But if his father, Mark Sr., a successful patent lawyer, never envisaged a racing career for his son, neither cid young Mark. Donohue raced in the inaugural IROC series in 197374, racing identical, specially-prepared Porsche RSRs. One-hit wonder: Mark Donohue and his 1973 Riverside win helped elevate 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. Donohue won. In 1974, he quit driving and became president of Penske Racing. And I know that Roger loved him. Choose a Username Available! When you see the car in real life, it becomes so much more real.. At about 09h45 he left the pits again for another testing run. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? I'd always thought that I'm not as good a driver as I am capable of figuring out how to make the car the quickest, he once said. The driver must accept the risks involved, which I did and I spent my time in the hispital as a result., See the article in its original context from. He died from severe head injuries sustained August 16 in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at Graz, Austria. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. There was little question then that Donohue, who would testdrive the new car and help supervise its development, would come out of retirement. (He was operated on at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Drs. A Montgomery County man who crashed his car and fled from the wreck, leaving three of his friends dead or dying, on Thursday was sentenced . He is really, really like Mark for good or ill. Ive worked with David for a little bit. If we're right, by next season we could be the dominant team in Formula One.. Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times, Why Las Vegas is key to F1's growth plans, Why Las Vegas is key to F1's growth plans No one piece tells you what the puzzle is. Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. He was just that way. Mark Donohue was an enigma. Not that Donohues career or his one win in NASCAR needed validation, but IROC has long crystallized what fans thought of the talent in drivers who never outwardly succeeded in the Cup Series. The guy that is most like Mark that Ive ever met is David, said Don Cox. It is said that Donohue's head struck either a catch fencing post or the bottom of the wood frame for an advertising billboard located alongside of the racetrack. Donohue paced himself that day and took the lead for the first time with 12 laps to go. In August 1975, while practicing for the Austrian Grand Prix in a March 751, a tire failed, causing Donohue to lose control of the car. Search instead in Creative? We were the college kids with the crew cuts and the polished wheels, Penske said. In all, there were 57 major victories and more than $1million in purses for this pleasant, intelligent man who gave up a career in mechanical engineering because racing is what he wanted to do. Roger Penske and Mark Donohue following Donohue's IROC win in 1974. That day at Indy, Bobby Unsers Eagle dominated the contest before Unser dropped out. In all, he won 57 major races and more than $1million. Donohue had stepped out of driving retirement . Every time David Donohue sees that car, he sees his father. Mark Donohue & Manfred Schaller's Fatal Crash @ sterreichring 1975 But Donohue knew that time was running short and his skills and reflexes weren't getting any better. Secrets of the mysterious 1975-77 Camaro Racemark GT Donohue began the 1975 Formula 1 season as a 38-year-old rookie and the oldest driver on the grid. I think I was the first guy to assert that Mark was a better driver than an engineer, says Bedard. . Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. (born March 18 1937 in Haddon Township, New Jersey, United States - died August 19 1975 in Graz, Austria) was an American racing driver who most notably drove in Formula One and sports cars. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/21/archives/mark-donohue-returns-to-die.html. Strange and smart, but very driven., The drive set Mark Donohue apart and made him the winningest driver in Team Penske history. His condition quickly worsened and he passed away two days later, victim of a blood clot in his brain.Following the fatal accident the sterreichring first turn was tightened in 1976 and the track lenght passed from 5.911 to 5.906 kilometers. In 1967 he became the USRRC champion, winning six out of eight races. - Remembering Mark Donohue - FormulaSpy Donohue was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The 38yearold Donohue underwent a threehour operation at a hospital here Sunday to remove a blood clot from his brain. . First to go was his marriage, says Argetsinger. The Penske team leader, Heinz Hofer, said Donohue had told him after the crash that the left front tire had been punctured as he was traveling about 160 m.p.h. DON HUNTER, BILL OURSLER, THE MANUFACTURERS, Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. An investigation determined tire failure caused Donohues fatal crash, and the family won a $12 million settlement. Airport would have sent a stock Camaro flopping around. Mark Donohue died last night. There, he was Godthat was his way of distinguishing himself. His divine touch extended to his street cars; a friend once described riding in Donohues Porsche 911 as a Wall of Death thing most of the time., The relentless pursuit of perfection eventually took its toll. Anyone can read what you share. Not true. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway. 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 At first, the former Indianapolis 500 winner was thought to have just a mild concussion. Event the win at the 1972 Indianapolis 500 created more sleepless nights, because the win did not come on his own terms. Walt Czarnecki, Team Penske vice chairman and among the operations early members, has a deep admiration and respect for what Donohue meant to the Penske organization. GRAZ, Austria, Aug. 19 (AP)Mark Donohue, who ended an eightmonth retirement as an auto driver last year because he couldn't keep away from racing, died tonight of injuries suffered Sunday at the Austrian Grand Prix. Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results, Inskip Family History & Competition Engineering staff. It meant immediate surgery. Clark, J. He wanted to know how we were doing. He won three national sports car championships as an amateur before he turned professional in 1966, first as the late Walt Hansgen's codriver, then for the rest of his life with Penske. On the phone, the editor said, You gotta come back in. Donohue raced in seven of the eight races that year, winning six (at Las Vegas, Riverside, Bridgehampton, Watkins Glen, Pacific Raceways, and Mid-Ohio) and finishing third at the Laguna Seca Raceway round behind Lothar Motschenbacher and Mike Goth. Through racing and after more than four decades after the tragic death of his father, David Donohue believes he has found Mark Donohue. Its a goal he had and a goal he checked off. "Donohue is no angel out there on the track Parnelli Jones", "Donohue, on the Way Out, Views Things From Top; Calendar of Motor Sports", "1965 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance Race Profile", "1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors", "1967 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors", "Mark Donohue Named '500' Rookie of Year", "Mark Donohue set Indy speed record in 1972", "1973 Winston Western 500: Donohue Dominates", "Hall of Fame Members (Mark Donohue Jr.)", "Mark Donohue, Sports Cars, Class of 1990", Mark Donohue's IROC and NASCAR stats at racing-reference.info, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Donohue&oldid=1136103335, Brown University School of Engineering alumni, International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees, SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2014, Pages using small with an empty input parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, run as the Daytona 3 Hour Continental (196263), 24 Hours of Daytona (196671/ 1973/ 1975present), This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 19:22. How famous was Mark . The hotrod phenomenon came East from California and caught me up in it, he once explained. Revson's death made it almost inevitable that Donohue would come out of retirement. I know their first conversation after the race, he didnt say (that he had won). The out-of-control car left the track at high speed, tore some 60 meters of the catch-fence on the left side of the track and crashed against the guard-rail, vaulting over it. He thinks the same way. Racing is a very weird circus that way. When Mark . Mark Donohue | Formula 1 Wiki | Fandom through one of the fastest turns on the track. Every dime I had I put into cars, he said. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Cresser v CDTS, 1 (2015 NY Slip Op 03227) racing was concerned, he had done it all. Hangsen was killed testing a car for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. He turned out to be a real partner of mine. Donohues degree from Brown in Mechanical Engineering got him a job designing filters for air conditioners -- not quite what he had in mind. Mark Donohue and Roger Penske during a break in the Indy-car action at Michigan International Speedway n 1974. Bahrain GP: F1 technical images direct from the pitlane, What we learned from Friday practice at F1's 2023 Bahrain GP, What we learned from Friday practice at F1's 2023 Bahrain GP To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. He became a great friend of mine, Penske said in an IMS tribute to Donohue. A visit to the gravesite on a gray, cold, foggy March day revelaved little toy race cars on the gravestone, along with a plastic checkered flag -- a testament the life of Mark Donohue. But his edge was rarely lost. He began to spend more than time. He could drive a car in the 24-hour race at Daytona, a Trans-Am Car, an Indy car and a NASCAR car. [2], Donohue was invited back to Le Mans by Ford in 1967. No, I never worried about the dangers of racing, he said in March, 1974, in New York while being honored at a luncheon. He won the Can Am championship in 197, the TransAm title in 1968, 1969 and 1971. 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. We went to Phoenix and tested it with the wings off and then put the wings on and couldnt believe how fast it was. His car was almost inexplicably fast, so much so that, according to Donohues book The Unfair Advantage, race winner Al Unser sought him out after the race and said: Look, weve been competitors for a long time, and you have your way of doing things and I have mine, but when you come here and run six miles an hour faster than everyone else I gotta shake your hand.. 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. By the end of the crash, the front end of the car was missing, and Mark's legs were fully outside the car, with his only injury . 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. The car did a series of cartwheels, and Donohue broke both legs. Toy cars at the gravesite of Mark Donohue in Summit, New Jersey. The latter passed away at 09h20 on Tuesday 19 August 1975, while being treated at a Knittelfeld hospital.Donohue was hit in the head by one of the catch-fence supporting posts and was knocked unconscious. Michael is another guy but there is this thing between Mark and David, even in terms of their life experiences. 8W - Who? - Mark Donohue - Autosport 4445. Why Las Vegas is key to F1's growth plans, Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design wont copy F1 rivals, Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design wont copy F1 rivals On January 21, 1973, the NASCAR Cup Series opened its season with a road course race at Riverside International Raceway in California. Their performance on the track also quickly turned heads. I saw him race at Lime Rock in an Elva, and (longtime Penske friend and later president of the IROC series) Jay Signore said I should watch this guy. During a practice session for the race, Donohue lost control of his March after a tyre failed, sending him into the catch fencing at the fastest corner on the track, Vest Hgel Kurve. