David talks about his racing career, his father and the mentorship of the late Bob Snodgrass, courtesy of GrandAmVids

Mark Donohue was an engineer by trade, as well as a champion race-car driver, winning in a variety of machines the likes of which would be unheard of today. He was the 1972 Indianapolis 500 winner, but also earned the Penske team’s first ever NASCAR victory at Riverside in 1973. Prior to that, Mark was Trans-Am champion in 1968, 1969 and 1971 (driving both Camaros and AMC Javelins) including a victory in the famed 24-hour endurance race at Daytona in 1969, a feat which David’s team accomplished in 2009 – with a thrilling victory margin of less than 2 tenths of a second. David’s specialty is driving a Daytona Prototype Porsche for Brumos Racing – not unlike his late father’s Can-Am and inaugural IROC-winning Porsche 917’s, in which Mark set the world closed-course speed record in 1975. David commemorated the 30th anniversary of the record-setting run at Talladega in 2005, in a stock (unmodified) Porsche Carrera GT, setting a world record for that vehicle. Mark died tragically at age 38, from injuries sustained in a track accident during practice runs for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. David was only 8 years old at the time.

David’s career path became assured after the 1991 induction ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

"Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford and Al Unser Jr. were talking to me like we were old friends almost," David said. "I was kind of a kid. I didn't know anything, and they're talking to me about racing. I was just blown away by these legends just talking to me -- almost with the assumption that I should be racing. I felt incomplete, like I had done something wrong, that I had not pursued something that was my destiny."

With the encouragement of his wife, Jodi, David Donohue decided at age 25 to pursue that destiny and has not looked back since. "She said, 'If you're really thinking about doing this, you'd better get started or you'll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life.'

It's a message that perhaps each of us, in our own way, can appreciate. Please join us in honoring David and remembering Mark on June 12th.

David Donohue (courtesy of Patti Tantillo, Brumos Racing)