Left — Hurley Haywood
Right — Peter Gregg
Hello everyone. Today is May 4th — the shared birthday of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood. The two were born eight years apart, but on the same day. I want to share something about them.
In 1968, college student Hurley entered a local autocross event in a Corvette and defeated professional driver Peter, who was competing in a Porsche 911. Peter was deeply impressed by his skill and began mentoring him in racing.
In 1969, the two teamed up for the first time, driving for Brumos Racing in the Six Hours of Watkins Glen. It was Hurley’s first major race, and together they won the GT class.
Peter was not only a driver, but also the boss of Brumos at the time. During 70s, the two became teammates at Brumos Porsche. Together they raced in the 24 Hours of Daytona four times and won the race overall three consecutive years. In 1978, alongside Reinhold Joest, they also finished 3rd in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. By then Hurley had already moved to another team, but he and Peter remained extremely close and promised each other they would race together at least once every year.
In the end, they never fulfilled that promise.
During a race in 1980, the two had a serious falling-out. Hurley had been leading the race, but with only a few laps remaining he became physically unable to continue and decided at the last minute to hand the car over to Peter. After Peter took over, the car dropped several positions. Peter believed Hurley had done it intentionally to embarrass him, especially because Peter’s driving ability had already been affected by vision problems caused by an earlier accident.
The two stopped speaking for six months, until Peter suddenly called Hurley and invited him over for lunch.
On December 14th, during lunch, they reminisced about the past. Peter asked Hurley whether he thought marrying Deborah had been a mistake. Hurley answered honestly: “Yes.”
At the time, Peter had gone through a bitter divorce from his previous wife, due in part to his infidelity and a personality many people found difficult to deal with. He had not known Deborah for very long before marrying her, and both Hurley and another close friend of Peter’s felt the marriage had been somewhat impulsive. The wedding had taken place only eight days earlier.Peter invited Hurley to go watch a basketball game afterward, but Hurley already had plans that evening and politely declined.
The next day — December 15th, 1980 — after years of struggling with bipolar disorder, relationship problems, and especially the deterioration of his eyesight following his accident, which had severely damaged his confidence as a driver, Peter Gregg died by suicide near Jacksonville Beach.
Hurley’s career, however, continued. He eventually won the 24 Hours of Daytona overall five times — tying the record for the most overall victories at the race — as well as three overall victories at Le Mans and two at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
In February 2018, Hurley publicly came out as gay in his autobiography Hurley: From the Beginning. （More of his story can also be found in the documentary Hurley. He has since maintained a long-term and stable life with his current partner.）
Because Peter and Hurley had been extraordinarily close, rumors that they had once been romantically involved had circulated for decades, ever since they raced together. After Hurley came out, some curious interviewers brought the subject up again. Hurley clarified:“He was my best friend, and he helped me immensely in this business. But we weren’t lovers.”
Also in a 2018 interview with Car and Driver:
C/D: Anything you would have done differently? HH: Possibly . . . when it comes to Peter. If I had known more about his condition, if I had been better attuned, maybe I could have helped him more. But it was in 1980. We just didn’t know what we know now. Otherwise, no. I’ve had a wonderful career and a pretty extraordinary life.
I may translate and post the full interview someday, along with more stories about the two of them, if people are interested.