“So, Bill, you just go down to the last marker, brake as late as you can, and turn in.” Sam advising his good pal Bill Murphy on the pre-grid.
During the early fifties, one of the biggest sports stars in the United States was Sam Hanks. Notice I said “sports,” not motor sports. He was one of the best-loved sports figures to come out of Southern California. For many of us enthralled with racing, he was our hero.
Sam was born in Ohio, but the Hanks family moved to Alhambra, California, when he was 6 years old. At Alhambra High School, Sam was so good in shop and auto mechanics that he was appointed a student instructor. He was one of the few championship-level racing drivers who also excelled as a mechanic and engineer.
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