DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2014) – Hurley Haywood, winner of more endurance classics than any other driver in racing history, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club with the 2014 Phil Hill Award. RRDC president Bobby Rahal presented Haywood with the award at a dinner prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
from left: Hurley Haywood and Bobby Rahal. Photo credit: Brian Cleary
The Phil Hill Award has been presented annually since 1993 to the person who the RRDC feels has rendered outstanding service to road racing. The recipient may be a driver, entrant or outstanding member of a sanctioning body.
It is named in honor of America’s first Formula 1 World Champion (in 1961), and is not only a tribute to his masterful accomplishments on the race track, it also recognizes his contributions as a great ambassador for the sport. Hill passed away in 2008.
Haywood, of St. Augustine, Fla., has five Daytona 24-hour, three LeMans 24-hour, and two Sebring 12-hour victories to his credit. He also claimed the 1988 SCCA Trans-Am championship, two IMSA GT championships, and has earned a SuperCar title and three Norelco Cup championships. The Chicago native competed in the 1980 Indy 500, finishing 18th. He also started 18 IndyCar races, four IROC races and campaigned the 1973-74 SCCA Can-Am series.
After retiring from full-time driving in 2008, Haywood returned to the Brumos No. 59 Porsche Riley for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, scoring third place in 2009 and fifth in 2011. The next year marked his final run for the 50th Daytona 24. It was also his 40th Rolex 24 start, appropriately ending on the podium with a third-place finish.
He is Vice President of Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville, Fla., and serves as chief driving instructor for the Porsche Sport Driving School and Brumos Driving Experience. He is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the Sebring Hall of Fame and Watkins Glen’s “Legends of the Glen.”
“Phil Hill represented everything that was great about the American spirit internationally,” said Rahal. “He was the first U.S. F1 champion and multi-time winner of LeMans. He was a gentleman in the finest sense of the word.
“What a great champion Hurley is,” said Rahal. “He is considered the best endurance champion in North America in the history of the sport. Phil HIll had won many endurance races in his career, and Hurley had a lot of competition in the ’70s and ’80s, including Porsche 962s, Jaguars, Toyotas, you name it. It was tough. Hurley is indeed a worthy recipient of the Phil Hill Award.”
“When Bobby called me up and told me I was going to get the Phil HIll award, I was really shocked,” said Haywood. “Any time you could be in the same sentence with Phil HIll is something that is very special to me.
“Phil Hill was an icon in this sport. He won LeMans three times, was a Formula 1 champion. He was just a class act. If all of us mimicked what Phil HIll was all about, we’d all have a wonderful life. So, thank you very much.”
Past RRDC Phil Hill Award Winners include:
1993 John Bishop 1994 Juan Manuel Fangio II 1995 Leo Mehl 1996 Charlie Slater 1997 Danny Sullivan 1998 Rob Dyson 1999 Bob Fergus 2000 Elliott Forbes Robinson 2001 Bill France 2002 Jim Downing 2003 Derek Bell 2004 Brian Redman 2005 Jim France 2006 Roger Werner 2007 Skip Barber 2008 Roger Penske 2009 Bob Bondurant 2010 Nick Craw
2011 Rick Mears
2012 George Follmer
2013 Peter Brock
About the RRDC:
The Road Racing Drivers Club was formed in 1952 as a way to give champion drivers a say in their sport, particularly in the areas of safety, and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring new drivers on both amateur and professional levels. The Club’s membership includes leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists, in addition to prominent racing names.
In 2011, the RRDC launched a free on-line training seminar – www.SAFEisFAST.com – featuring more than 30 RRDC members and other industry experts in high-quality videos covering subjects from physical and mental preparation to driving techniques, driver safety to car setup and sponsorship. The videos are updated regularly. Each week, a professional from the world of motor racing answers readers’ questions on the site in a feature called “Ask a Pro.”
President Bobby Rahal is the 1986 Indy 500 winner and is co-owner with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan of the 2004 Indianapolis 500-winning Rahal, Letterman, Lanigan Racing team. Ten-time SCCA National champion John Fergus (who also has three Pro Sports 2000 crowns and one IMSA championship) is the Club’s Vice President/Treasurer, and five-time SCCA National champion Tom Davey is the Secretary.
In addition to RRDC members lending their expertise to up-and-coming drivers, the Club presents three annual awards: the Phil Hill Award for rendering outstanding service to road racing; the Mark Donohue Award for personal spirit and performance at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs; and the Bob Akin Award – the top award presented to amateur and semi-professional racers – for speed with style, passion, sportsmanship and contribution to motorsports.
The RRDC also supports the Team USA Scholarship, which has been assisting young Americans in the early stages of their careers since 1990. Membership in the RRDC is by invitation only. Additional information on the organization may be found at www.rrdc.org.
