Jack Roush

By H.A. Branham

On the heels of a previously unseen run of GTP dominance by Nissan, Toyota upped the ante from 1991-93. In the final years of what some have called the age of excess for IMSA and its otherworldly prototypes, yet another super car appeared on the scene – the spectacular Toyota Eagle.

What a car – and what a team, All-American Racers, led by owner Dan Gurney, a legitimate living legend who only added to the aura of invincibility that the team acquired quickly. Four victories in 1990 and three in ’91 amounted to a gradual ushering out the door of the Nissan GTP and Geoff Brabham.

In ’92 Brabham was gone and so was the Nissan program; new Toyota Eagle MkIII prototypes, producing more than 800 horsepower, won nine times, with seven victories consecutively. In ’93, Eagles won 10 of the 12 races, a task made easier by the absence of Jaguar and Nissan, which had both ended their GTP programs after ’92.

A 17-race win streak bridged ’92-93 and showcased IMSA’s latest star, Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio II, nephew and namesake of Formula One great Juan Manuel Fangio.

Fangio was the lead driver – or sometimes, the only driver – for every Eagle victory. And when co-drivers were needed, Juan had good ones, like Parnelli Jones’ son P.J., Drake Olson, Rocky Moran, Andy Wallace and Willy T. Ribbs.

It was a potentially fabulous story, the meshing of the Gurney and Fangio legends, fielding one of the greatest cars in IMSA history. That story was unfortunately obscured by another: a depleted GTP landscape that had much to do with the high-flying Eagle which had raised the bar in competitiveness – and cost. The well ran dry. The 1993 season was the last one for the Camel GT Series.