Ludwig Heimrath
Inducted 2000 – Competitor – Road Racing
One of the most famous names in Canadian auto racing, Heimrath won the Canadian Sports Car Racing Championship (later known as the Canadian Driving Championship) in 1961 (the first year the title was awarded) and in 1964. He was first runner-up in '62, '63 and '65 — a pretty impressive record. He was the second Canadian to race in Formula 1 (Peter Ryan was the first), when he entered the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1963. He won the SCCA Trans-Am championship twice – in 1977. He was an expert long-distance racer and teamed up with such champions as Johnny Rutherford and Craig Hill in entering the Sebring 12 hours, the 24 Hours of Daytona, although he never won any of those races. He was a USAC Indycar competitor in '68 and '69 and raced in the Canadian and Continental Formula A division (he bought his car from George Eaton) in 1970. Not to be confused with his son, Ludwig Jr. who was good enough to race in the CART series, Heimrath Sr. is still active today, driving in endurance races.