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The Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) has two large annual gatherings, one before IMSA\u2019s Rolex 24 at Daytona and the second prior to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. During the first meeting, held at Daytona International Speedway, site of the Rolex 24, RRDC reveals its Phil Hill and Bob Akin awards, for those that exemplify the legacy of America\u2019s first Formula One champion and one of the country\u2019s finest road racers.<\/p>\n
During the second, April meeting, RRDC celebrates an outstanding racer; last year it was Jackie Stewart who received the praise and honors in Long Beach. This year\u2019s celebration will be for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach itself, acknowledging its 50th event since the September 1975 Formula 5000 event that previewed the first FIA Formula One World Championship race exactly six months later.<\/p>\n
This past Wednesday evening, Mike Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) earned RRDC\u2019s 2024 Phil Hill Award. Shank has two-car teams that compete in both IMSA\u2019s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The Phil Hill Award, presented every year since 1993 to a person whom the RRDC confirms has rendered outstanding service to road racing; the recipient can be a driver, entrant or outstanding member of a sanctioning body. Shank meets two of those three criteria.<\/p>\n Shank began his motorsports career in 1989, behind the wheel of both SCCA\u2019s Toyota Atlantic C2 Championship – he won the 1996 championship – and in the Indy Racing League, where Shank drove a single race with Nienhouse Motorsports in 1997. After hanging up his professional helmet, he became a team owner in the Champ Car Toyota Atlantic Championship and in 2004 joined GRAND-AM\u2019s Rolex Sports Car Series. He earned Toyota Atlantic\u2019s Team Owner of the Year award twice in four years of competition.<\/p>\n Shank reached his first round of high-level road-racing success winning the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2012, where he ran a Ford\/Riley Daytona Prototype. His drivers were the late Justin Wilson, current NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger, Oswaldo \u201cOzz\u201d Negri and John Pew. The team repeated ten years on to earn the 60th – and then the 61st – Rolex 24 at Daytona overall wins, this time under the IMSA WeatherTech umbrella, with drivers Oliver Jarvis, Tom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud.<\/p>\n In 2017, Shank managed Acura Motorsports\u2019 debut as an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team in the GTD class, giving the Acura NSX GT3 its first victory and pole position. For those efforts he received the 2017 Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence, presented each year by The Gorsline Company. The winning continued in IMSA for Shank, who by that time had Jim Meyer as a co-owner of the team. They finished second in the 2019 GTD championship, which was then called the United SportsCar Championship.<\/p>\n The year after their second Daytona victory, MSR won for a third time, but there were tire pressure data issues with that victory and, in 2024, MSR did not compete in IMSA competition. While the team and its drivers were allowed to keep the win, they were fined and their race engineer was expelled. MSR and Acura are back together this year with a two-car squad and qualified second with the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 for Saturday\u2019s start of the 24-hour race.<\/p>\n Shank attempted to be a part of INDYCAR when the series changed chassis to what was known as DW12, the chassis developed by the late Dan Wheldon. He couldn\u2019t get affiliations with the sole engine supplier at the time, Honda, and had to keep his eyes on the GRAND-AM landscape for the time being. That changed in 2017, when he debuted at the Indianapolis 500 with driver Jack Harvey. Both rookies, they impressed many at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; crew chief Adam Rovazzini earned 2017\u2019s Clint Brawner Award.<\/p>\n When Team Penske jettisoned three-time Indy 500 winner Castroneves, MSR picked him up and together they earned the 2021 Indianapolis 500 victory, allowing the Brazilian to join the exclusive four-time winner’s club comprised of A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Shank currently operates a two-car INDYCAR team with Castroneves driving at Indy only.