My Day With George

Roger Penske and George Follmer. [Photo by Eddie LePine]

By Eddie LePine

Well, I just made my second trip in two weeks to the west coast. Last time it was for the FIA Formula e race, and this time it was for the big one – The Long Beach Grand Prix.

First on the agenda was the Road Racing Drivers Club dinner which this year was honoring George Follmer for his incredible accomplishments in motorsports. Jeremy Shaw did a great job as usual at the event, who hosted the festivities along with Bobby Rahal.

George Follmer in the Porsche 917/10 at Watkins Glen in 1972. [Photo by Jack Webster]

George Follmer and Mario Andretti. [Photo by Eddie LePine]

Roger Penske and George Follmer. [Photo by Eddie LePine]

Fast Eddie and George Follmer at IN-N-OUT Burger. [Photo by Mike Follmer]

Once Follmer was called to the stage, it was time for some great racing stories, as George was joined by Roger Penske, who, of course was his boss in 1972 when George took over driving duties on the Porsche 917/10. At Road Atlanta in 1972 Follmer was pressed into service by Penske to replace the injured Mark Donohue in the new Porsche CanAm car, which George had never seen before. Penske gave just one command: “Just get in and drive it”. Well, drive it George Follmer did, quite well in fact.

The rest is history; as Follmer went on to win the 1972 CanAm championship (along with the TransAm championship the same year). As Follmer related to the crowd: “Back then, the only traction control we had was our right foot.”

The next day I convinced a somewhat reluctant George Follmer to join me at the track to take a tour through the paddock area and perhaps look up some old friends. It took a bit of convincing, as it had been many years since he had been in a race paddock and he didn’t want to bother anybody. He certainly didn’t bother anybody – all who saw him were very pleased he came by to visit.

The first person we saw was Roger Penske, and the two racers immediately engaged in conversation swapping stories about their racing exploits back in the day. It was great being a fly on the wall and being able to listen in on these two legends talk shop.

Next we worked our way over to see Mario Andretti, who was giving rides in the two-seater IndyCar. The first thing Follmer said to his old friend was; “When are you going to give this shit up?” to which Mario laughed and replied that it keeps him young. Once again, old friends picked up right where they had left off years earlier and spent some time talking about their racing exploits.

It was a pleasure to spend some time with such a racing legend and after our tour of the paddock and saying hello to old racing friends, George treated me to lunch at “In and Out Burger”, which was a fitting end to the day, as being from the other coast I had never seen one before.

Visiting with a racing legend, touring the paddock and listening to great stories and finally lunch at a fast food joint – I’m telling you, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Thanks, George.

Eddie LePine

Eddie has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up).

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