Grant at Riverside in 1961, at the wheel of his first real “sports car,” the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that his patron, Dick Hahn, had purchased for him.
Photo: Bob Tronolone
Although he will probably be remembered mainly for a contrasting pair of Indycar accomplishments, Jerry Grant was yet another of the American all-rounders who could, and would, drive virtually any kind of car. After a tour of duty as chauffeur for the head of NORAD Command in Colorado, the Washington state native tackled drag racing, but after tiring of simply going straight he turned to road racing and began carving out his reputation. Whether in the USRRC, Can-Am, Trans-Am, World Sports Cars, Stockers, or Indycars, Grant was a man to be reckoned with at the front of the grid. He possessed an unshakable faith in his own ability, confidence that remains evident in retrospect. Much of his success came in cars entered by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, including the two alluded to above, nearly winning the 1972 Indy 500 and becoming the first man in history to turn an official lap at more than 200 mph. Upon stepping out of the cockpit, Grant ran the Champion Spark Plug Company’s motor sports program while also serving as an ambassador for the company. He recently sat down with VR Associate Editor John Zimmermann to talk about his life in the sport.
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