American Racing Icon, Bob Bondurant, Dies At 88

Champion racer and owner of Bondurant Racing School, Bob Bondurant, passed away on November 12 at the age of 88.

In a statement from the Bondurant Racing School:

“Bondurant is the only American to bring home the World Championship trophy back to the U.S. while racing for Carroll Shelby. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into ten motorsports halls of fame. Bondurant Racing School was founded in 1968 and has graduated celebrities for car movies like James Garner, Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage, and Christian Bale, along with over 500,000 graduates from around the world. His legacy will remain with us forever.”

Bondurant raced his whole life. He started racing Indian motorcycles as a teen before switching to cars in 1956. From the age of 23 to 34, Bob became one of the most iconic race car drivers in the world. He had won the National Corvette Title, Le Mans GT, the World Championship, and the Baja 500. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Corvettes. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe #26. He then rose to the highest level in racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 and prototypes.

In February of 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. For 50 years, it earned and held a reputation as the number-one racing school in the world, crediting Bob as “the global expert authority on driver training and safety.” Using his notorious racing skills, he copyrighted “The Bondurant Method.” Personally, he taught his hand-selected instructors how to educate the world to be better drivers.

Our Detroit Muscle crew was fortunate enough to experience the Bondurant driving experience as they pit their Ultimate Challenger project against a Hellcat at the Bondurant Racing School.

He is survived by his wife Pat, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob’s School. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and loved ones. His legacy will surely live on in the automotive and motorsports industry.