[Racer Duck]

This thread inspired by a similar thread in the NASCAR forum.

Here is where we need to document those Motosports heroes who overcame significant setbacks to triumph in the area of Motorsports.

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

This thread inspired by a similar thread in the NASCAR forum.

Here is where we need to document those Motosports heroes who overcame significant setbacks to triumph in the area of Motorsports.

Is this because of my NASCAR Greatest Comebacks thread? Feeling full of myself right now!

You should point this out to Disco!

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by PenelopePitStop

Is this because of my NASCAR Greatest Comebacks thread? Feeling full of myself right now!

You should point this out to Disco!

I PM'ed him just before I created this thread....

and yes, you are mostly to blame

[simple simon]

i know this hardly qualifies .... but i love telling the story

i believe it was the 1985 Indy 500 ....... Danny Sullivan was leading on what i believe was the final lap ........ the track was slick and he did a complete 360 in his car without making contact with anything ...... and he continued to drive that car on to victory

like i said, i know it isnt exactly what youre looking for ....... but it was one of the most amazing feats of driving i have ever seen

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

I PM'ed him just before I created this thread....

and yes, you are mostly to blame

Blame?

There are many comebacks in motorsports for many reasons. I just happened to catch a program that focused on NASCAR and mentioned it on GTG.

I think this'll be a great edition to GTG. I might even chime in from time to time!

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by simple simon

i know this hardly qualifies .... but i love telling the story

i believe it was the 1985 Indy 500 ....... Danny Sullivan was leading on what i believe was the final lap ........ the track was slick and he did a complete 360 in his car without making contact with anything ...... and he continued to drive that car on to victory

like i said, i know it isnt exactly what youre looking for ....... but it was one of the most amazing feats of driving i have ever seen

I'm with you on this one, Simon! It WAS a comeback and I remember it well. Any driver who can pull a 360 in an Indy car in the final lap(s) and go on to win the race is the man for me! From that day on, I was a huge fan.

Not to mention, he wasn't bad to look at!

Of course, this was back when Indy was Indy. Shame "they" ruined that sport. Sullivan, Mears, the Unser's, the Andretti's, and on, and on. I was an Indy fan first, a NASCAR fan second. Shhhhhhhhh ... don't tell anyone!

[simple simon]

Ruben Pardos

Alongside his brother, Carlos Pardo, the boys raced in the NASCAR Mexico series. Even with the greater competition and higher stakes, the boys swept the series- Carlos winning the 2004 championship and Ruben following close in second place.


Ruben had already won 2 races in 2005 when his life hit the wall. While having fun with friends at the beach during his time off, Ruben was knocked unconscious when a wave crashed into his jet-ski. A life guard witnessed the accident and was able to save Ruben from drowning and get him to the hospital. He was able to fully recover. Then it got worse.


One week later, when Ruben was back in the race car, two fire extinguishers under his seat malfunctioned. They both exploded into Rubens legs, terribly breaking them both. The doctors said that it would be necessary to amputate Rubens foot, and his racing career would be over.
But Ruben said No. He did not want his foot amputated and he was determined to get better. And that is what he did. He overcame all of his injuries and even went on to win his comeback race that same year.



http://www.gofitzmotorsports.com/default.aspx?pid=12

[simple simon]

Vittorio Brambilla (November 11, 1937 - May 26, 2001) was a Formula One driver from Italy who raced for the March, Surtees and Alfa Romeo teams. His nickname was "The Monza Gorilla".

In a multiple pileup at Monza in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, in which Ronnie Peterson died, Brambilla suffered serious head injuries. Brambilla was hit by a flying wheel and returned to race in the 1979 Italian Grand Prix.[14] In reaction to that race, it was announced in October 1978 that the Italian Grand Prix would moved to the Autodromo Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola for the next three years[15] although this did not actually happen and the 1979 Italian Grand Prix was at Monza again.

Vittorio Brambilla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[simple simon]

1977 Formula One world champion, Nikki Lauda

Maybe the bravest comebacks of all. Heading for his second world championship, a rear suspension failure forced Lauda off the track. His Ferrari hit an embankment, rolled back, and collided with Brett Lunger’s Surtee’s Ford. Lauda’s car shot up in flames with Lauda trapped inside. Despite the efforts of the officials and his fellow drivers he could not be removed from the wreckage until he’d already suffered severe burns, and had inhaled huge amounts of toxic gas. Amazingly when they did get him out, he was able to walk away but he later collapsed into a coma.


Less than two months later Lauda was back racing. In his first race he managed a credible fourth, but had too much ground to make up in the world championship, and he lost it by one point. The following year he won the championship for the second time.

