Autoblog

We're saddened to announce the passing of Louis A. Perunko, Jr., known to racing fans as Lou Palmer, who passed away this past Saturday, January 19, 2008 at the age of 75.

Palmer was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, and was raised in Syracuse, New York. He moved to Indianapolis in 1953 and began announcing for WIBC radio in 1958. He became famous for his regular interviews of each year's winner of the Indy 500 from Victory Lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and served as a reporter and anchor for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network reporter from 1953 to 1989, as well as being its chief in 1988 and 1989. Palmer was also an announcer on the CART radio network in the mid-90s before retiring some 10 years ago.

A memorial service will be held this coming Saturday, January 26 beginning at 1:30pm at the Camby Community Church in Indianapolis. Our condolences to the family of the dearly departed.

[Source: AutoWeek]

The man that moved NASCAR into the 21st century and into the lives of more fans than his father ever could have imagined, lost his eight-year battle with cancer yesterday at the age of 74. Bill France Jr. took the reigns from Bill Sr. in 1976, and in the ensuing three decades transformed the once beleaguered sport into one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the U.S.

Several automotive news outlets have penned some compelling obits for the "ultimate general manager," who will be sorely missed by his family and friends. They've done a far better job than we can, so we'd ask you to check their stories out here, here and here.

[Source: NASCAR]

One of the oldest surviving grand prix racing drivers has left us for the Big Pit-Stop in the Sky. Baron Emmanuel "Toulo" de Graffenried – yes, he was an actual Swiss baron – has died at the ripe old age of 92.

De Graffenried raced before and after the Second World War, achieving notable success and victories in the earliest days of Formula One. In 1948, the Baron won the first British Grand Prix, crowning his numerous podium finishes at races from Monaco to Zandvoort and from Geneva to Interlagos, competing mostly in Alfa Romeo and Maserati racing cars. He stood in for Kirk Douglas in The Racers (1955), and retired from racing at 42 to focus on his garage in Lausanne where he sold Alfas, Ferraris and Rolls-Royces. In the 70's he was back in the paddock as longtime racing sponsor Marlboro's F1 ambassador, its parent company Philip Morris being based in Lausanne.

Toulo was born in Paris in 1914 and grew up in Switzerland, where the de Graffenried family was one of the most prominent families, tracing all the way back to circa 1270. With him dies a simpler, more majestic age of motor racing long since lost to the commercialization and regulation of grand prix racing.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]