1969 AAR Eagle Mark 7 Monoposto

Dan Gurney's Eagle built a reputation at America's most famous race, the Indianapolis 500. In 1965, Gurney formed All American Racers with Carroll Shelby. The intention of the AAR team was to build racing cars in the United States for use in Formula One and in Indianapolis. The team's first win came quickly. In 1966, they won at Langhorne, and the first AAR to win at Indianapolis was driven by Bobby Unser in 1968. The following year, AAR introduced the Eagle-Ford MK 7 and trademarked it as the Eagle-Santa Ana, named for the company's location in California. This series would be the only Eagle to bear that name. Power was from a Ford V-8 engine, and three of the four examples were entered for the 1969 Indianapolis 500.

This car is chassis number 702 and was produced for use in the 1969 season. The car was driven by Dan Gurney at Indianapolis during free practice, where it wore #7. However, it did not race in the Indy 500 that year, as Gurney used another chassis of similar speciation, which was believed to be chassis 701. Gurney placed 2nd overall, behind Mario Andretti. Chassis number 702 remained in the paddock as a spare.

Number 702 never raced again. It is believed that the car was retained by AAR for some time before it was acquired by Robert Jordan. In August of 1990, ownership passed from Jordan to Mr. Bob Pond, who intended to campaign the car in historic racing.

A few months after Mr. Pond purchased the car, driver Robert Lamplough campaigned the car in the Palm Springs Road Races, where it raced under the banner of Bob Pond Racing. Lamplough finished 3rd overall in the open-formula event. In 1991, Lamplough and Pond returned to the Palm Springs Road Races, and the car finished 4th in the Saturday race and 5th in the Sunday race. After that race, the car was placed on static display in his collection.

This car, chassis number 703, is one of only four Eagle-Santa Anas constructed, and it has been part of the Pond Collection for 24 years.

Powering this car is a 320 cubic-inch Ford V8 engine mated to a heavy-duty transmission.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2014