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Racers, restorers, and funny men: A toast to the car guys who passed in 2014

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Tom (left) and Ray Magliozzi. Photo courtesy Car Talk.

Death is inevitable for us all, but truly living is not. When we pause at the end of the year to remember the fellow car guys and the shapers of the old car hobby who died in that year, we can’t help but notice that each of these people made this list because of the ways they made the most of their lives. Some of them did so by entertaining us, some of them did so by instilling awe in us, and some did so by showing us the way forward. All of them, though, made the world we know just a little bit richer.

Tom Magliozzi. When Magliozzi – one half of the Click and Clack brothers from NPR’s Car Talk radio show – died in November, media outlets from The New York Times to The Hollywood Reporter covered the news, and more than a few of them included reminiscences of howling laughter at the jokes and assorted tomfoolery the brothers got into on their show. More than just a Boston accent and a Dodge Dart lover, though, Magliozzi knew his cars from his years owning and operating the Good News Garage, and probably got more people poking their heads under their cars’ hoods than any other radio host in history.

Andy Granatelli. Though he never raced in the Indianapolis 500, Granatelli – who died in late December 2013 – earned the nickname “Mister 500″ for all of his years of involvement with the race, either as a car owner, promoter, or simply for his enduring presence there. His career in motorsports extends far beyond the 500, though, from his hot rod aftermarket parts business to his time as a promoter for STP, his work with Studebaker and Paxton, and later in life his attempts to start a motorsports museum.

Jack Brabham. To this day, Brabham remains the only driver to win a Formula 1 championship in a car bearing his name, which should say something both about the man’s driving abilities (along with the fact that the Australian won three Formula 1 championships) and his engineering and design proficiencies. Brabham, who died in May, continued to make public appearances with his cars up until the day before he died.

“Speedy” Bill Smith. Even if you only perused the Speedway Motors catalog over the years, you could see what sort of an influence Smith – who died in May – had on the racing and hot rodding world. As co-founder and operator of what he claimed to be the world’s oldest continuously operating speed shop (since 1952), Smith not only supplied and sponsored plenty of racers over the years, he also curated a much-lauded museum of extremely rare racing engines and other speed parts at the company’s headquarters in Nebraska.

Mark Smith. Unrelated to Bill Smith, Mark Smith – who died in June – was one of the pioneers of off-roading and four-wheeling. An avowed Jeep enthusiast since the postwar years, Smith was the first to lead an organized run up the Rubicon and later founded the Jeep Jamboree before tackling even larger challenges, such as crossing the Darien Gap in South America.

James Garner. While most of the world knew Garner – who died in July – as a prolific actor, he also had a second career as a racer and team owner, with behind-the-wheel experience in desert racing and behind-the-checkbook experience in endurance racing. His 1966 film Grand Prix also remains a gearhead favorite to this day.

Dick Thompson. Known as the “flying dentist,” Thompson – who died in September – had the grit and the stamina to pursue a second career in both amateur and professional auto racing, almost entirely behind the wheel of a series of Chevrolet Corvettes, helping to legitimize that car as a capable sports car competitor. With such luminaries as John Fitch, Bill Mitchell, and Zora Arkus-Duntov backing him, Thompson became a legend among Corvette enthusiasts.

Harold Coker. Every car, old or new, needs tires, but the rubber-on-the-road needs of old cars differ quite a bit from newer cars. Coker, who founded Coker Tire in 1958 and who died in November, collected older cars himself and so saw where the needs of his fellow collectors went unmet.

Mike Alexander. One of the famous Alexander brothers duo, Mike – who died in July – not only had a hand in such famous customs as the Dodge Deora and Chili Catallo’s Silver Sapphire, he also did design work for Ford through the Kar Kraft Design Center and for American Sunroof Corporation.

A.J. Watson. Indy car builder and mechanic, Watson’s cars are considered the last great front-engined cars to compete at Indianapolis. Watson – who died in May – did try driving early on in his career, but found greater success building his distinctive cars with offset engines for other racers, including Dick Rathmann, Rodger Ward, and A.J. Foyt.

Other notable deaths from 2014 include those of Corvette and AMC racing legend Jim Jeffords, Hagerty Insurance co-founder Frank Hagerty, racer Gary Bettenhausen, designer Andrew DiDia, Ford director and scion William Clay Ford, race car developer Ronnie Kaplan, Don Garlits’s wife Pat Garlits, magazine editor Bob Stevens, Ford executive Ross Roberts, IMSA co-founder John Bishop, auto literature dealer Bob Johnson, road racer Warren Agor, IMS restorer Bill Spoerle, funny car racer Raymond Beadle, NHRA driver and crew chief Dale Armstrong, Lister cars founder Brian Lister, onetime owner of Bristol Cars Anthony Crook, Hot Rod magazine’s Tom Medley, Ramcharger Jim Thornton, former Pontiac and Saturn head Bill Hoglund, Cadillac Ranch founder Stanley Marsh, former Ford and Jaguar head Nick Scheele, Edward Cole’s widow Dollie Cole, Porsche racer Björn Waldegård, Lambrecht Chevrolet owner Ray Lambrecht, Hilton Head Concours founder Paul Doerring, Japanese car critic Aritsune Tokudaiji, steam car collector Buck Boudeman, and Mickey Thompson mechanic Fred “Fritz” Voigt.


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