Death-dodger Derek Daly recalls a racing career of aspiration and determination.
Irish-American racer Derek Daly quickly ascended to the heights of automotive road racing, but not without his fair share of hardship. Sustaining a 17-year professional career in racing is a feat unto itself, but bouncing back from numerous life-threatening crashes required an inner commitment and strength of vision that forges champions. For Daly, it all started at the age of 12 when he spied a racecar hauler marked “Sydney Taylor Racing” around the corner from his father’s vegetable stand in suburban Dublin. The elder Daly noted his son’s interest, and arranged with the lorry driver to give him a look at the Brabham BT-8 inside. It’s likely this car was chassis #SC-6-64, which had been successfully driven by Denny Hulme throughout 1964 before heading to Ireland for the Leinster Trophy and Phoenix Park races in July of 1965. Young Derek was completely gobsmacked by the sight of the Brabham, and his father followed up by taking him to the races that weekend, cementing in him a ...