Auto Racing

[Biernutz]

Phil Hill, 81; first U.S.-born driver to win Formula One le

By Jim Peltz
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 29, 2008

Phil Hill, a reserved Californian who became a gifted race-car driver and the only U.S.-born driver to win the Formula One international auto-racing championship, died Thursday. He was 81.

Hill died at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula of complications from Parkinson's disease, said John Lamm, a close friend who is also editor-at-large of Road & Track magazine.

• Photos: Phil Hill | 1927-2008

"It's a sad day," said Carroll Shelby, a close friend of Hill's who became a celebrated sports car builder after retiring from racing. "Phil was an excellent race-car driver with a unique feel for the car, and his real expertise was in long-distance racing."

Hill won the Formula One le for Ferrari in 1961. He also was the first American to win the 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans, France -- a race he would win twice again -- and he won the Sebring 12-hour race three times, among many other victories.

"Phil set the standard" for other American drivers who competed overseas, such as Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, Shav Glick, the longtime motor sports writer for The Times, wrote in 2006.


(The Italian-born Andretti, whose family immigrated to the United States when he was a teenager, won the Formula One le in 1978.)

Hill "also was a great representative of the sport," Glick wrote, adding that he was "quiet and not given to self-promotion. A very gracious man."

Shelby, who won Le Mans in 1959, recalled Hill as a man with "multiple talents."

"Phil tuned pianos, he could take anything apart and put it back together, and he loved opera," Shelby told The Times.

Gurney, another friend of Hill's, said Hill "had pride in his accomplishments and abilities, but he didn't overwhelm you with it. He also loved the history and the allure of the automobile."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-me-...,5179464.story

[Evan]

Forrest in 3.

[Biernutz]

NASCAR race from Richmond tonight is postponed because of Hanna. ESPN is showing a re-run.

[Biernutz]

NASCAR Chase Drivers

1. Kyle Busch 5080
2. Carl Edwards -30
3. Jimmie Johnson -40
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -70
5. Clint Bowyer -70
6. Denny Hamlin -70
7. Jeff Burton -70
8. Tony Stewart -80
9. Greg Biffle -80
10. Jeff Gordon -80
11. Kevin Harvick -80
12. Matt Kenseth -80

[bendmz]

unless Kyle has a couple of DNF, I don't think Jimmie will catch him......

[Biernutz]

One DNF and you are out of the chase. Kyle has no friends.