As we prepare to usher in the new year, we take a moment to salute some of the key figures from the world of motorsport that we farewelled in 2024.
RAMIN ABDOLVAHABI
Ramin Abdolvahabi (1966-2024) was a nationally-recognized neurosurgeon whose extracurricular passion was competing in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge. He and Rob Ecklin Jr had just achieved their goal of a Bronze class win in the 12 Hours of Sebring when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
BOBBY ALLISON
Bobby Allison (1937 – 2024) was one of NASCAR’s all-time greats. Part of the select group with more than three Daytona 500 wins, Allison amassed 85 career wins in stock cars, although the 85th – at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1971 – wasn’t formally recognized until this year when a decades-long scoring dispute was finally settled in his favor. Outside of NASCAR, he also demonstrated his versatility with appearances in sports cars and IndyCar.
WALLY DALLENBACH SR
Wally Dallenbach (1936-2024) overcame second-tier equipment and fields that included some of American open-wheel racing’s all-time greats to carve out a distinguished IndyCar career in the 1960s and 1970s, including a victory in the 1973 California 500 at Ontario with Patrick Racing and leading 100 laps at the 1975 Indy 500. But he made an even bigger mark after he retired and became competition director and chief steward at CART. He was immensely respected by the drivers in his capacity as the sport’s top official, and many of his ideas and innovations – including the formation of a dedicated safety team that travels to each event – remain in place to this day.
WILSON FITTIPALDI
Wilson Fittpaldi (1943-2024) made 38 Formula 1 starts, and paired up with younger brother Emerson to found Brazil’s only F1 team and constructor, Copersucar Fittipaldi, in the 1970s. The team closed at the end of 1982, by which point Wilson had already been out of the cockpit full-time for several years, although he continued to make occasional returns to the track as recently as 2008, when he shared a GT3 car with Emerson in Brazil.
FRANK GAMBLE
Frank Gamble (1932-2024) got his start in a car he built himself – an aluminum body and stock 750cc engine on a Crosley Hot Shot frame that he called the ‘Gambini MK1’. Later, he used the network he’d built as a journalist for the likes of National Speed Sport News, the SCCA’s Sports Car magazine and Road & Track to connect with ‘Lucky’ Casner to help launch Camoradi, which made its mark in Europe primarily racing Maserati Birdcage sportscars. In addition to his sportscar starts, he also made one F1 start at the 1960 Italian GP in a Behra-Porsche. Later, he worked with Carroll Shelby to help launch Goodyear’s international racing tire division – which Gamble ultimately led – and oversaw Goodyear’s earliest successes in F1 and at Le Mans.
PAUL GOLDSMITH
Paul Goldsmith (1933 – 2024) was the oldest living Indy 500 competitor at the time of his death at the age of 98. He made six consecutive starts a Indy between 1958 and 1963, earning a best finish of third in 1960. Incredibly, those six appearances were among just eight open-wheel starts he made in his entire career. He also found success on bikes and in NASCAR, and was the final NASCAR Grand National winner on the old beach course at Daytona in 1958. Following his retirement in from driving in 1969 he became a prominent entrepreneur and aviator.
EDDIE GOSSAGE
Eddie Gossage (1958-2024) was an old-school promotor best known for his long and colorful tenure as President of Texas Motor Speedway. A protégé of Charlotte Motor Speedway promotor ‘Humpy’ Wheeler, Gossage led TMS from when construction commenced in 1995 through to his retirement in 2022.
PARNELLI JONES
Rufus Parnell ‘Parnelli’ Jones (1933 – 2024) was one of the fastest, most versatile drivers in American racing history. Winner of the 1963 Indy 500 (main image) and a two-time winner at the Baja 1000 (1971 and 1972), he was also a multiple race winner in NASCAR, sprint cars, midgets and Trans Am (where he was also national champion in 1970). He also achieved immense success as a team owner, winning the Indy 500 twice with Al Unser along with three USAC National Championships, overseeing wins on off-road and sprint car racing, and founding an eponymous team that competed in F1 between 1974 and 1976.
RUPERT KEEGAN
Rupert Keegan (1955 – 2024) was a gifted driver with a playboy reputation to rival that of James Hunt, although his stop-start F1 career with middling teams never afforded him the opportunity to reach the same heights. He found more success in sports cars, and also made a handful of IndyCar appearances with Machinists Union Racing in 1986.
BRUCE KESSLER
Bruce Kessler (1936-2024) failed to qualify for the one F1 world championship race he entered – the 1958 Monaco GP – but he had more success in sports cars, including a class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958. Outside of the cockpit, he was reportedly the last person to speak to James Dean before the actor’s death in a car crash – they’d met by a roadside ahead of the upcoming Salinas Road Race and made arrangements to have dinner together, however Dean was killed in a two-car accident en route to the restaurant. Following a serious crash at Pomona in 1959, Kessler retired from racing and embarked upon a successful career as a TV and film director.