George Follmer Explained

George Richard Follmer^[1] (born January 27, 1934) is an American former auto racing driver, and one of the most successful road racers of the 1970s. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona. His family moved to California when he was just an infant.

Career

Follmer began his career running a Volkswagen Beetle in Gymkhana competition in parking lots in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California.

Follmer raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1967-1971 and 1974 seasons, with 25 career starts, including the 1969-1971 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his one victory in 1969 at Phoenix International Raceway. His best finish at the Indianapolis 500 was in 1971. He started 29th and finished in the 15th position driving the Grant King Racer's turbo Offy.

In 1973, Follmer competed in Formula One with Don Nichols' UOP Shadow team. He took part in his first Grand Prix, in South Africa, at the age of 39 years and 1 month - making him F1's oldest débutant since the 1950s, a distinction he still holds.^[2] In 13 Championship races, his best results were 6th in South Africa and a podium 3rd in Spain, in his first two Grands Prix, which gave him 13th in the Drivers' Championship with five points. He also competed in several non-Championship races.

Follmer also had success in other racing series. In 1965, he won the SCCA United States Road Racing Championship. Follmer won two races in the 1970 SCCA Continental Championship for Formula A cars, placing sixth in the standings. He won the Trans-Am championship in 1972, winning four races with an AMC Javelin, and 1976, driving a Porsche 934 Turbo.

In 1972, Follmer was the Can-Am champion, substituting for the injured Mark Donohue in Penske Racing's Porsche 917/10, causing the racing press to dub Follmer "George Am". He was vice-champion in 1973 driving for Rinzler and 1974 in a Shadow. He collected 6 wins and 13 podiums in the three-year spell. He is the only driver to win the Can-Am and Trans-Am championship in the same year.

Follmer competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup series in 1974, with appearances in 13 of 30 races. He collected three top 5 finishes and a pole position. In 1974 and 1975, he raced at the International Race of Champions, where he won a race.

In 1977 he returned to the revived Can-Am, resulting 6th in 1977 and 5th in 1978. He won the 1978 St. Jovite Can Am in his Prophet-Chevy over Alan Jones.

After his retirement, he came back to racing for the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans, obtaining a prestigious third place with a Porsche 956.

Though long-retired from professional motorsports competition, Follmer still competes in vintage races, often driving the very same cars in which he competed during his heyday.

In addition to his racing career, Follmer also owned a Porsche-Audi-Subaru dealership in Pomona, California, later relocated to Montclair, California, from 1977 to 1990.

Awards

• He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America^[3] in 1999.
• He was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2019.
• He was also inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame in 2019.

2014 Saleen Mustang Limited Edition

On August 17, 2013 Saleen introduced a limited edition Saleen | George Follmer Edition Ford Mustang. Based on the #16 1969 Boss 302 Mustang racecar that he drove in the 1969 SCCA Trans-Am series, the 2014 Saleen/Follmer Edition was period correct with its livery, naturally aspirated 495HP^[4] 5.0L high revving engine, track tuned suspension, and 6-speed manual transmission. Production was limited to 250 units.^[5]

Motorsports career results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps
1966		Charlie Kolb	Ferrari Dino 206S	P 2.0	9	DNF	DNF
1986	Joest Racing	John Morton Kenper Miller	Porsche 956	C1	355	3rd	3rd

American open-wheel racing

(key) (

Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

USAC Championship Car results
Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28		Pts
1967	Rolla Vollstedt	Vollstedt		PHX	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	PPR	MOS	MOS	IRP	LAN	MTR	MTR	SPR	MIL	DSF	INF	TRE	SAC	HAN	PHX	RSD								27th	230
1968	George R. Bryant	Cheetah		HAN	LVS	PHX	TRE	INDY	MIL	MOS	MOS	LAN	PPR	CDR	NAZ	IRP	IRP	LAN	LAN	MTR	MTR	ISF	MIL	DSF	INF	TRE	SAC	MCH	HAN	PHX	RSD	32nd	206
1969	George Follmer	Cheetah	Chevy	PHX	HAN								IRP	IRP	MIL	ISF	DOV	DSF	INF	BRN	BRN	TRE	SAC	SIR	SIR							16th	880
						INDY	MIL	LAN	PPR	CDR	NAZ	TRE
	STP Racing	Lotus 56																								PHX
			Plymouth																								RSD
1970		Brawner Hawk		PHX	SON	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	CDR	MCH				ONT	DSF	INF	SED	TRE	SAC	PHX											NC	0
	George Walther	Morris										IRP	ISF	MIL
1971	Grant King	Kingfish 70		RAF	RAF	PHX	TRE	INDY	MIL	POC	MCH	MIL	ONT	TRE	PHX																	NC	0
1975	American Kids Racer	Eagle 72		ONT	ONT	ONT	PHX	TRE	INDY																							NC	0
	Adams Automotive	Eagle 72							INDY	MIL	POC	MCH	MIL	MCH	TRE	PHX

