Only American-born driver to win the F1 title: http://www.latimes.com/la-me-hill29-2008aug29,0,2922168.story

Doing hot laps in a better place...

One of the humble, understated greats, he was one of those who pioneered the way that other Americans would try to follow. A tragic story the way his championship came about, but that was racing then much moreso than now. Won endurance races all over the world - any current American driver could only dream of having the broad success Phil Hill did. Hope he is putting in his best lap ever right now.

Vaya con Dios, Phil Hill.

Phil I remember watching you when I was a kid , Thanks for the memories and Godspeed.

didnt phil drive the chapperals demmed illegal cuz the wing would move to slowem down?nice phil .r.i.p.

Farewell to a legend. Rest in peace. Dave.

joegri I believe you are right on the Chappy car and Phil

Phil Hill had some major wins for Chaparral. He took the 1966 Nurburgring 1000 Km with Jo Bonnier in the 2D, the 1966 Laguna Seca Can-Am in the 2E, and the 1967 BOAC 500 with Mike Spence in the 2F. These were the only wins for Chaparral in 1966 and 1967.

While most people first think of Phil as the first American F1 Champion, he was also a gifted sportscar driver. Besides two seasons with Jim Hall, Phil also drove sportscars for Ferrari. His pairing with Olivier Gendebien can be compared with the Ickx/Bell pairing on the 70s and 80s. Both drivers had the great mechanical simpathy required to cajole the cars of the day home in a long event. They took Le Mans and Sebring three times each.

To me, Phil and Dan Gurney are a lot alike. They both conquered some major milestones in racing but when you meet them, they are just down to earth, nice guys.

Looking back, minty NOS guys like myself were lucky growing up. We had genuine heroes as role models not guys who were worried about how things would look for their numerous commercial endorsements.

Phil will surely be missed.

The autosport world has lost another true great that can never be replaced. Phil was a quiet gentleman who could drive the wheels off anything you put him in, but his main loves were open cockpit F1 and sports cars. I remember seeing him race the Chaparrals and race Chappie slot cars at the time in his livery. Rest in Peace, Phil. You will be missed.

Mike R