I met Phil at VIR in 1971 I believe. It was a muddy mess that weekend . He was working on his split window Corvette. Wrenching was never really his thing , just driving. All of his attention his entire life has been devoted to doing the best he could with what he had at the race that day and going racing as much as possible. Nothing else really mattered. He has always been a really good top notch driver and easy on equipment too. One day in the early seventies , IMSA president , John Bishop, told Phil that he had created a problem for him and he needed to update his old Corvette because it didn’t look right for his old car beating so many newer Corvettes. Naturally Phil said he couldn’t afford to so Mr Bishop issued a new rule stating that no car could run more than five years after it was out of production. So that was that. Phil is still sharp and driving competitively today. Must have Corvette blood in his veins , ie, Mr Corvette, “Fast” Phil.
Years ago, I always saw his name as "Phast Phil" but now everywhere it is "Fast Phil". Maybe Bruce Wentzel has the answer, as ol' Greendot has given him a run for the money.
Pretty interesting story… I own five Corvettes… 65, 69, 80, 81 and a brand new 2019 Z06 with only 1000 miles on it, but that just went bye-bye… My middle son got married this past Saturday, September 9 and I gave it to him and his wife as a wedding gift… I am father of the year👍👍
Enjoyed the story. It was a treat to hear your voice.
I’m so glad I got to see the red C2 at one of the Gainesville autocrosses. It sounded insane and went like stink!
I met Phil at VIR in 1971 I believe. It was a muddy mess that weekend . He was working on his split window Corvette. Wrenching was never really his thing , just driving. All of his attention his entire life has been devoted to doing the best he could with what he had at the race that day and going racing as much as possible. Nothing else really mattered. He has always been a really good top notch driver and easy on equipment too. One day in the early seventies , IMSA president , John Bishop, told Phil that he had created a problem for him and he needed to update his old Corvette because it didn’t look right for his old car beating so many newer Corvettes. Naturally Phil said he couldn’t afford to so Mr Bishop issued a new rule stating that no car could run more than five years after it was out of production. So that was that.
Phil is still sharp and driving competitively today. Must have Corvette blood in his veins , ie, Mr Corvette, “Fast” Phil.
Good story! Thanks for sharing this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Years ago, I always saw his name as "Phast Phil" but now everywhere it is "Fast Phil". Maybe Bruce Wentzel has the answer, as ol' Greendot has given him a run for the money.
Pretty interesting story… I own five Corvettes… 65, 69, 80, 81 and a brand new 2019 Z06 with only 1000 miles on it, but that just went bye-bye… My middle son got married this past Saturday, September 9 and I gave it to him and his wife as a wedding gift… I am father of the year👍👍
Well, now I’m starting to shop C3 Corvette’s.
Phil, you’ve been a bad influence on me