John Fitch

Car Owner, Competitor
CLASS OF 2009

John Fitch has had a long and storied career behind the wheel. He won the first ever SCCA National Championship in 1951. From Lime Rock to Watkins Glen, from Monte Carlo to Sebring, Fitch has traveled the world and beat the best in sports car racing. He’s raced at Italy’s Mille Miglia and LeMans, where he competed 6 times in the 24 hours of LeMans, and finished as high as 3rd (1953). He was the first American to race successfully in Europe in the post-WWII era.

He’s driven for Mercedes-Benz, and teamed up with Phil Walters (aka Ted Tappett) to drive for noted Connecticut car owner Briggs Cunningham. In 1953, Walters & Fitch teamed up to beat the Aston Martin team at Sebring, and it was the first time an American car or driver had ever won Sebring.

In addition to driving, Fitch was a competitive sailor before turning his attention to sports car racing. He’s been a car owner, mechanic, race car designer, and general manager. In fact, he was Lime Rock Park’s first general manager. Always with an eye toward safety, John is credited with inventing the Displaceable Guardrail and the Compression Barrier, as well as the Fitch Driver Capsule, designed to lessen skull and neck injuries in a crash.

John Fitch passed away on October 31, 2012 at the age of 95.