John morton race car driver

Racing legend john morton honored with custom wristwatch made. Sylvia wilkinsons brilliant book is as relevant now as it was when it was first published in 1973, and it. However jack brabham racing another teams car next day also carried race number 83. John was the special guest at the datsunsnw canby car show this year, and after the banquet dinner, john chatted. John lee paul born hansjohan paul, march 12, 1939 in the netherlands was an american racecar driver, convicted felon and fugitive. Over 35 different car models competed in two or two point five era of the transam.

In the prime of his career, morton raced everything from porsches to bmws and ferraris to jaguars in the rolex 24 at daytona. Check out the schedule below, group 9 is the one to watch for bsedan action. Morton brothers motor sports jacksonville, north carolina. His love of racing began at a race his father took him to at road america in 1957, the even turned john morton into an avid racing fan. Sep 04, 2019 this years event comes with a huge bonus as veteran racer john mortonfamous in transam, canam, imsa gtp, f5000 and many other race car typeswill not only serve as grand marshal and oversee the series that bears his name, but will also race in the season finale of the morton trophy, a series created for small sedans from the 1960s and. An auto racing odyssey revisited sold out by sylvia wilkinson.

Dont miss this event it promises to be an epic gathering of vintage datsun racers. John morton is an american racing driver from waukegan, illinois. After helping a friend, jim shepherd, to prepare his supercharged morris minor, john took it to the southern hot rod club in december 1961, where he won the g. Another model in the brands lineup struck him as a more sensible choice. Adding to the honors of winning, morton was also named 1971 california sports car clubs driver of the year as well as datsun race driver of the year. Race legend john morton honored with custom wristwatch. Apr 30, 2018 there is no slowing down john morton as he took out a replica of his 1970 71 national championship winning 240z. He went on to race jalopies in south carolina before he dropped out of clemson university to attend carroll shelbys racing school at riverside raceway in. Feb, 2018 the worldclass historic race weekend returns to road atlanta april 2729 with an event grand marshal who is closely tied to both brands. Elijah morton races in the extreme pro stock category for this league.

Australian motorsport pioneers the ultimate classic car. Owner of the restoration shop british automotive repair. We had run the 240z successfully, and it even looked like a race car, he explains. John morton placing nissan on the map and dominating motorsports.

And i had a neighbor across the street that had a sports car an mg and i got rides in that. Sports car racing photo gallery of john morton usas cars photo gallery. Best known as a sportscar racer, he now lives in utah. From 1985 through 1988, i was fortunate to share the winning car in eight imsa gtp races driving porsches, jaguars, and nissans. Rec watches to craft a unique timepiece for renowned racing driver john morton. John mortons legendary racing career articles classic. Chris brewer pr czar at the amelia island concours. The john morton trophy with csrg october 46 zcar blog. John morton to drive in the morton trophy race at sonoma. And i had a neighbor across the street that had a sports caran mgand i got rides in that. He went on to race jalopies in south carolina before he dropped out of clemson university to attend carroll shelbys racing school at riverside raceway in california.

He had driven the 2000 roadster, the 240z and the 510 as he captured the unofficial driver s crown in the sccas twofive challenge series in 1971 and 1972. Mar 28, 2018 despite the association with datsun, john mortons pro motorsports career began with shelby. In this revisited edition of the classic motor racing book, author sylvia wilkinson has added a new 45page chapter catching up with many of the people who made the bre team successful and the book so compelling, including john morton, the teams number one driver, who went on to race professionally for now close to 40 years. During practice for 1988 lime rock imsa gtp race john morton had a big accident. Morton was named 1971 california sports car clubs driver of the year as well as datsun race driver of the year.

