Tony adamowicz, one of the greats of american sportscar racing throughout the 60s and well into the 80s, died monday at 75 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. French racingdriver turned carmaker guy ligier had his new js1 prototype, with a 1. Tony adamowicz driver data born may 2, 194119410502 moriah, new york died october 16, 201620161016 aged 75 orange county, california nationality usa formula one world championship career status deceased races 1 1 starts pole positions 0 wins 0 championships 0 podiums 0 fastest laps 0 career points 0 only. Four people were killed in a plane crash near lake hartwell on friday. Sprint car driver tony elliott, 54, along with charles smith, 71, his son scott smith, 44, and scott bibler, 51, were on. An internationally renowned american champion race car driver, tony a2z adamowicz, 75, passed away on october 10, 2016 after a 16 month battle with. In addition to being a highly accomplished driver, adamowicz was a cofounder of the polish racing drivers of america and served as the autoweek cockpit race editor for the formula 5000 series. May 2, 1941 tony adamowicz, american race car driver. For my friend, tony adamowicz the nostalgia forum the. Sprint car champion tony elliott killed in plane crash. Nissan gtp zxturbo japanese power to conquer america. View tony adamowiczs profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community.
In 1967 he drove a lotus cortina and a triumph spitfire, placing 2nd in the northeast scca region. Tony adamowicz pro race driver bmw north america llc. Sgt us army white house communications agency internationally renowned american champion race car driver, tony a2z adamowicz, 75, passed away on monday oct 10th 2016 in california. For my friend, tony adamowicz posted in the nostalgia forum. His talent quickly became obvious there were very few drivers in.
Tony drove a porsche 911 in the transam championship races and also drove a formula 5000 car. After a tentative start and one writtenoff eagle, tony captured the 1969 f5000 title and the scca continental championship. A dirttrack and sprint car ace in his racing heyday, he owned a steel hauling business, but he. Renna began competitive racing at the age of six, winning 252 races and two national quartermidget championships before the age of 15. Tony a to z inducted into polishamerican sports hall of. Tony adamowicz sports car digest the sports, racing. Tony adamowicz back row, second from left at a 2010 trans am driver. At the 1971 daytona 24 hour race he drove a ferrari 512s to a second place finish.
Norm continued to visit motorsport events until illhealth intervened. Tony adamowicz may 2, 1941 october 10, 2016 was a american racing driver from port henry, new york. Tony adamowicz began a storied racing career in 1963 and was highlighted by. Renna progressed to car racing at 16, competing for three years in the barber dodge pro. Tony adamowicz 19412016 the road racing drivers club. Born in upstate new york in 1941, tony adamowicz, or tony a2z as he is fondly often referred to, became interested in cars as a young boy, and was inspired in the late 1940s by the emerging ferrari brand. From dodge challengers in transam to greenwood corvettes at daytona to ferraris at le mans, adamowicz truly lived up to his nickname. Life path number 9 october 25, 1882 tony jackson, american singersongwriter and pianist d. See others named tony adamowicz learn the skills tony has. Adamowicz remained the only driver to actually have driven this car.
The car broke the lap record in the early stages of the race and later set several top speed records at bonneville. Port henry professional race car driver and port henry native tony adamowicz has been inducted into the national polishamerican sports hall of fame. Tony adamowicz, 28, really made it big in the 1968 transamerican sedan series, driving the teams porsche 911 to the under2liter championship. Report by tony adamowicz and photos by dennis gray the csrg charity challenge 2010 was held the first weekend in october on the 12turn, 2. Tony adamowicz a2z racers page the vintage racing league. At the end of the decade his path to first class rides was paved. Life path number 4 may 28, 1837 tony pastor, american businessman d. Tony adamowicz racing career profile driver database. The prda would not have happened without first the idea, after my 1969 continental championship f5000 eagle, i thought it was time to present my idea to oscar koveleski. The following season his mentor bought adamowicz in an eagle f5000 car. The official history of americas great sports car race. He did some single seater racing in formula 5000 and won the us championship driving one of dan gurneys eagle 5000s but clearly it was in series like imsa, camel gt and prototypes that he. Tony adamowicz the champ car and indy car online stats.
Trans am sedan race in marlboro, md in a dodge dart, the first time an american car. Adamowicz retired to southern california in the 1990s. The car had dominated the 1970 world championship race in austria before suffering an electrical failure, then won the 9 hour nonchampionship in kyalami, south africa, so the car now had good endurance. Races, wins, podiums, pole positions, fastest laps. Internationally renowned american champion race car driver, tony a2z adamowicz, 75, passed away on monday oct 10th in california after a sixteen month battle with brain cancer. Tony adamowicz tony drove a porsche 911 in the transam. John hubbard born 24 dec 1941 johnstown, pennsylvania. Tony and sam posey won third place in their nart ferrari 512m. The gtp zxt was a car that stopped the dominance of porsche 962 in the american sports car racing, being geoff brabhams championshipwinning car in 1988.
