A tip of the cap to the “Flying Hawaiian,” Danny Ongais, who turns 70 today.
In a career that spanned the 1960s to the 21st century, Danny Ongais captivated fans in IndyCars, Formula 1, drag racing cars and sports cars with his flamboyant, win-or-bust style. He scored six Indy car wins, but led many others before his car failed under him, unable to match his relentless pace, while a series of grinding crashes in Indy cars in the early ’80s put a damper on his career.
If you only know the late Carroll Shelby for his tuner cars, you’re missing an amazing story of how, during the mid-1960s, his little, nerd-filled race shop in Los Angeles helped Henry Ford II exercise his famous vendetta against Enzo Ferrari. Playboy editor A.J. Baime tells that story in his book, Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans.
Here’s an excerpt from Baime’s book that picks up from the day Shelby American assumed responsibility for building Ford’s racing sports cars, just about one year out from the company’s 1-2-3 victory upset at Le Mans:Â Â Â …Â More
On this special episode of Head 2 Head, Automobile Magazine’s Jason Cammisa pits the world’s most exclusive super cars against each other in a no-holds-barred drag race battle! Do the carbon fiber-bodied Aventador, LFA, and MP4-12C have what it takes to take on the king of the super car realm – the Bugatti Veyron?