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1968	Cheetah		DNQ	George R. Bryant
1969	Cheetah		27	27	George Follmer
1970	Brawner Hawk		21	31
1971	Kingfish		29	15	Grant King
1975			DNQ	American Kids Racer
			DNQ	Adams Automotive

NASCAR

(key) (

Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31		Pts	Ref
1972	Frasson Racing	18W		RSD	DAY	RCH	ONT 49	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	MCH	RSD	TWS	DAY	BRI	TRN	ATL	TAL	MCH	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	TWS	120th	9	[6]
1974	Bud Moore Engineering	15	Ford	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT																			29th	230.49	[7]
	Penske Racing	16	AMC														RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	NSV	ATL	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford																														ONT
1975	Moyer Racing	33	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT																			74th	167	[8]
	Michael Brockman	50	Chevy														RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	ONT
1986	Midgley Racing	29	Chevy	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD			76th	164	[9]
1987				DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	NWS	BRI	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	RSD	ATL			70th	163	[10]
1988		50W	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL			NA	-	[11]

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1974		Ford	5	align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;"	20
1975		Chevrolet	40	align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;"	24

International Race of Champions

(key) (

Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year	Make	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Pts	Ref
1973–74	Porsche	RSD	RSD	RSD	DAY	5th	-	[12]
1974–75	Chevy	MCH	RSD	RSD	DAY	7th	-	[13]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key) (races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1971	Brian O'Neil Racing	Lotus 70B	Chevrolet 5.0 V8	ARG	ROC	QUE	SPR	INT	RIN	OUL	VIC
1973	UOP Shadow Racing Team	Shadow DN1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC	INT

Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos	Pts
1966	John Mecom Racing	Lola T70 Mk.2	Ford V8	MTR	BRI	MOS									10th	4
			Chevrolet V8				LAG	RIV	LVG
1967	Roger Penske Racing	Lola T70 Mk.3B	Chevrolet V8	ROA	BRI	MOS	LAG	RIV	LVG						7th	10
1968	Agapiou Racing	Lola T70 Mk.3B	Ford V8	ROA	BRI	EDM	LAG	RIV	LVG						7th	6
1969	Agapiou Racing		Ford V8	MOS	MTR	WGL	EDM	MDO	ROA	BRI	MCH	LAG	RIV	TWS	NC	0
1970	Advanced Vehicle Systems	AVS Shadow Mk I	Chevrolet V8	MOS	MTR	WGL	EDM	MDO	ROA	ATL	BRA	LAG	RIV		NC	0
1971	Roy Woods Racing		Chevrolet V8	MOS	MTR	ATL	WGL	MDO	ROA	BRA	EDM	LAG	RIV		31st	2
1972	Penske Racing	Porsche 917/10	Porsche Flat 12	MOS	ATL	WGL	MDO	ROA	BRA	EDM	LAG	RIV			1st	130
1973	Rinzler Motoracing	Porsche 917/10	Porsche Flat 12	MOS	ATL	WGL	MDO	ROA	EDM	LAG	RIV				2nd	62
1974		Shadow DN4	Chevrolet V8	MOS	ATL	WGL	MDO	ROA							2nd	45
1977	U.S Racing	Lola T332C	Chevrolet V8	MTR	LAG	WGL	ROA	MDO	MOS	CTR	SON	RIV			6th	35
1978	U.S Racing	Prophet 1	Chevrolet V8	ATL	CLT	MDO	MTR	WGL	ROA	MOS	CTR	LAG	RIV		5th	1088
1979	U.S Racing	Prophet 1	Chevrolet V8	ATL	CLT	MOS	MDO	WGL	ROA	BRA	CTR	LAG	RIV		14th	3
1980	U.S Racing	Prophet 1	Chevrolet V8	SON	MDO	MOS	WGL	ROA	BRA	CTR	ATL	LAG	RIV		NC	0

Further reading

• Book: Madigan, Tom. Follmer: American Wheel Man. ejje Publishing. Follmer Book.com

External links

• Profile at www.grandprix.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: George Follmer . 2023-06-28 . www.champcarstats.com.
2. Web site: The F1 FAQ . Atlas F1 . 16 November 2013.
3. http://www.mshf.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/george-follmer.html George Follmer
4. Web site: Follmer Edition. saleen.com. 31 January 2016. 14 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714122826/http://saleen.com/saleen-gf.html. dead.
5. Web site: 2014 Saleen George Follmer Edition Mustang debuts at Laguna Seca. seyth miersma. 17 August 2013. Autoblog. 31 January 2016.
6. Web site: George Follmer – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
7. Web site: George Follmer – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
8. Web site: George Follmer – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
9. Web site: George Follmer – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
10. Web site: George Follmer – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
11. Web site: George Follmer – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
12. Web site: George Follmer – 1974 IROC Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.
13. Web site: George Follmer – 1975 IROC Results. Racing-Reference. April 23, 2017.