With sadness, I report the passing of Phil Remington who accomplished more in his 92 years on Earth than most can ever dream of. Remington’s skills as a builder, fabricator, engineer, and designer were instrumental in programs like the GT40, the Shelby Cobra, The Shelby Daytona, the Gurney Eagles, Holman and Moody stock cars, and on and on. Remington’s roots in the world of racing and high performance cars are like so many of his generation. He came home from the war and started racing hot rods on the dry lakes. His career as a driver was stopped after a serious wreck, but it was that wreck that turned Remington onto his true genius which was building things, solving problems, and kicking the technological end of hot rodding and racing in the ass. This is something he did for more than 70 years of his life.

Remington was a worker right up until the end at Dan Gurney’s All American Racers shop where he was doing what he always did, showing everyone else the way. There are few people, none actually, that we know of who have influenced three generations of racing as Phil Remington has. From the dry lakes to Formula One, to Indy, Le Mans, and any other world renowned event, Phil Remington’s work and influence have played a role.

Phil Remington’s exploits are certainly far more extensive than this small space can do justice. They could fill a long book and then some. Remington worked for many different people and personalities though his career and what’s amazing is that he did this not because he was fired or failed, but because he was sought out or wanted to face down a new challenge. Remington was known as a tireless worker who could plow guys under in the shop that were less than half his age, even into his 90s. Once he got his hooks into something he simply didn’t quit until it was done.

Phil Remington was an empirical genius. He was the man capable of taking the grandiose dreams of others and making them real tangible things. His success in so many different disciplines of racing prove this. The dozens of tales of him coming up with quick solutions to vexing problems at the race track prove this. His leadership of an around the world mission with Ford trucks in 1958 prove this. The legions of notable people that will sing his praises in the coming days prove this.

RIP Phil Remington – We’re sure that Shelby is happy to have his ace in the hole back standing next to him.

These three videos show Phil Remington and a couple of his notable peers at the NHRA museum as part of a panel discussion a couple of years ago. The stories are EPIC –