Top 10 Sporting Comebacks - The List Universe

[disco stu]

"This thread inspired by a similar thread in the NASCAR forum."

"Is this because of my NASCAR Greatest Comebacks thread? Feeling full of myself right now!"


See, Penelope, this proves that you are truly inspirational!!!

RD, ty for letting me know about this thread.

So, guys.....surprise, surprise.....I offer, for your delectation.....

...a truly great comeback.....

Mr. Alex Zanardi

F1 driver and two-time CART Champion

Born in 1966 in Bologna, Italy he actually had a two-part F1 career, punctuated by a highly succesful run in Champ Cars.

Alex's first stint in F1 commenced in 1991 and came off the back of a second place in the F3000 championship (this is now known as GP2....it's the main F1 feeder series).

In 1991 he drove for the now-defuct (Irish) Jordan F1 team. In 1992 he drove for Minardi and tested for Benetton (now Renault).

In 1993 Alex was signed to Lotus along with Johnny Hebert. This wasn't a great car and his season became catastrophically worse following a dreadful accident in practice for the Belgian GP.

He had sporadic drives in F1 and Sports Cars through '94 and '95 and joined Chip Ganassi in Champ Cars for 1996 as team-mate to Jimmy Vasser.

"Rookie of the Year" in '96 was followed by the championship itself in '97 and '98.

A true racer, his famous overtaking manouever on Bryan Herta at Laguna Seca in the final race of 1996 is the stuff of legend (YouTube - CART Laguna Seca 1996 Last Lap).

In 1999, he returned to F1 with the Williams Team. This proved to be not at all successful for Alex unfortunately, and he was dropped in favour of Jensen Button the very next season.

2000 proved to be an enforced sabbatical for our hero, but he returned to Champ Cars in 2001.

A somewhat lack-lustre season came to an abrupt and tragic end at The Lausitzring in Germany.

On attempting to merge back into the race (which he was leading at the time) from the pit-lane exit Alex overdid it a bit on the throttle and spun his car into the path of a full-tilt Alex Tagliani. The result was truly horrific.

The result of this near-fatal collision was that he had to have both legs amputated.

He has since had prosthetic limbs fitted and has mastered living with them to the extent that he is now a (successful) competitor in the World Touring Car Championship (touring cars are a big thing in this part of the world).

He has actually won races!

He has also test-driven both Champ Cars and F1 cars!

The man has a limited edition Honda(Acura) NSX named in his honour, has his own (successful) go-kart brand, has written two books and, just this year, came 4th in his classification in the New York City Marathon!

And, over and above all of this he has always remained ultra-positive and has never expressed bitterness or regret about his career or the situation he found himself in.

A true inspiration!

[Racer Duck]

Does Alex use special hand controls in his racers? Either way, this is truly a fantastic story.

[disco stu]

Yes he does.

And, apparently, when he tested the BMW Sauber F1 car a while back the only complaint he had was that due to the limitations of the hand throttle he was only able to use one hand to turnthe corners!!!

[Racer Duck]

Born on April 15, 1933 in Illinois, Mel Kenyon was raised in Davenport, Iowa, and currently resides in Lebanon, Indiana. Mel Kenyon undoubtedly deserves his nicknames: the "King of the Midgets" and "Miraculous Mel".

Mel attended his first automobile race in August of 1946 at a track in Marion, Iowa. He has been addicted ever since.

Mel finally got a chance to race in the summer of 1954, driving a 1937 Chevy Coupe. He totaled it on the main straight when a tire blew. What seemed to be the end was just the beginning of an illustrious career that is still going strong today.

After becoming virtually unbeatable in the hardtops, so much so, promoters were finding ways to keep Mel from racing his way to the prize money week in and week out. Mel and little brother Don took on a new challenge... the lightning quick world of open wheeled midget racers. They never looked back!

In the spring of 1958 the fabled midget racing careers of Mel and Don Kenyon began.

In the time since his first midget race in 1958 through today, Mel raced to a record seven USAC National midget titles and was runner-up to the title eight times.

In 27 seasons of U.S.A.C. midget racing between 1963 and 1988, Mel set the bar high with results like these:

• 7 time USAC Midget Champion
• 8 times runner up in USAC Midget season points standings
• 21 Top fives in USAC Midget season point's standings
• 111 USAC Midget Feature wins
• 131 second place finishes in USAC Midget feature races
• 107 third place finishes in USAC Midget feature races
• 89 fourth place finishes in USAC Midget feature races
• 69 fifth place finishes in USAC Midget feature races
• 688 top ten finishes in USAC Midget feature races

During the years above, Mel and Don also took on the "Big Boys" in the "Big Cars" of Indy Car racing.

