Long Beach Pro-Celebrity Race : ‘Knight Rider’ a Pawn; Gurney Is King

Next time somebody tailgates you on the freeway, just be thankful it isn’t Dan Gurney.

Even the “Knight Rider” himself, David Hasselhoff, wasn’t immune to the pressure.

Hasselhoff led the first seven laps of the 10-lap Toyota Pro-Celebrity race at Long Beach Saturday until Gurney reeled him in, rattled him out of the race and ran away to a 4.069-second victory over another former professional, Parnelli Jones.

Perry King of “Riptide,” an SCCA competitor, was third and the first celebrity to finish. Ana-Alicia of “Falcon Crest,” the only woman entrant, passed four cars to finish ninth overall.

All 15 competitors drove race-prepared Toyota Celicas.

Gurney long ago retired from Formula One racing and, after that, his own Eagle racers at Indy and stock cars at Riverside. He runs his All-American Racers shop in Santa Ana and has been co-race director of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, with Phil Hill, since its inception. He celebrates his 55th birthday today.

But has he mellowed?

Heck, Gurney has always been mellow, but behind the ever-present smile and laid-back manner the competitive fires still burn brightly, even for a fun event that he also won in 1983.

Gurney said: “You try to recall all the lost skills that might be dormant in there.”

“Lost?” King exclaimed. “Ha!”

Did Gurney want to win? He had the fastest practice lap Friday but still was unhappy with his original car and was given another one Saturday.

The only edge he conceded was at the start. The celebrities were supposed to get a 30-second head start, but the pros closed up after an aborted start when their pace car pulled off, thinking the green flag had dropped.

Gurney, ever the gentleman, nevertheless hung back a respectable distance--a fact noted by King--but once the race was under way he went after the leaders from his 12th position.

While King chased Hasselhoff, Gurney moved through the field to third after five laps and was on Hasselhoff’s rear bumper by the end of lap six.

“The fact I was there had a lot to do with his losing concentration,” Gurney said. “When you come up on a car it takes on a personality. You can tell whether the driver is starting to come unraveled.”

Hasselhoff came unraveled.

Gurney, braking an instant later, slipped his car under Hasselhoff’s at the apex of Turn One, but Hasselhoff failed to yield. He soon realized his error, locked up his wheels and rammed into the stack of tires fronting the concrete wall.

It was just like Gurney said.

“I saw Gurney in the mirror, and my concentration was thrown for a minute,” Hasselhoff said with a shrug. “That’s racing.”

Hasselhoff was able to continue but soon hit another wall and retired. His was the only car not to finish.