Some quotes from ESPN's obit of Dan Gurney ("always the coolest man in the room")

In 1967 he had what might have very well been the greatest three-week span for any man to ever hold a steering wheel, when he started second in the Indianapolis 500; won the 24 Hours of Le Mans while co-driving with A.J. Foyt, the man who'd just beaten him at Indy; and then traveled north to win the F1 Belgian Grand Prix in a car of his own construction.

He never won the Indy 500 as a driver, finishing second twice, but Gurney-built cars won the race three times, driven there by Gordon Johncock and Bobby Unser, twice. Gurney made 86 F1 starts as a driver, winning four races, three pole positions and earning 19 podium finishes.

Jimmy Clark, two-time world champion, said Gurney was the only driver he ever feared.

At 6-foot-4, he would zip up his white fire suit, slide on his goggles and wrap a scarf around his neck, looking as much like Peter O'Toole in "Lawrence of Arabia" as he did James Garner in "Grand Prix." ... "If there was ever a discussion about how do I look or act or, heck, just stand there and look the part, the solution was simple," Garner recalled in 1999. "We'd look at Dan Gurney and say, OK, there's the answer, and that's what I'd do."

Gurney invented what is now known as the Gurney Flap. The same flap that can be found on airplanes, helicopters and pretty much anything seeking better aerodynamic performance. He's also the man credited with inventing the celebratory Champagne spray,

He was coaxed off the bench by racing writer Brock Yates to participate in the still-new Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. They won the highly illegal secret event's second running, using a Ferrari Daytona to cover 2,863 miles in just under 36 hours, receiving only one speeding ticket. "At no time did we exceed 175 mph," Gurney deadpanned.

"Here's the difference between Dan Gurney and the rest of us," Andretti once said. "To many, the rest of us might be fortunate enough to be one of your racing heroes. But to all of us, Dan Gurney, he's our racing hero."

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