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A soldier poses for a photo.
Hurley Haywood in 1971.
Episode 2781 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Vietnam Vet Hurley Haywood and the two points he verifies about the War. The featured story appeared on the DOD website and was titled: Sports Heroes Who Served: Famous Race Car Driver Also Served in Vietnam. It was submitted by Dave Vergun & T. Anthony Bell, writers for the DOD.
In the story it was reported that: Harris “Hurley” Haywood is a world-class race car driver and a Vietnam veteran. Haywood, born in 1948, said he got his ambition for automobiles when he was young. The Chicago native spent summers working on his grandparents’ farm west of the city, sometimes driving a pickup truck to help out. He was later given a car that he drove on the property.
Hurley said “I started driving a full-sized car around the farms when I was 12 years old. So by the time I got to be 16, I was pretty well-versed on how to handle an automobile.”
It was further reported in the story: he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1977 (Porsche 936), 1983 (Porsche 956) and 1994 (Dauer 962 Le Mans) and is tied as the most successful driver at the 24 Hours of Daytona with 5 wins (1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, and 1991).
He won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1973 and 1981. He also drove in the 1980 Indianapolis 500 finishing 18th. He represented the International Motor Sports Association four times in the International Race of Champions (1986, 1989, 1992, 1995).
Haywood said this: “People say to me, ‘What trait does a racing driver need to have?’ I say it’s the ability to adapt to change because the environment was constantly changing in a race car, and if you don’t adapt to those changes, you’re going to go to the back of the pack.”
Listen to episode 2781 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Hurley Haywood and the two points he verifies about the War.
