page_title: Dan Gurney
section_title: Full-time team owner
hierarchical_section_title: Dan Gurney / Full-time team owner
caption_attribution_description: American racecar legend w:Dan Gurney, shot by "The Daredevil" at the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona event.
context_page_description: Daniel Sexton Gurney was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958.
  Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series. Gurney is the first of three drivers to have won races in Sports Cars, Formula One, NASCAR, and Indy cars.
  In 1967, after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with A. J. Foyt, Gurney spontaneously sprayed champagne while celebrating on the podium, which thereafter became a custom at many motorsports events. As owner of All American Racers, he was the first to put a simple right-angle extension on the upper trailing edge of the rear wing. This device, called a Gurney flap, increases downforce and, if well designed, imposes only a relatively small increase in aerodynamic drag. At the 1968 German Grand Prix, he became the first driver ever to use a full face helmet in Grand Prix racing.
context_section_description: Upon his retirement from Formula One, Gurney devoted himself full-time to his role as car maker and team owner. He was the sole owner, Chairman and CEO of All American Racers from 1970 until his son, Justin, assumed the title of CEO in early 2011. The team won 78 races (including the Indianapolis 500, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Daytona) and eight championships, while Gurney's Eagle race car customers also won three Indianapolis 500 races and three championships.
  In 1978, Gurney wrote an open memo to other race car owners with what is now known as the "White Paper" in which Gurney called for a series controlled more by the owners or "actual participants" than under the USAC banner. After much debate, CART was formed with Gurney and other owners like Roger Penske, Pat Patrick, and Bob Fletcher. CART began its first full season of competition in March 1979 and thus the first split in open wheel racing began.
  AAR withdrew from the CART series in 1986, but enjoyed tremendous success with Toyota in the IMSA GTP series, where in 1992 and 1993 Toyota Eagles won 17 consecutive races, back-to-back Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championships, and wins in the endurance classics of Daytona and Sebring.
  The team returned to CART as the factory Toyota team in 1996, but left again after the 1999 season when Goodyear withdrew from the series and Toyota ended their relationship with the team. In 2000, Dan campaigned a Toyota Atlantic car for his son, Alex Gurney under the AAR banner.
  In 1990, Gurney was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Sebring International Raceway Hall of Fame, and the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.
  He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991.
caption: Gurney at the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2008:01:26 01:08:09", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "228", "Image CustomRendered": "Normal", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9312", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6502", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:01:26 01:08:09", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:01:26 01:08:09", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "125237/16384", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "80", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1664", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2496", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "832000/291", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1248000/437", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2"}