I have some photo from that lime rock meeting taken very. Hang out with john morton at the classic motorsports mitty. Seasons spanning over two years for example 2014 championships have their race results accounted for in the year the championship ends. Aug 22, 20 photo 2 john morton le mans driver interview 002 morton started sports car racing in 1963 and is still going strong today. He had driven the 2000 roadster, the 240z and the 510 as he captured the unofficial drivers crown in the sccas twofive challenge series in 1971 and 1972. Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Datsun bre 510 championship car to create timepiece in recognition of john mortons. Media in category john morton race car driver the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total.

John morton born february 17, 1942 is an american racing driver from waukegan, illinois. John morton over 48 years of racing and still going john s interest in racing was sparked as a child by attending local dirt track races with his dad at the waukegan speedway in his illinois hometown. He will run all four legs solo in the classic 24 and this will be the debut for my car at daytona. Combine this with going to local dirttrack races and indycar races, and youve got a future race car driver. As morton recounts in the final paragraphs of inside shelby american, he reconnected with the famed texan, too.

Initially described as hopeless by a professional driving instructor, john paul jr. The stainless steel carrot, a chronicle of john mortons days as an upandcoming racer in 1971 and 1972, tells not just mortons story, but the story of all race car drivers. John morton s introduction to racing follows a familiar line. Sep 22, 2019 john morton is 77 years old and still drives at speed in my 240z, said current car owner randy jaffe. Mortons skillful driving in the early 1970s elevated the datsun brand as a. I had some photos of it and the car has clearly race number 83 and was totally destroyed. Click on the number of races to see individual races. John morton and bre datsun 240z headed to hsr classic daytona. Grand marshall for classic motorsports mitty turnology. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of alfas, bmws and datsuns sharing the track with john morton also grand marshal. After becoming the youngest ever imsa champion, he made 21 cart starts from 1982 to 1985 with a win at michigan international speedway and 8th position in points in 1983. In 1949, his father took the family to the milwaukee fairgrounds to see the aaa race. John morton born february 17, 1942 is one of the great american professional racing drivers. John worked for many years as an engineer for shelby to earn.

In 2019 csrg will recapture the feel of those days with big grids and a race series officially named after the man who could rightfully be called the champion of the 2. The following numbers are a summary of the more detailed information available in the career details further below on the page. Although mortons career as a race car driver spanned more than four decades, he is best remembered for the 197072 seasons, when he drove a datsun 510 to a pair of smallbore scca transam. In the early 70s, race driver john mortons efforts with a small team called bre. Each year, he drove the bre datsun 510 to six victories as the greatest contributor of points to datsun, which took the. The 1971 race was considered a major upset and earned the car a reputation as a giant killer. In this revisited edition of the classic motor racing book, author sylvia wilkinson. That particular incident stands out in my mind, said john morton. To keep all the datsun enthuiasts up to date on the steve bonkjohn morton car project 46, leading up to the 20 50th scca. Initially, morton recalls, he was not enthusiastic about the idea of a datsun 510 as a race car.

After his father took him to a race at road america in 1957, morton became an avid racing fan. Watches to craft a unique timepiece for renowned racing driver john morton. John mortons legendary racing career classic car magazine. At the arrc, the c production national champion title he had won in 1970 was his again. In this category, the car and driver must weigh at least 2425 lbs at the end of the race. Drivers must hold a valid ihra or nhra license, complete a physical, and the car must meet all adrl engine, body, and safety requirements.

John mortons introduction to racing follows a familiar line. My dad took me to races when i was a little kid, and i got interested in it, he says. Morton was the grand marshall at the mitty historic event at road atlanta. Morton is quick to say the bre team turned his life around. John saccameno owner of sport and specialty restorations.

Mortons skillful driving in the early 1970s elevated the datsun brand as a competitive contender on the racetrack and earned the adoration of. He went on to race jalopies in south carolina before he dropped out of clemson university to attend carroll shelbys racing school at riverside. See more ideas about car and driver, race cars and racing. John morton usas cars photo gallery racing sports cars. He won the michigan 500 cart race in 1983, followed by a second place finish at le mans in 1984. Racing almost anything you can think of, morton doesnt have a.