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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Remembering Phil Remington
AAR's Phil Remington will be remembered as the last of a rare breed of fabricators that could build something out of anything.
Phil Remington, middle, was respected and memorialized by his longtime boss Dan Gurney, left, and A.J. Foyt, right. (Photo: Courtesy of AAR)
Phil Remington will be remembered as the last of a rare breed of fabricators that could build something out of anything but longtime friend and employer Dan Gurney said that would be a misnomer.
“Rem was much more than a great fabricator. He was Clark Kent. He didn’t have a phone booth but he always came to the rescue if there was a problem. He was amazing,” said Gurney in praise of Remington, who died last week at the age of 92.
“They really did throw away the mold when they made Rem.”
A native Californian, Remington went from WWII duty in the Pacific Ocean to racing Model A Fords and motorcycles until a bad crash on two wheels made him concentrate on building race cars.
He learned fabrication from Lujie Lesovsky and Emil Diedt and they knocked out Indy cars before Rem got hooked up with Lance Reventlow and Scarab in sports cars. Then Carroll Shelby came calling with the Cobra before Ford hired him for the GT-40 project and Le Mans.
“That’s when I got to know him,” recalled Gurney, who co-drove the GT-40 to victory with A.J. Foyt in 1967 at Le Mans. “He was our trouble shooter and when we had brake trouble he figured out how to fix them and change them in a hurry.
“When I heard he was being cast off at Shelby’s, I put in my bid right away.”
From 1968 until a few months ago, Remington worked for Gurney at All-American Racers in Santa Ana. He helped build the famous Eagle Indy cars, Alligator motorcycles and even modified the Delta Wing when it came to AAR last year.
Driven by Bobby Unser, Gurney’s sleek Eagles in the 1970s broke records and won races, including Indianapolis in 1975, and became the most popular chassis in Indy car racing.
“Rem was magic. That man was soooooo friggin’ smart and had such an imagination,” raved Unser, who conspired late nights with Remington at AAR. “It was like having a brother and I would go to the race shop and tell him what we ought to do and stiffen up the tub or change the roll center. He always figured out how to do it and he would always do it without getting caught by the designer or Dan.
“His craftsmanship was so good. He never lost his brain and he could remember what happened in 1970 or 1980. He recalled all the little things. He was amazing. And he was so talented and such an honest man.”
The metal artists like Don Brown, Floyd Trevis, Quinn Epperly, Eddie Kuzma, Roger Beck, Bill Eaton, Lujie, Diedt and Remington are almost extinct except for Jerry Baker, but Phil may have been the best.
“He was a throwback,” continued Gurney. “He modernized blacksmithing whether it was tempering steel or making a special tool to solve a problem. He mastered the mechanic’s handbook and he was like a gigantic library in the way he could always come up with things.
“He wasn’t always easy to get along with nor was he easy on himself either but he was a tireless worker and very competitive. If he got a cut he’d just wash it off with parts cleaner and go back to work.”
Remington’s presence and toolbox were fixtures at AAR and he was still coming to work four days a week at age 90.
“A.J. (Foyt) called me yesterday to talk about Rem because he really respected him,” said Gurney. “That says a lot and Rem was a whale of man who was a big part of AAR and a dear friend. I cherish our memories together.”
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.
“Rem was much more than a great fabricator. He was Clark Kent. He didn’t have a phone booth but he always came to the rescue if there was a problem. He was amazing,” said Gurney in praise of Remington, who died last week at the age of 92.
“They really did throw away the mold when they made Rem.”
A native Californian, Remington went from WWII duty in the Pacific Ocean to racing Model A Fords and motorcycles until a bad crash on two wheels made him concentrate on building race cars.
He learned fabrication from Lujie Lesovsky and Emil Diedt and they knocked out Indy cars before Rem got hooked up with Lance Reventlow and Scarab in sports cars. Then Carroll Shelby came calling with the Cobra before Ford hired him for the GT-40 project and Le Mans.
“That’s when I got to know him,” recalled Gurney, who co-drove the GT-40 to victory with A.J. Foyt in 1967 at Le Mans. “He was our trouble shooter and when we had brake trouble he figured out how to fix them and change them in a hurry.
“When I heard he was being cast off at Shelby’s, I put in my bid right away.”
From 1968 until a few months ago, Remington worked for Gurney at All-American Racers in Santa Ana. He helped build the famous Eagle Indy cars, Alligator motorcycles and even modified the Delta Wing when it came to AAR last year.
Driven by Bobby Unser, Gurney’s sleek Eagles in the 1970s broke records and won races, including Indianapolis in 1975, and became the most popular chassis in Indy car racing.
“Rem was magic. That man was soooooo friggin’ smart and had such an imagination,” raved Unser, who conspired late nights with Remington at AAR. “It was like having a brother and I would go to the race shop and tell him what we ought to do and stiffen up the tub or change the roll center. He always figured out how to do it and he would always do it without getting caught by the designer or Dan.
“His craftsmanship was so good. He never lost his brain and he could remember what happened in 1970 or 1980. He recalled all the little things. He was amazing. And he was so talented and such an honest man.”
The metal artists like Don Brown, Floyd Trevis, Quinn Epperly, Eddie Kuzma, Roger Beck, Bill Eaton, Lujie, Diedt and Remington are almost extinct except for Jerry Baker, but Phil may have been the best.
“He was a throwback,” continued Gurney. “He modernized blacksmithing whether it was tempering steel or making a special tool to solve a problem. He mastered the mechanic’s handbook and he was like a gigantic library in the way he could always come up with things.
“He wasn’t always easy to get along with nor was he easy on himself either but he was a tireless worker and very competitive. If he got a cut he’d just wash it off with parts cleaner and go back to work.”
Remington’s presence and toolbox were fixtures at AAR and he was still coming to work four days a week at age 90.
“A.J. (Foyt) called me yesterday to talk about Rem because he really respected him,” said Gurney. “That says a lot and Rem was a whale of man who was a big part of AAR and a dear friend. I cherish our memories together.”
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.
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