Chuck Jones, Californian racing pioneer, passes away
Chuck was born in Orange County, Calif., and fully embraced the car-crazy postwar era of Southern California. Chuck was a life long enthusiast, self-taught engineer, designer and competitor who had an extremely accomplished career as a car owner and team manager in many forms of the sport including Formula 1, SCCA Formula 5000 and Can-Am, USRRC and the NHRA with the famous "Sidewinder" twin-engine dragster.
Chuck may best be remembered for partnering first with Jerry Eisert in SCCA competition and later Mo Nunn's Ensign team in F1 (BELOW). Chuck was fortunate to discover and work with a wide range of drivers including Skip Hudson, Clay Regazzoni, Nelson Piquet, Al Unser, Brett Lunger, Harald Ertl, Derek Daly and many more.
Chuck had a flair for style and designed most of the car paint schemes, transporters and uniform designs for the teams he was affiliated with –when you see a Chuck Jones car, it is immediately recognizable for its bold graphic presence.
Chuck fought a courageous battle with cancer the past few years and is survived by his former wife Janet, daughter Stephanie, son, Sean, daughter-in-law Joan, his grandchildren, Justin, Joshua, Jacqueline, Julia, George, and John, and his great granddaughters, Lilliana and Anabel. racer.com