became the first driver to run 200 mph later that summer (at Ontario Motor Speedway) but the one that got away at Indianapolis always hurt,” continued Gurney, who would win Indy three years later with Unser.
Driving sports cars in northern California in the early ‘60s, Grant gained notoriety with success in a 3-liter Ferrari before being hired by Gurney for the USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship), where he was impressive in the Lola T70.
He and Gurney were less than five minutes away from victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966 when struck down by a mechanical issue and they suffered a similar fate a couple months later in France.
“He was my co-driver at Le Mans in 1966 with the Ford GT and we led for about 10 hours before losing a head gasket,” said Gurney, who would team with A.J. Foyt for victory in that same car the following June.
Grant failed to qualify at Indy in 1964, made his initial start in ’65 but got his first good ride with a Gurney Eagle in 1966. And that’s the only chassis manufacturer he raced for at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from that May until 1977 when he retired.
At 6-4 and 240 pounds, Grant was quite a load for those early rear-engine cars and watching him get in the car could be quite entertaining. But no more so than his quick change “under the hood.”
Bald at an early age, Grant usually wore a hat but had a special drill for disguising his hairline when driving. “He had a trick way to take his toupee on and off when he took off his helmet and we got real good at it,” recalled Gurney, with a big laugh.
“Jerry was always a fun guy to be around and he was probably lucky to survive some of the practical jokes we played on him but it was a great time in our lives.”
After racing, Grant was a mainstay in the Champion Spark Plug Highway Safety Team and always made it to Indy or Long Beach to see his old friends.
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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