5 Lesser-known facts about race car drivers.

5 Lesser-known facts about racecar drivers

By Brian H Cotnoir

I think the title speaks for itself.   I hope you all enjoy it.

1.) The Unser Family has won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb 26 times!

The Unser family name is typically synonymous with the Indianapolis 500.  Al Unser Sr. won the race a record 4-times (a record he shares with 3 other driver), his brother Bobby Unser won the race 3 times, and his son Al Unser Jr. has won the race twice.

However, there's another racing circuit where the Unser's have truly dominated, and that is the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.  Despite the fact that it's not an actual racetrack, the over 12-mile hill climb, was part of the AAA/USAC Schedule & Championship. (Predecessor to the IndyCar Series) from 1946 to 1970.  I know a lot of people think it's strange that the Indy 500 was part of the F1 Calendar for 10 years, but I think the Pikes Peak Hillclimb being a part of the IndyCar schedule is even stranger. The race has been won the Unser family 26 times, and Louis Unser, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, and Al Unser Jr. have all won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb multiple times.

2.)  Ferdinand von Habsburg's a descendant of European Royalty

Ferdinand von Habsburg has been making a name for himself recently as a broadcaster and a driver in the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series.  He won the 2021 World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 division (including a class win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans) and the 2022 European Le Mans Series Championship.  He also nearly won the 2017 Macau Grand Prix before being wrecked by coming out of the last turn by Sergio Sette-Camara.

Now if Ferdinand's last name sounds familiar that is because he is descendent of the famous Habsburg family who ruled large parts of Europe for centuries.   His paternal grandfather, Otto von Habsburg, was the last Crown Prince of Austria.  His paternal great-grandfather was Charles I Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, before the Monarchy was abolished.  Charles was the nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Habsburg's racing career and I'm sure he is grateful that he was born with a lead foot instead of the infamous "Habsburg Jaw".

3.)  Milka Duno has four master's degrees!

You may recall Milka Dunno from the IndyCar Series at the turn of the millennium.  Most Indy fans from the time can recall the Venezuelan driver getting into heated argument with fellow female IndyCar driver Danica Patrick in the pits, after Patrick criticized her driving style and for being "...too slow".  While Patrick went on to be the first--and so far, only--woman to win a race in IndyCar, Duno's career yielded lackluster results and she consistently ran near the back of the field close to last place every race.

Duno's last race came in 2014 (in NASCAR), but what is even more impressive is what she has accomplished off the track.  According to her website Duno is a successful Naval Engineer and holds four master's Degrees!   I only have one master's degree and it was the toughest thing I've ever worked to achieve; I can't imagine holding four of them.  Duno's master's degrees are Organizational Development, Naval Architecture, Aquaculture and Maritime Business, and Marine Biology.   Duno achieved these degrees while at the Polytechnic University of Madrid in Spain, where she earned her first Masters, her other three master's she earned back in her native Venezuela.

4.)  Pietro Fittipaldi was the 2011 Track Champion at Hickory Motor Speedway

When you hear the name Fittipaldi, you automatically think of Open Wheel Racing.  Emerson, the Patriarch of the family won 2 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championships, 2 Indy 500 championships, and the 1989 CART Series title.  Emerson's brother, Wilson also had a brief stint in Formula One, before starting his own F1 team with his brother.  Christian Fittipaldi raced in F1, CART, and NASCAR with varying degrees of success.

Pietro Fittipaldi followed in his families' footsteps and became the first third-generation driver to start in Formula One, when he made two starts in Formula One for Haas F1, replacing the injured Romain Grosjean.  However, almost a decade before he made his F1 debut, Fittipaldi was dominating at the Most Famous Short track in America.  Many drivers in the Southeast of the United States have made a name for themselves at the Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.  Generations of drivers chasing the NASCAR dream have turned laps, won races, and championships at Hickory, and in 2011 Pietro Fittipaldi won the Late Model Series Track Championship at Hickory.   Fittipaldi's name is up there with other famous names like Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Jack Ingram, Harry Gant, and Robert Huffman as drivers who've won a track championship at Hickory!

5.)  Brendan Gaughan was teammates with Allen Iverson in College

Brendan Gaughan was a journeyman of the sport of NASCAR for more than two decades.  He won two races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 8 races in the NASCAR Truck Series, and very nearly won the 2003 Truck Series Championship.  Most people know that his grandfather, Jackie Gaughan, was the founder of the Southpoint Casino, the primary sponsor for a good portion of Brendan's racing career.  However before making his mark on the racetrack, Gaughan tried making his mark on the Basketball court.   Gaughan was a walk-on the Georgetown University men's basketball team, and while at Georgetown he was teammate with future MVP, Allen Iverson!  

Gaughan was mostly a bench warmer, only appearing in 25 games across three seasons, with most of his appearances coming during the 1995-96 season.  His career stats are only five points scored (hey, it's more than me) and he played an average of 2.6 minutes per game.