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Caswell County Genealogy
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 1939 - 2010 (70 years)
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| Name |
Gunn, John Oliver |
| Suffix |
Jr. |
| Birth |
25 Jul 1939 |
Caswell County, North Carolina  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Name |
Johnny |
| Reference Number |
5878 |
| Death |
7 Jul 2010 |
Palm City, Martin County, Florida |
| Burial |
Yanceyville United Methodist Church, Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina |
| Person ID |
I5801 |
Caswell County |
| Last Modified |
2 May 2024 |
| Father |
Gunn, John Oliver, b. 27 Dec 1892, Locust Hill Township, Caswell County, North Carolina d. 18 Feb 1992, Danville, Virginia (Age 99 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Mother |
Newman, Annie Warner, b. 3 Sep 1898, Leasburg, Caswell County, North Carolina d. 11 Mar 1996, Caswell County, North Carolina (Age 97 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Marriage |
5 Jun 1930 |
| Reference Number |
42773 |
| Family ID |
F2998 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- John Oliver Gunn, Jr. (1939-2010)
(for larger image, click on photograph)
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Services for Johnnie Oliver Gunn, Jr., 70, who died July 7, 2010, at his home in Palm City, Florida, will be held at the Yanceyville United Methodist Church on July 29, 2010, at 10:30 AM. Private interment will follow in the church cemetery. The family requests no flowers. Donations may be made to the Yanceyville United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund or the charity of your choice. Support is provided by Marley Funeral Home.
Johnnie Gunn first raced at VIR (near Milton, NC) in April 1967 in a Lotus 23 when he took top honors in G Sports Racing. A native of nearby Yanceyville, he grew up with the track and was a spectator at the inaugural event in August 1957. His racing career began while a student at the University of Miami in an Alfa Romeo that carried him to two SCCA divisional championships. He turned pro in 1968 by entering the SCCA Formula A Continental series and became a regular for the entire life of the championship. After his second season he returned to VIR at the conclusion of the 1969 pro races to enter the September SCCA Nationals. In his Lola T-142 he set the final overall lap record for the original course at 2:06.3. He later was a regular entrant in Can Am and IMSA events.
John Gunn is a former NASCAR driver from Miami, FL. He competed in one Nextel Cup event in his career. That came in 1981, when Gunn raced at Riverside. Starting 30th in the thirty-six car field, Gunn completed half the laps before falling out with clutch woes. He still managed to finish 25th.
With series like the CanAm and Formula 5000, many consider it the golden age of racing. Certainly the drivers were more akin to gladiators than modern pro drivers. Monstrous horsepower, sometimes rudimentary aero and rather primitive safety equipment meant that these guys were tough as nails and beyond brave. Perhaps the toughest of all were the independents, guys who didn’t have the resources of Penske and the like. John Gunn was one of those guys.
Johnnie Gunn raced primarily in the CanAm and Formula 5000 series, but also spent time endurance racing in Alfa Romeo’s and Ferrari’s. In the Seventies, he raced the mighty Porsche 934/935 before switching to closed cockpit Phoenix cars in IMSA racing. Gunn remained involved with these cars until 1989. His best ever finish was 2nd at the 1977 Can Am at Mont Tremblant. Many fans remember John Gunn for his tenacious battles against the teams that had far deeper pockets. Having battled heart problems of late, John Gunn passed away in his sleep. Thanks for the memories!
To learn more about John Gunn’s racing history visit Racing Sports Cars and Richard Sirgany. Also, follow the memories of fellow racers and fans at Autosport.
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John Gunn finished fourth in the 1984 IMSA race at Laguna Seca, the best-ever result for his homebuilt Phoenix JG-1.
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"We never knew when Johnny Gunn would visit Yanceyville. But he always came by the house to talk to my dad, John Page. As I recall it allways went the same - We would be in the middle of breakfast and Johnny would just appear in our kitchen, say hello, pour himself a cup of coffee, as if he had stepped out minutes earlier. They would reminisce for a couple of hours, and Johnny was gone again. A couple or few years would pass and Johnny would appear again. He just appeared - and dad and Johnny would fall into conversation. The story that stands out was when my dad drag raced Dr. Page's Lincoln (Continental?) against Jerry Cole's Chevy (57?). I don't recall who came out on top, and my dad tried not to make it sound TOO exciting (as I was just beginning to drive and ride motorcycles) but that story always made an impression." Source: Graham Page Comment Posted to the Caswell County Historical Association Facebook Page 1 February 2013.