In only his tenth race in the "Big Cars", life as Mel Kenyon knew it changed dramatically. On June 20th, 1965, the engine in Mel's roadster blew in a big way and covered both the racing surface and Mel's tires in oil as he slammed the wall at Langhorne and was knocked unconscious. Moments later Jim Hurtubise and Ralph Ligouri raced into the same oil covered corner and slid full speed into Mel's fuel tank, splitting it and igniting it. Mel sat unnoticed and burning while unconscious in his damaged racer.

Miraculously Mel survived and after series of operations at the San Antonio Burn Center and a lengthy absence from auto racing, Mel returned to auto racing the next year missing virtually all of the fingers on his left hand. Together with his brother Don and his father Everett, they designed a special glove in which a rubber grommet was sewn into the palm. This was to fit over a stud on the steering wheel so that he could grab the wheel with his right hand and steer with the palm of his left hand.

Mel failed to qualify for his first Indianapolis 500 just one month prior to his fiery crash at Langhorne, but returned to Indy less than 11 months after the 1966 crash. This time Mel made the race and finished 5th! Mel went on to race in the Indy 500 seven more times and in 1968 he recorded his best finish ever with a third place finish in the "Memorial Day Classic", behind Bobby Unser and Dan Gurney, in a car sponsored by his home town of Lebanon, Indiana.

All total, Mel Kenyon competed in 65 USAC National Championship Races and came close to winning his first at Michigan on July 16, 1972. As Mel approached the white flag in the lead, his Foyt Powered Eagle racer ran out of fuel. Mel coasted around the track and ended up third.

After the Champ car years, Mel continued racing midgets in local and regional events and in NAMARS sanctioned events where he was crowned NAMARS Championship Midgets Champion three straight times in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

Mel has also raced midgets as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

Mel Kenyon's feature victories in all of midget racing have topped 380, with many of his second-place finishes coming when he was beaten by racecars he and his brother, Don, built for other racers.

Perhaps even more remarkable than all of this was the fact that he continued to do his own engine work, his third place finish at Indianapolis in 1968 coming with a Turbocharged Offenhauser engine he routinely tore down and put back together strictly by himself, which he did with all the engines in his racecars throughout his career.

A man of strong religious conviction, much of his time in the 1990's was spent caring for his virtually comatose wife, Marieanne, now deceased, who had suffered a major head injury in a bicycle riding accident. But Mel's conviction and his inspirational easy-going manner never wavered.

Mel Kenyon: The King of the Midgets

[DOF_power]

Juan Manuel Fangio, Nurburgring 1957.
Juan Manuel Fangio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saving the best until last

In 1957 he returned to Maserati, who were still using the same iconic 250F which Fangio had driven at the start of 1954. Fangio started the season with a hat-trick of wins in Argentina, Monaco and France, before engine problems meant a non-finish in Britain. At the next race, the German Grand Prix at the fearsome Nürburgring, Fangio needed to extend his points lead by six points to claim the title with two races to spare. From pole position Fangio dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins but managed to get past both by the end of the third lap. Fangio had started on half tanks since he expected that he would need new tyres half way through the race in any case. In the event Fangio pitted on lap 13 with a 30 second lead but a disastrous stop left him back in third and 50 seconds behind Collins and Hawthorn. Fangio came into his own, setting one fastest lap after another culminating in a time on lap 20 that smashed the lap record, a full eleven seconds faster than the best the Ferraris could manage. On the penultimate lap Fangio got back past both Collins and Hawthorn, and held on to take the win by just over three seconds. With Musso finishing down in fourth Fangio claimed his fifth title. This performance is often regarded as the greatest drive in Formula One history, but it was to be Fangio's last win.

YouTube - Nurburgring 1957




Juan Manuel Fangio Nationality Argentinian




Juan Manuel Fangio (June 24, 1911 - July 17, 1995), nicknamed "El Maestro" (Spanish for "The Master"), was a race car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing. He won five Formula One World Driver's Championships — a record which stood for 46 years — with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati), a feat that has not been repeated since. For these achievements, and because of the time they were accomplished, he is regarded by many as the "greatest driver of all time".

[Racer Duck]

DOF's post of Mr. Fangio's story reminded me of this one. I doubt it'll ever be surpassed in today's NASCAR.


Smoke erupts from the #9 Coors Ford of Bill Elliott in the 1985 Winston 500. Elliott was holding a solid lead when a broken oil fitting required him to limp into the pits for repairs. Elliott returned to the track running 26th, 2.03 seconds from going two laps down. At that point, Elliott began one of the most memorable comebacks in NASCAR history. Without the aid of a caution flag, he rallied from the five-mile deficit, took the lead 97 laps later, and scored his fourth win of the season.