Torrey Pines in 1954, Phil in a Ferrari Mexico:
Phil in Charles Hornburg's C Type Jag:
1958, Monza:
In my opinion, the most INFLUENTIAL American driver in the area of road racing is Phil Hill. He was in the vanguard of the US drivers to race in Europe after WW2. He signed with Ferrari early on and worked his way up the ranks, often at the expense of having other more vocal drivers get opportunities that should have been his. When he finally hit GP racing, he was Very Impressive, excellent placings at Monza & Casablanca that first year, 1958.
He drove for Ferrari in both sports cars and GP cars, then drove for the Shelby team and the various Cobra events, and then Chapparal and even an outing for Bruce McLaren at Kent in 1965 that I still remember.
Of all the American drivers, I keep coming back to Phil Hill as the one I think was The One that made a difference: without him, Dan Gurney, Richie Ginther, Mario Andretti, etc. may not have been there.
If I had two sports cars and needed to pick the pairings, my choices would be easy: Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, Tazio Nuvolari, and Jack Ickx. Stir 'em up, mix and match and they would still finish 1-2...
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Yr fthfl & hmbl srvnt,
Don Capps