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Lake Underwood (July 4, 1926 – September 12, 2008) was an American entrepreneur who competed as a champion in the racing of prototype automobiles and motorcycles. He was a master mechanic who, although high performance fuel delivery and carburetor design and mechanics were his specialties, also invented automobile improvements, especially in electronics for German automobiles. Underwood was one of the founders of the Watkins Glen Racing School where he taught racecar driving skills. He participated in the training of Paul Newman to drive race cars for the 1969 movie, ''Winning'', which sparked Newman's lifetime enthusiasm for the motorsport. He was an active member of many racing, road racing, and automobile related clubs, some of which he helped to found. He served as president for some of them. Porsche Club of America identified Underwood as one of four race car drivers who established Porsche as ''"the giant killer"'' in the early days of its racing in the United States. Carroll Shelby described him as one of the top ten drivers in the U.S. and in September 2003, Excellence: ''The Magazine About Porsche'', named Lake Underwood as ''Porsche's Quiet Giant'' in an extensive article on some of his driving history.〔Miliano, Dom, ''The Quiet Giant: Lake Underwood'', Excellence, Number 122, September 2003, pages 123-128〕 == Biography == He was born into the family of mechanical engineers who worked on the heavy water project in the development of nuclear power and in the Manhattan Project. Born and raised in Blue Ridge, Georgia, Underwood served as a flight crew airman in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war he was graduated from Lehigh University. He opened automobile dealerships in Maplewood, New Jersey where he dealt with the direct importer of Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volkswagen—Max Hoffman, who was renowned for handshake deals in direct contacts with the manufacturers of the foreign vehicles, rather than the American model of contracts. The dealerships included ''Essex Sports Cars'' and ''Aircooled Automotive'', which operated for more than four decades. Lake C. Underwood died at the age of eighty-two in Roseland, New Jersey on September 12, 2008.〔 The obituary is no longer accessible.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lake Underwood」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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