Ferrari Mailing List: Re: RIP Phil Hill

[red5hilser (red5hilser]

I've been a huge fan of Jim Hall ever since I saw him drive his 4.5 Maserati 
during the Palm Springs?Sports Car?Races held at the local airport in January, 
1959. Jim was an engineering student at Cal Tech at the time and had just 
started racing on weekends. I guess it helps if Daddy owns half the oil wells 
around Midland, Texas. <g>

Johnny von Neuman had just gotten a divorce, and had to sell his stable of 
Ferraris as part of the settlement,? I?went to see Jack Nethercutt, who bought 
several, race the Ferrari that Phil Hill had won the L.A. Times Gtand Prix at 
Riverside Raceway, the previous October. Believe it or not, one of the cars 
that Jack bought was a 1962 GTO that was his daily driver when he went to 
school at UCLA! Anyway, Palm Springs was?his tune-up for the Sebring 12 Hours 
that was coming up in April. I talked with Jack on the grid, and he came off as 
an arrogant SOB. Of course it might have been me. I'm sure he had other things 
on his mind more important that talking to a young sports writer.

What could have been better, warm Palm Springs January weather, beautiful 
sunshine, watching some of the world's finest sports cars scream by, and a nice 
hot tub before a prime rib?dinner and bed?

Yer faithful scribe, Bubba


-----Original Message-----
From: Doug and Terri 
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] RIP Phil Hill



In 1966, at the Times Grand Prix at Riverside - and thanks to Bubba Willi, I 
had photog passes.  Jim Hall had the foresight to hire Phil to drive his 
Super Secret automatic transmissioned high wing Chaparral.  I am at turn 
one, a lazy left hand dog leg taken by those Grp 7 cars at sixty gazillion 
miles per hour - it had a slight bump caused by the infield tunnel - not 
unlike Indy which made the turn a bit hairy.  It was Friday practice and 
here comes Phil down the back stretch, into turn 9 and poooof - smoke and 
he's on fire!!  He manages to stop the car about at the pit exit and turn 1 
on the track.  Fire truck douse it, fire is out.  Phil is out of the car - 
not too much damage so it seems, so he gets down on his knees and is looking 
under the car when that long legged Texan Mr. Hall comes bounding up - he 
sees Phil (who doesn't know what makes these car work either) looking under 
Mr. Hall darling skirts - he says in a low voiced Texan drawl - Ahm payin 
you to drive this here car - NOT to be looking under it.  Imagine that - 
pretty uppity for a 31 year old entrepreneur with only 3 F1 grand Prix 
points to be talking to a World Champion, uh, employee.  heh heh
DOUG
PS - Now that's a real nice picture, Steve.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Jenkins" <steve [at] stevejenkins.com>
To: "DOUG" <dnt [at] dock.net>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 9:10 PM
Subject: [Ferrari] RIP Phil Hill


>I had the pleasure of meeting him twice. Once in Seattle, and once at the
> Indy F1 race in 2000.
>
>
>
> When I took this picture, I was walking by a trailer at the Seattle 
> historic
> races, and he was sitting all by himself on the steps a trailer. I walked
> over and said "Mr. Hill?" He was very nice, and we chatted for about 10
> minutes. I was shocked that nobody else around seemed to care who he was.
>
>
>
> SteveJ
>
>


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