<\/p>\n The Phil Hill Award recognizes the tenacity and outstanding service to road racing. Recognizing MSR\u2019s 350 sports car starts, three championships, three Rolex 24 victories and a pair of Petit Le Mans wins, RRDC president Bobby Rahal expressed his pleasure with this award: \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of great recipients of the Phil Hill award over the years, and this year\u2019s honoree is no different. When you think about who should get this award, you think of somebody who does it all and did it on his terms,\u201d Rahal reminded. \u201cFrankly,\u201d he added, \u201cit was pretty easy to decide this year. We have a lot of respect for Mike Shank and all he\u2019s done over the years. Congrats, man. I think you are a worthy recipient of this great award.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything I did in racing, I did just to survive and try to advance to where I wanted to be,\u201d Shank said as he admitted he was overwhelmed by the recognition. \u201cTo be recognized by the RRDC with the Phil Hill Award is beyond words.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2024 Bob Akin Award, a prize considered the apogee for amateur, vintage, historic or semi-professional drivers, is selected by Akin\u2019s son Bobby, RRDC members Brian Redman and Judy Stropus. It must be approved by Rahal, RRDC\u2019s president. The distinctive Steuben Glass-designed trophy, made in Corning, NY near Watkins Glen International, was conceived by RRDC in 2003 to honor the memory of longtime RRDC member and past president, Bob Akin, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a 2002 testing accident.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s award was destined for Patrick Long, who has driven Porsche cars nearly his entire career. A Porsche Brand Ambassador and competition advisor for Porsche Motorsport, Patrick Long heads the company\u2019s North American young driver development program, using his nearly 20 years of international experience and knowledge as a Porsche factory driver with the sports car stars of tomorrow.<\/p>\n Long\u2019s ties with Porsche began at the century change, when his talents in single-seaters came to the attention of Porsche\u2019s scouts. Initially recruited as a Porsche Junior, Long found himself on the Works roster soon after competing initially for The Racer\u2019s Group in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) endurance competitions and the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004. Long has competed in every generation of 911 GT3 Cup, R and RSR Porsches, claiming class wins for Porsche at the four big endurance classics, coming second in class in IMSA and winning the Blancpain GT World Challenge America.<\/p>\n Patrick Long has success in the World Endurance Championship and has twice reached the top step at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; he\u2019s won his class at both the Bathurst 12 Hours and the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Bobby Akin noted the ease in making this decision to honor Long: \u201cThis year\u2019s recipient of the RRDC Bob Akin Award has a legendary pedigree, with wins and multiple championships,\u201d he said. \u201cHis tenure with Porsche spanned over a\u00a0<\/span>decade, but that\u2019s not why he was chosen. Like my father, our winner has a true passion for driving and the people involved in motorsport. You\u2019ll still find him in historic events, often driving one of my dad\u2019s old 935s, just because he loves it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he also had a desire to go the extra mile to make the experience better, not just for himself but for everyone,\u201d Akin said. \u201cHe actually called and asked me to send him the artwork for my dad\u2019s original Coca-Cola driving suits, and he had a suit made just for his vintage racing in the Coke car. He also spends time working with young drivers and always takes time to provide advice, counsel, mentorship and guidance for people who are just getting started.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat he and his team on the business side have put together, including [fellow] Akin Award winner Jeff Zwart, in crating Luftgekuhlt,\u201d a celebration of air-cooled Porsche and Volkswagen cars, \u201chas transcended the car culture as a global phenomenon that brings people of all ages together to celebrate cars in a truly spectacular way. To me,\u201d Akin concluded, \u201cthe most important criteria of the Akin Award is being a good guy. I have known our winner for the better part of 20 years and have had the pleasure of watching his evolution as a driver and businessman. He is truly a good human!