American Peter Revson, seen here during practice for the 1972 United States Grand Prix, seemed to have positioned himself for F1 stardom by the fall of that year. He had surprised everyone with his pole position and 2nd place finish at the Indianapolis 500 in 1971, and went on to also capture that year's Can-Am Championship, both times driving for McLaren.

It was Revson's bad fortune to be linked to a grand fortune...his family was related to the Revlon company, and although he didn't share directly in that wealth, he had to bear the label "playboy racer."

Instead, his rise to racing's highest level was managed with great heartache. He lost his best friend and racing partner, Timmy Mayer, while barnstorming Europe in Formula Junior, and his younger brother Doug, in a Formula 3 race in Denmark.

He had a victory in the 1965 Monaco F3 race in his pocket, but didn't get any offers for race seats until devoting his career to the United States Can-Am series in 1966. He was finally able to demonstrate his abilities and was signed by McLaren in 1971. He promptly won the championship.

He won the 1973 British and Canadian Grands Prix for McLaren, but was replaced in 1974 by former World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. He found a home with Shadow that season, but was killed in March during testing for the South African Grand Prix when his front suspension failed.

COPYRIGHT:Richard Kelley Photography