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"Iron Man" Morgan-racer passes

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aeronca65t

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
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His passing barely caused a murmur at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, but the Jan. 7 death of George S. Waltman of Kingston, N.Y., should not be overlooked.

In 1968, Waltman completed the 24 Hours of Daytona by himself -- no co-drivers, no pit crew.

His Aztec Racing Morgan Plus 4 finished 30th, 335 laps behind the winner. During mandatory rest periods, bathroom breaks and meals, be would park his Morgan in the pits and place an "Out To Lunch" sign on the seat. To get additional seat time, he drove his Morgan to and from Daytona, a 2,000-mile round trip.


Read more: https://www.autoweek.com/article/20130203/grand_am/130209955#ixzz2JyeEwtfQ
 
Is saw this as well, big respect to the independent racer in the day. I loved the fact that after finishing the 24-hour race in Dayton, he changed the oil in his Morgan and drove the 1000 miles back home. How many racers in this years 24-hour event do you think even drove themselves to their local Hotel after the event?
 
I agree, Dougie....there aren't too many of these type of guys around anymore.

One guy I did know back in my college day who was like that was Ray Walle. In 1976, Ray Walle, owner of Z&W Mazda, drove a Mazda RX7 from the dealership in Princeton, New Jersey, to Daytona, won the Touring Class Under 2.5 Liters at the 24 Hours of Daytona and drove the car back to New Jersey. The Mazda placed 18th overall in a field of 72. The only modifications were racing brake pads, exhaust, and safety equipment. Ray unfortunately died in a road accident later on. I still drive past Ray's old dealership in Princeton at least once a week. Before he owned the dealership, he ran a tiny repair place called "The Little Foreign Car Shop". We used to go there all the time and hang out. Now, it's a pizza joint.

And my old pal, Joe DeLuca used to drive his Dodge Colt ITC racer to our local SCCA races at Lime Rock, drive the wheels off it, and then drive it home. Joe didn't own a trailer.
At the time, I owned a matching Dodge Colt ITC racer (mine was street legal too, but I always used a trailer for races). Coincidentally, Joe owned a Morgan at the same time.
Joe died in Flight #93 on 9/11.
 
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