We all know who Bob Bondurant is. He’s the race car legend that was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2003 and perhaps best known for his successful stints with Ferrari and Eagle teams in Formula One and his GT class victory at Le Mans 24 Hours as a member of the Carroll Shelby’s Ford Cobra team. In fact, most believe him to be one of the greatest American racers of all time and recently this was reflected when he was honored at Miller Motorsports Park (where his photos adorn one wall in the Park’s Legends Hall banquet facility).

A special guest of the 32nd Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC) National Convention, Bondurant was reunited with the Cobra Daytona Coupe he and Dan Gurney drove to victory at the grueling GT class at Le Mans in 1964. During the convention, Bondurant also signed his photo on the Park’s Wall of Legends for posterity.

You may remember that Bondurant also raced in Europe where he drove Shelby Cobras to win seven out of 10 races, which helped Shelby win the World Manufacturers Championship. But did you know that this is the only time in history that an American manufacturer has captured that prestigious honor?

Today, much of Bondurant’s focus is on the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, which he started in 1968. Since that time, the reputable driving school has seen more than 85,000 students, including racers, housewives, professionals, teens, and celebrities.

In 1967, a year before opening his reputable driving school, Bondurant crashed at 150mph (because of a broken steering arm) and rolled his car eight times while onlookers held their breath. The crash ended his professional race car career.

Bondurant transitioned to teaching and was an instructor at Carroll Shelby's driving school in Riverside, California. Then, once healed from the accident (there was a chance he would never walk again), he opened his school in 1968 with three Datsuns, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee.

On February 14, 1968, the doors opened at Orange County International Raceway, near Los Angeles, with three students. The following week, two new students: Paul Newman and Robert Wagner, who were training for the film, "Winning". Bondurant worked as technical advisor, camera car driver, and actor-instructor for the film.

Two years later the school moved to nearby Ontario Motor Speedway, and in 1973 to Sears Point International Raceway near Sonoma, California. In 1983, Ford Motor Company offered to provide vehicles and other support to the school.

Seven years later, Bondurant opened a purpose-built driver training facility in Phoenix, Arizona, where he maintains over 200 race-prepared vehicles, sedans, and open wheel cars. The school is the largest facility of its kind in North America.

Looking back at Bondurant’s many accomplishments in this often tumultuous industry, it’s easy to see why he has been honored again. More than a renowned race car driver, he has overcome adversity, fought back from a grim prognosis after his accident, and gone on to give back not only to the industry, but to the general public, as well.