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I recall a day Daddy was driving us to Yanceyville. We were near Ruby Hodges house when someone on a bike crash on the road shoulder. Daddy stopped to make sure the biker was OK; turned out it was John Jr...or Little Johnny...he did NOT want us to give him a lift home nor did he want us to tell his parents. So, we did neither. I do recall brother John saying young Johnny sort of waltzed in and out of Yanceyville over the years. Source: Susan Page Creed 9 December 2019 Post to the Caswell County Historical Association Facebook Page.
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ADDENDUM TO JOHN GUNN MEMORIAL
From Annie Linger
I was and am very proud to have been Johnnie Gunn's girlfriend for 4 years in the late 1960's. I regret that I did not say so in front of you guests at his memorial so I am saying it now. John exemplified his birth sign, Leo, with his abundance of flaming red hair and his pride, his striving to be a leader, a lion among men. He could also be a pussycat who parried himself by purring loudly when it was time for play.
It was the best of times for me: my first try at my own new life after a divorce, career as an art director in advertising, talented friends, travel with John to races in Florida, New England, Canada, California. John was racing SCCA, prepping customers cars at RaceCo, then beginning Formula A and CanAm. He allowed me to design the JG logo, "fastest gunn in the south" and the Gunn's Goodies logo which rode on the front of his cars and on the front of pretty girls wearing those neon colored tee shirts.
I got my 15 minutes of fame as a prominent face in the oft-repeated opening sequence of weekly CBS Sports as part of the cheering crowd watching auto races. It is odd that any camera caught me in the grandstand as I was more often in the pits inappropriately overdressed and never doing anything useful like keeping time charts.
We know what a successful competitor John was able to be although his budget was somewhat less than many of the heavily sponsored teams. All his money and efforts went into building and racing cars. So at Christmas John gave me his current trophies. I have silver trays and pewter mugs as well as his cheerful small sculpture which was on display at the memorial. John said of his cars, "I make sculpture that can also go fast."
Thanks, Johnnie, for sharing your focus on life.
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Steve Matson 18 February 2011: "I met John in the late 1960s when he was my instructor at the 1st of two "driver schools" for SCCA. A great guy and a terrific teacher. Shortly thereafter, I bought the Gray Ghost, the Alfa Guilietta that he rescued from a bog and in which he won the SCCA Regional G Production championship and a new Alfa. He owned/operated RACECO, which was his home base and from which he prepared customer cars. He sold the Gulietta dirt cheap and even let me pay half of it down the road (sold a kid a race car on credit)! We stayed in touch through the years, and I just heard of his death as I was trying to chase down a phone number to give a call. Even though we weren't in frequent contact, he was a great friend and a terrific mentor during my short-lived racing days."
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"I went with Phil Allen to Florida in early 1973. We started at 24 Hours at Daytona. Met John there and then followed him down to Miami area and spent several nights at his place. I'm pretty sure he was racing an open wheel car at that time seems like Trans Am series?? But not sure??"
Source: Martin Scott Post to Rick Frederick Facebook Page 14 October 2020."
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"John's father apparently did not attend many of his son's races. However, Phil told me about the time that John dispatched Phil to pick up "Big Johnny" and take him to a race. Phil said that he was petrified: "The 'man' was sitting beside me in the front seat of the car."
Source: Rick Frederick Post to Rick Frederick Facebook Page 16 October 2020.
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Annie Linger.....Many thanks for the email Addendum to the John Gunn Memorial. Had I known about the day/date and location of the Memorial, I would have made every attempt to attend as Johnnie and I were good friends, same age, same class in school and teammates. As you know, his Dad was the local Ford/Mercury dealer, my Dad was the local Chevrolet/Oldsmobile dealer. I knew as early as our high school days that Johnnie's thing was "cars." I don't talk about it because I have three sons who I trained to know better, but Johnnie and I used to drag race his Fords against my Chevrolets. It's not who won most of the time that is important now; what was important then was that we were still good friends then, and I miss him. Jerry L. Cole
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North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000
Name: Johnnie Oliver Gunn Jr.
Date of Birth: 25 Jul 1939
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth County: Caswell
Parent1 Name: Johnnie Oliver Gunn
Parent2 Name: Annie Warner Newman Gunn
Roll Number: B_C021_68003
Volume: 12
Page: 1016
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
Name: John O Gunn
Birth Date: 25 Jul 1939
Phone Number: 655-1199
Address: 364 Hairpin Dr, Sebring, FL, 33870 (1991)
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