Photo courtesy of All American Racers
Racecar development pioneer Phil Remington has passed away at the age of 92.
After service as a flight engineer in the South Pacific in World War II, Remington threw himself into the post-World War II hot-rodding and motorcycle scene in Southern California. A severe motorcycle racing crash led him to turn his attention to the engineering side of racing, building intake manifolds for Eddie Meyer while producing Indy cars for millionaire Sterling Edwards. He was involved with Lance Reventlow's Scarab Formula 1 effort before joining Carroll Shelby and the Ford Le Mans racing program, where he played key roles in the development of the Shelby Cobra and subsequent Ford GT40 and Mark IV Le Mans cars.
Remington subsequently entered into a long relationship with Dan Gurney's All American Racers, serving as as "a fabricator, designer, draftsman, engineer and all around problem solving genius" at AAR for 43 years. At a 90th birthday party for Remington, Gurney – his boss and friend for more than three decades – called Remington AAR's "Rock of Gibraltar.”
"He is a marvel, an old salt, and an inspiration to young and old. I know, it is a cliché, but when they made old Rem, they threw away the mold," said Gurney.