Interesting coincidences in motorsport

[acerogers58]

As Kevin Harvicks career came to a close at Phoenix last week, some incredible symmetry from his first and last Cup series races emerged.

Harvicks first Cup series race came at Rockingham in February 2001, one week after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt. Jeff Gordon won the pole, driving his famous #24. In a highly emotional finish, Steve Park, driving the #1 for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, scored the win, edging out Bobby Labonte. Meanwhile Harvick finished 14th, five spots behind Dave Blaney who came home 9th.

Fast forward nearly 23 years to November 2023, Harvicks final Cup series race. William Byron, driving the #24 wins the pole, and Ross Chastain wins the race driving the #1. Harvick finishes 7th, five spots behind Ryan Blaney (Dave’s son) who finished 2nd.


So, what other interesting coincidences can y’all think of? Can be anything from drivers, numbers, certain dates/years, tracks, teams, cars etc

[erwin greven]

A few months before Max Verstappen debuted for Red Bull Racing at the Circuit of Catalunya Barcelona, he visited Johan Cruijff, the famous #14 player of Ajax and Barcelona. Johan said to Max, that he would be the new flag bearer of Dutch top sport. A few weeks after, on March 24th 2016, Johan passed away.
May 2016: Max' debut at RBR. He qualifies 4th. Finishes 1st. 1 and 4. In a time of 1 hour. 41 minutes and 4 seconds. 14 14. It is that Max is the 15th Dutch Grand Prix driver who actually participated in a GP weekend...

[acerogers58]

Read this one on @Seibara's blog a number of years ago

Six of the top seven finishers in the NASCAR Cup series race held at the Augusta Raceway in November 1963 would die in car accidents before the end of January 1965. Winner Fireball Roberts, second place Dave MacDonald, third place Billy Wade, fourth place Joe Weatherly, and sixth place Jimmy Pardue were killed in racing accidents, while seventh place Larry Thomas was killed in a highway crash in January 1965. Ned Jarrett was the only exception.

The leader also ran into trouble 3 times during this race, Junior Johnson lost a transmission on lap 52/139 while in a battle with Richard Petty, who took over the lead before his gearbox broke on lap 94, Marvin Panch then inherited the lead before his transmission also failed just 11 laps from the finish, handing the lead and win to Fireball Roberts, who had designed the track in the first place.

It was the first and only Cup series race at Augusta International Raceway's road course.

[Puhis]

Well-known story, but here goes:

Two drivers graduating up classes before clashing horns in British F3, 1990. Both are Finnish. Both hail not only from the city of Vantaa, near Helsinki, but also the same Martinlaakso district, specifically the area/blocks of Raivionmäki. Both are named Mika, born two years apart. Both would start their F1 career with Lotus - Häkkinen in 1991, Salo in 1994. And while Häkkinen went on to win two successive world titles in '98 and '99, Salo went on to Sauber in 2000 for a single year. The man who replaced him for 2001? Kimi Räikkönen - managed by none other than Steve Robertson, who finished 3rd after the two Mikas in that 1990 British F3 season.

The kicker is, of course, that eventually as Häkkinen reti- Er, went on a sabbatical, it was Kimi who replaced him at McLaren.

[Budz]

Pardue was driving for my father's team when he was killed at Charlotte, and Thomas was rumored to be the replacement driver in '65 for the team after Pardue's death. After losing two drivers in 4 months the team never fielded a GN car again.....

[Budz]

The B&R team did run Modified's and LMS cars both before and after the GN run in '63 with Jarrett, and '64 with Pardue

[acerogers58]