I remember watching him light a cigarette in pit lane after the race and
thinking he had a James Dean quality. At that time, little did I suspect how
intertwined our lives would become over the next four decades. Haywood
became an international road-racing superstar and I became a professional
motorsports photojournalist.
For the next five years, Haywood drove exclusively for Gregg in Porsche
factory-backed cars and I worked for Jo Hoppen, director of Porsche’s racing
program for North America. These relationships regularly brought us together.
Haywood won back-to-back IMSA GT championships in 1971 and
1972, and he and Gregg started 1973 by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona. I
remember that race well. Mark Donohue and George Follmer were in a Roger
Penske sister car to Gregg’s and Haywood’s.
Donohue and Follmer would go out after leading, leaving Gregg and
Haywood to win. This time they beat a field of larger cars as well as a number
of other factory entries. The next month, they followed up by winning the 12
Hours of Sebring. These were big wins for Haywood, and elevated him to a
new level in the hierarchy of professional drivers.
Above: Haywood takes a break with succesful sports car racer Brian Redman.
10 CarGuyMagazine.com
In 1975, Gregg and Haywood paired again to win
Daytona in a Porsche 911 RSR entered by Brumos. For
1976, Gregg brokered a deal to drive for BMW. This move
solved one dilemma for me, but presented another. His new
co-driver was Brian Redman, another friend. This was for
Gregg a “have your cake and eat it too” deal, for it left him
to enter a Porsche with Haywood and Jim Busby under
Brumos. Gregg won in the factory BMW and the Brumos
Porsche, with Haywood, finished third. This put Gregg in a
class by himself with three 24 Hours of Daytona wins.
After driving for BMW in 1976, Gregg was not offered a deal by Porsche for 1977. When BMW ended its
program at the end of 1976, Gregg was left without a factory deal and the Brumos camp was left in disarray.
From a business prospective, Gregg could not match
some of the offers that Haywood was receiving from other
camps. Haywood, now somewhat a free agent and feeling