RIP, Tony A2Z. We will indeed miss him. (I have a "PRDA" sticker in a prominent location on my tool box in his honor).
By Ed Higginbotham
Oct 11, 2016
Even back in the ‘60s, a lot of drivers paid to race in the big leagues. Tony Adamowicz was not one of them. He raced at that level simply because he was one of the best.
He drove nearly everything nearly everywhere: SCCA, IMSA, LeMans, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000 and more. The makes he was associated with covered just as wide a range: Triumph, Ferrari, Porsche, Nissan, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Jaguar, Lola and so many more.
His versatility was just as vast. In 1968 he drove a Porsche 911 to the Trans-Am championship. A year later, he was the Formula 5000 champion. He also drove in the Cannonball Run—the original one.
In recent years, he was a fixture on the vintage circuit driving that same Formula 5000. He recounted those days for Classic Motorsports readers, too.
Adamowicz, 75, had recently been diagnosed with brain cancer.
RIP, Tony A2Z. We will indeed miss him. (I have a "PRDA" sticker in a prominent location on my tool box in his honor).
He was one of the Cannonball guys in the rolling gas station, right?
In reply to slantvaliant:
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I have been a big fan of Tony A2Z since I was a kid. He seemed like a nice guy and was one of those great race drivers who could jump in any kind of a car, and win. I finally met him at a local Hyundai Sonata ride-and-drive, where he was working as a right-seat instructor. As I slipped behind the wheel, he says, "Hi, I'm Tony". Then I read his name badge and I realized that I was in the presence of greatness! He had just won the vintage championship, driving the same Eagle that he drove to the pro Continental Championship back in 1969. I think we spent more time talking about racing than Hyundais. RIP, Tony.
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