When Bob Tullius passed away at his home in Port Orange, Florida, on March 16, 2026, at the age of 95, the world of motorsport lost not only a champion driver but a visionary who reshaped the very fabric of American racing.
Tullius’ journey to the top tier of motorsport was anything but predictable. After high school he joined the US Air Force, where he played quarterback for the Chanute Air Force Base football team until a leg injury forced him to reconsider his future. A successful stint in sales at Kodak followed—he was even named Salesman of the Year—but destiny had other plans.
His racing career began almost by accident. After buying a Triumph TR3 for his wife—who barely drove it—Tullius enrolled himself in a racing school. He promptly won the graduation race, and with that victory, the trajectory of his life snapped into focus. By 1961, he was racing in earnest, finishing no lower than second in his first four starts. His talent quickly caught the attention of Triumph, who supplied him a TR4 for the 1962 season. A year later, forced by his Kodak supervisor to choose between the corporate ladder and the racetrack, Tullius made the only choice he ever could: racing.
Building an Empire: The Birth of Group 44
In 1965, Tullius co‑founded Group 44 with mechanic Brian Fuerstenau and advertising executive Dick Gilmartin. The team quickly became a force that would transform American motorsport culture. Sleek green-and-white cars, backward-facing race numbers, meticulously branded transporters—Tullius understood long before most that racing wasn’t just competition. It was entertainment. It was business. It was identity.
Through strategic corporate sponsorships, partnerships with British Leyland, and a polished professionalism uncommon in American racing at the time, Group 44 helped drag the sport into the modern era. Over the next 25 years, the team collected more than 300 victories, including 14 SCCA national championships, three Trans-Am titles, and a GTP‑class win at the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Tullius himself made 252 race starts, claiming 38 outright wins and 43 class victories. His final triumph came at the 1986 Daytona Three Hours behind the wheel of a Jaguar XJR‑13—a fitting finale for a man who embodied grit and innovation in equal measure.
A Driver of Many Machines
Although Triumphs and Jaguars defined much of his legacy, Tullius was never limited to a single badge. His career reads like a tour through motorsport history: a Dodge Dart at the first-ever Trans-Am race in 1966, the turbine-powered Howmet TX at Le Mans in 1968, a NART Ferrari 512 BB at Daytona in 1979, even a stint in NASCAR with a Javelin. His versatility was as remarkable as his longevity.
Perhaps his most significant contribution to a manufacturer came in the early 1980s, when Group 44 spearheaded Jaguar’s return to Le Mans with the XJR‑5. The car marked the brand’s reappearance at the French endurance classic after nearly three decades and laid the groundwork for Jaguar’s later Group C success. In recognition, Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons personally presented Tullius with an award in 1981—a rare and meaningful honour.
A Life in the Skies
Tullius’ passion for speed wasn’t limited to the track. A devoted aviator, he collected and flew an array of aircraft, from a Fairchild PT‑26A to a Waco biplane, a North American T‑6 Texan and a Beechcraft King Air. Among his favourites was a Mustang P‑51D fighter painted in a whimsical Donald Duck livery, which he later donated to the Royal Air Force Museum. Over the years, he logged thousands of flight hours and performed in more than 140 airshows.
A Legacy Etched in Racing History
For his remarkable impact on motorsport, Tullius was inducted into several Halls of Fame, including Sebring, SCCA, IMSA, the British Sports Car Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He also served on the SCCA Board of Directors, championing the sport from within its governance as well as on the track.
Bob Tullius is survived by his daughter, his daughter‑in‑law, eight grandchildren and three great‑grandchildren. His loss will be felt across generations of racers, fans and industry figures who continue to benefit from his innovations.
But perhaps the greatest testament to Tullius’ legacy is this: modern American motorsport—its marketing, its professionalism, its spectacle—still carries the imprint of the man who saw what it could be before anyone else did.