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Donohue raced at Indianapolis each year following,[15] finishing second in 1970 and 25th in 1971. He died two days later. Think about the championships we won together, the first Indy 500 victory for the team, three Trans-Am championships. Late in 1973, when Penske decided to build a Formula One car for the 1975 season, Donohue knew what would happen. We were in Lime Rock and I was in a motorhome and my mom came out and woke my brother and I up so we could watch the end of the race. 12 and current Alltel decals) at the fall Rockingham, North Carolina, race. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. He went over 180 miles per hour for the first time and it wasnt on the chart, so nobody knew how fast he went. Donohue did not start the first race of the year at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City due to problems getting the engine to start. He was hit on the side of his helmet with debris as his car, which had suffered a punctured tire, went out of control in prerace practice and crashed through four rows of wire catchfences and some billboards along the Oesterreichring race course. 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. Penske and Donohue did not stop acid-dipping after this, however. One night I was in Philadelphia and was following Mark to the old shop in Newtown Square. A track marshal was killed by debris from the accident, but Donohue did not appear to be injured significantly. It comes up quickly and, at more than 90 degrees, is the slowest corner on this course. The Medical Causes of Racing Deaths with Examples - Parathyroid Several minutes later Donohue regained consciousness and spoke with his rescuers, who took him to Knittelfeld hospital. John Phillips: For Mark Donohue, 1100 hp was 'Far From Too Much' By 1973, the "Captain Nice" nickname he had earned earlier in his career was being supplanted by the nickname "Dark Monohue". His 59 wins remain the most of any driver for Team Penske. Mark obviously brought an air of professionalism. Back then it was tape-delayed, and she was watching the race on TV. [17] That race was Penske's first NASCAR win in a long history of NASCAR participation. 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. One track marshal was killed by the crash and another seriousy injured. Donohue. He died two days later. 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. He tinkered his way all through Pingry School, Brown University and a job as a mechanical engineer with the Pulverizing Machinery Corporation in Summit. Harry Gant was a champion in 1985, Ricky Rudd was a champion in 1992 and Mark Martin became a five-time champion; all three failed to secure NASCAR championships. [11] Earlier that year, co-driving with Hansgen, Donohue finished third at the 24 Hours of Daytona and second at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Mark wasnt an emotional guy. After coming out of retirement with his former boss, Penske, Donohue returned to Formula One, entering into the final two races of the 1974 Formula One season. He was, I feel, the finest road race driver this country has ever produced, Allison told Hemmings Motor News years later. With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. He approaches things the same way. He was so key in the operation when he was there its something we had to rebuild. Donohue, equipped with a mechanical-engineering degree from Brown University, approached car setup not with pet theories or traditional wisdom but with a slide rule, an overarching grasp of how physics strives to thwart a race cars mission, and 300 push-ups daily. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway . Hed drive the truck, hed drive the race car, he would work on the car. The 1975 season turned out to be a difficult one for Donohue and Penske. Ford had developed a new GT, the Mark IV. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 66 Penske Racing entry went on to win at Indianapolis in 1972 to give Roger Penske the first of his 17 Indy 500 wins. After considering the potential consequences, the race stewards allowed Donohue's victory to stand, but the rules for the 1968 season incorporated a change whereby all cars would be weighed during the technical inspection before the race. He joined Roger Penske, a former sports car rival who had set up his own team, the following year as a fulltime professional. It was at Hangsens funeral that Roger Penske approached Donohue to drive for him. That put Bettenhausen in the lead before a pinhole leak in the Bettenhausen cars cooling system with 12 laps to go put Donohue in the lead and the first of Penske Racings record 16 Indy 500 victories. His first marriage ended in divorce and some friends blamed racing. Back to Victory Lane, Every Indy 500 Winner from the Dawn of Time, In search of Team Penske racing legend Mark Donohue. Between 1971 and 1972, Penske Racing (along with Donohue as the primary test and development driver) was commissioned by Porsche to help develop the 917-10 to compete in the Can-Am series. Mark Donohue. Both Olvey and Trammell got their start in trackside medical response in similar fashion: Answering a bulletin board call for med students to help out at the Indianapolis 500 - Olvey in about 1969, Trammell in 1972. His lone NASCAR race win was just part of his narrative, but that victory another hurdle in auto racing cleared in partnership with Penske helped ignite a flame thats lasted over 50 years across different genres of the sport and in turn elevated the quality and intelligence of American racing. In 1967 and 1968, Trans-Am schedule included two of the most prized endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Its made me realize its an honor to be his son. He finished the race in his McLaren-Offy setting a record speed of over 162mph (261km/h),[16] which stood for twelve years.