Calling All Petrolheads: This Hurley Haywood and Peter Gregg Kickstarter Needs You
Help fund a biopic on two legends of the sport.
Havard graduate and Naval air intelligence officer Peter Gregg was a hell of a shoe. Behind the wheel of a Porsche 911, he’d take countless IMSA and Trans Am championships, and founded the legendary Brumos Porsche racing team of the 1970s. He was a mentor to Hurley Haywood, then a college kid who’d grow up to become an eventual Le Mans winner and perhaps America’s greatest endurance racer. The pair were dominant on the track, inseparable off it—people called them Batman and Robin. In 1980, it all came tumbling down with Gregg’s suicide, and a storied chapter in American racing history came to an end, never properly told—until, maybe, now.
A Kickstarter founded by New York-based Derek Dodge hopes to fully tell the Haywood and Gregg story using archival footage in the manner of Senna and the recent Paul Newman’s biopic, Winning. Dodge, a producer for the likes of CNN and the Discovery channel, calls the work a passion product based on his own chance meeting with Haywood at Watkins Glen; he hopes to honor the legacy of both men, recognizing their achievements but also touching on the human element.
“Perfect Pete,” as Gregg was known for his clean driving style, had it all, including a new wife and a shot at the big leagues: the 24 hours of Le Mans. But there was a crash on the road to Le Mans followed by blurred vision, the revoking of his FIA license, a .38 revolver, and a lonely beach on the Florida coast. Robbed of the passion he lived for, Gregg took his own life.
Haywood, on the other hand, would go on to win Le Mans three times, the Rolex 24 at Daytona five times, and the 12 hours of Sebring twice. Well recognized amongst Porsche fans, he’s not quite the household name he deserves to be, a racer with the recognition of a Derek Bell or Jacky Ickx.
Dodge’s Kickstarter closes tomorrow, so this is your last chance to get onboard for a worthy and noble project. Donations can be as small as a single dollar. Besides, these guys were heroes. They deserve to have their story told right.
