Dan Gurney to receive Edison-Ford Medal

When Edsel Ford II phoned Dan Gurney to tell him he was going to receive an award named for his grandfather and Thomas Edison, the all-American racing hero responded like you might imagine.

“I told him I was flattered but I don’t think you should have picked me,” relates Gurney (BELOW with wife Evi), speaking about the

Edison-Ford medal he will receive on Oct. 29 in Dearborn, Mich. “He said he had a committee of 6-8 people and they all agreed I deserved it so I’m truly proud to accept it.

“To get your name mentioned with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, I mean, that’s the best tribute anyone can imagine. Those guys were pioneers and they certainly weren’t one-dimensional.”

Which is a perfect way to describe Gurney and the exact reason he’s going to be only the second winner ever of this 25-year-old honor. The medal, which bears the likenesses of both Ford and Edison is intended to honor individuals who “fully leverage the creative, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that resides in every one of us,” said Matt Anderson, The Henry Ford Museum’s curator of transportation.

Not satisfied with just being a world-class race driver, Gurney branched out as a designer and builder in the mid 1960s and his Eagle chassis became a staple of the Indianapolis 500 and a winner in Formula 1. He’s still the only American to ever win an F1 race in a car of his own design and construction.

“It was just too easy being a driver,” laughs the 83-year-old founder of All-American Racers, who co-drove a Ford GT40 with A.J. Foyt to victory at Le Mans in 1967 (TOP, LEFT and BOTTOM) and also won in stock cars and scored the lone Can-Am triumph with Ford power. He was the first of three drivers to have won in Formula 1, IndyCar, sports cars and NASCAR (the other two being Mario Andretti and Juan Montoya).

“We tried to do some innovative things and expand the envelope but if you’re a racer, your No. 1 motive is try to win so

you take some chances and try different things. Necessity is the mother of invention, I didn’t come up with that phrase, but I certainly feel it’s true.”  

W. Edwards Deming, whose work in statistical product administration laid the groundwork for Japan’s economic rebirth following WWII, is the only other recipient and was honored in 1989.

“It’s a once in a lifetime thing and only been done once before so I have trouble finding the right words to describe my emotions,” said Gurney. “It’s very humbling and very gratifying and I’m looking forward to the evening.”