My dream car dream cars types of races spoiled kids races style the right stuff car and driver race cars profile. American racing driver tony adamowicz above, third from left has passed away at the age of 75. Tony was noticed by bob tullius whose group 44 jaguar team was developing and it was with tullius that adamowicz moved into major gt and sports car racing. Anthony james renna november 23, 1976 october 22, 2003 was an american racing driver who competed in indy lights and the indy racing league irl from 1998 to 2003. Rip tony adamowicz, 19412016 japanese nostalgic car. Biography of race driver tony adamowicz, the a2z racer. He paid davidson for the ride by winning the under 2liter championship.
Adamowicz, whose other nickname was tony mods, had already made his reputation with mechanical skill while at group 44. In 1966 tony won the scca trans am in sebring and the 12 hour trans am sedan race in marlboro, md in a dodge dart, the first time an american car had won that event. Analyzing cars he had driven and the memorable races that had contributed to. Marvin davidson, a 33yearold partner in a wall street investment firm.
Prda officers polish racing drivers of america officers. Port henry race car driver honored sun community news. These standards are strictly enforced, and no waivers are granted. Life path number 7 january 30, 1859 tony mullane, irishamerican baseball player and manager d. Over an accomplished career, he drove just about every type of car imaginable in every type of race imaginable. By 1971, he had moved up to usac sprint car events and one year later, graduated to champ car. Another drive in a porsche 917 for tony adomowicz that same season, at the kyalami 9hours. That was the cannonball baker seatoshiningsea memorial trophy dash. Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year. This is a faithful recreation of the car dubbed u27 and the winner of the 1968 trans am championship for the under 2. Following his success in amateur racing, tony adamowicz was hired in 1966 by bob tullius to be a race car driver, mechanic, and driver of the. As 1971 rolled around, ferrari had developed its 512s model into a very formidable contender, though now named the 512m.
Local racer to be honored by brits sun community news. His career ended after being badly burnt in the crash that killed ronnie duman in 1968. The car broke the lap record in the early stages of the race and later set several top speed records at. As a teenager, he honed his skills driving the winding roads around his. Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Hubbard began his racing career aged just fifteen back in 1957, driving late model stock cars. Race car driving champ mario andretti turns 75 today he was born in hes one of only 2 who have won races in formula one, indycar, world sportscar championships and nascar.
The nissan gtp zxturbo also known as gtp zxt is a race car used by nissan and private teams in the imsa gt championship from 1986 to 1990. Adamowicz returned to sports cars, racing transam in an. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes. But, for race car driver tony adamowicz, the shots fired almost 10 years ago altered the course of his life. A port henry native and a legend in auto racing, tony was considered one of the most accomplished and diverse racers of the last generation. Oscar was the president of auto world, the largest mail order model car and race car accessory company in. I got the idea to form the polish race drivers of america prda. Internationally known racing driver, vintage raced with the riam riverside international automotive museum fa 5000 gurney eagle.
Champion racing driver tony adamowicz, known to many as a2z, has passed away at the age of 75 following a valiant battle with brain cancer. Tony began racing in 1963 with a volvo 544 sedan, and in 1965 won the sccas northeast division b sedan championship with the same car. At the 1971 watkin glenn 6hours race, tony adamowicz drove porsche 917010, the very same car that was used in 1970 in monza by himself and tony. The 1970 24 hours of le mans was the 38th grand prix of endurance and took place on and 14 june 1970. Tony adamowiczs recap of the 2010 f5000 season finale race for the f5000 drivers association at infineon raceway sears point, held in october. The cannonball baker seatoshiningsea memorial trophy dash.
Davidson had assembled a truly stellar team, even though adamowicz was taken out in a heavy crash while driving milestones primary car during the 1968 24 hours of daytona. Stock, sprint and supermodified driver killed in a stock car crash at reading fairgrounds. Obituary for anthony peter adamowicz harland funeral. See more ideas about race cars, racing and sports car racing. Little did he know at the time that he would one day race for the prancing horse in big international sportscar races around the world. A legend in auto racing, tony is considered one of the most accomplished and diverse racers of the last generation. Csrg charity challenge 2010 formula 5000 race report. Tony adamowicz, 1970 daytona, ferrari 312p a2z racer. Join facebook to connect with tony adamowicz and others you may know. Race, racing, usac, canam, canadianamerican challenge cup, grand prix, indy. Before he retired from professional racing, he had notched two class wins in the rolex 24 at daytona 1969, 79. No one who ran, not gurney, not adamowicz, not anybody, got a dime for the race, making it some kind of milestone in modern.
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