\u201d<\/p>\n In receiving the award, Long admitted he was \u201csuper honored and humbled. When Bobby told me I\u2019d be receiving this award, I felt a sense of relief and a sense of pride that the last four years have been a reset button for me. It\u2019s been about being present, being conscious, being a leader and a family man, and everything that my ability didn\u2019t allow me to do when I was a Works driver, because I was just completely on edge and would do anything to put it on pole or bring a car across the finish line. My pledge going forward is to think about who Bob Akin was as a character and to make myself available to the next generation, and to lead my team in business and my family as Bob Akin would have done.\u201d<\/p>\n By Anne Proffit<\/p>\n Past RRDC Phil Hill Award Winners include:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n 1993 John Bishop<\/span><\/p>\n 1994 Juan Manuel Fangio II<\/span><\/p>\n 1995 Leo Mehl<\/span><\/p>\n 1996 Charlie Slater<\/span><\/p>\n 1997 Danny Sullivan<\/span><\/p>\n 1998 Rob Dyson<\/span><\/p>\n 1999 Bob Fergus<\/span><\/p>\n 2000 Elliott Forbes Robinson<\/span><\/p>\n 2001 Bill France<\/span><\/p>\n 2002 Jim Downing<\/span><\/p>\n 2003 Derek Bell<\/span><\/p>\n 2004 Brian Redman<\/span><\/p>\n 2005 Jim France<\/span><\/p>\n 2006 Roger Werner<\/span><\/p>\n 2007 Skip Barber<\/span><\/p>\n 2008 Roger Penske<\/span><\/p>\n 2009 Bob Bondurant<\/span><\/p>\n 2010 Nick Craw<\/span><\/p>\n 2011 Rick Mears<\/span><\/p>\n 2012 George Follmer<\/span><\/p>\n 2013 Peter Brock<\/span><\/p>\n 2014 Hurley Haywood<\/span><\/p>\n 2015 Vic Elford<\/span><\/p>\n 2016 Scott Pruett<\/span><\/p>\n 2017 Chip Ganassi<\/span><\/p>\n 2018 David Hobbs<\/span><\/p>\n 2019 Bobby Rahal<\/span><\/p>\n 2020 Jack Roush<\/span><\/p>\n 2021 Scott Atherton<\/span><\/p>\n 2022 Mark Raffauf<\/span><\/p>\n 2023 Bob Riley<\/span><\/p>\n Past RRDC Bob Akin Award honorees:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n 2003 – Sam Posey<\/span><\/p>\n 2004 – Charlie Gibson<\/span><\/p>\n 2005 – John Fitch<\/span><\/p>\n 2006 – Jim Haynes<\/span><\/p>\n 2007 – Cameron Argetsinger<\/span><\/p>\n 2008 – Jim Downing<\/span><\/p>\n 2009 – Steven J. Earle<\/span><\/p>\n 2010 – Augie Pabst<\/span><\/p>\n 2011 – Don Knowles<\/span><\/p>\n 2012 – Miles Collier<\/span><\/p>\n 2013 – Peter Sachs<\/span><\/p>\n 2014 – Bill Warner<\/span><\/p>\n 2015 – Judy Stropus<\/span><\/p>\n 2016 – Murray Smith<\/span><\/p>\n 2017 – Archie Urciuoli<\/span><\/p>\n 2018 – Jeff Zwart<\/span><\/p>\n 2019 – Rob Dyson<\/span><\/p>\n 2020 – Jeremy Shaw<\/span><\/p>\n 2021 – Awardee Not Selected<\/span><\/p>\n 2022 – John Fergus<\/span><\/p>\n 2023 – Tom Davey<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During the first meeting, held at Daytona International Speedway, site of the Rolex 24, RRDC reveals its Phil Hill and Bob Akin awards, for those that exemplify the legacy of America\u2019s first Formula One champion and one of the country\u2019s finest road racers.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":99663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3470,3699,5029,3713],"tags":[952,6636,6637,11492,361,43,11490,395,9492,10337,5922,8466,9854,10336,11491,648,11489,9629,450],"class_list":["post-99662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-other-racing","category-racing","category-road-racing","tag-24-hours-of-le-mans","tag-acura","tag-acura-grand-prix-of-long-beach","tag-american-le-mans-series","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-ford","tag-grand-am","tag-imsa","tag-imsa-weathertech-sportscar-championship","tag-jeff-zwart","tag-luftgekuhlt","tag-meyer-shank-racing","tag-mike-shank","tag-patrick-long","tag-phil-hill","tag-porsche","tag-riley","tag-road-racing-drivers-club","tag-rolex-24-at-daytona"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/No.-60-leads-No.-8-dirty-min.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-pVs","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99662"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99689,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99662\/revisions\/99689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Mike-Shank-Bobby-Rahal-Brian-Cleary-photo-min-300x200.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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