Mark Neary Donohue Jr. (March 18, 1937 – August 19, 1975), nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American race car driver and engineer known for his ability to develop and set up his race car as well as driving it, often to victory.
Donohue was the developer and driver of the 1500+ bhp "Can-Am Killer" Porsche 917-30. He won the 1972 Indianapolis 500. Cars that Donohue raced include: AMC Javelin, AMC Matador, Chevrolet Camaro, Eagle-Offy, Elva Courier, Ford GT40 MK IV, Ferrari 250LM, Ferrari 512, Lola T70, Lola T330, Lotus 20, McLaren M16, Porsche 911, Porsche 917/10, Porsche 917/30, Shelby Cobra, and Shelby Mustang GT350R.
Born in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Donohue grew up in Summit, graduated from the Pingry School in Hillside, and entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. At the age of 22 while a senior at Brown, Donohue began racing his 1957 Corvette. He won the first event he entered, a hillclimb in Belknap County, New Hampshire. He graduated from Brown in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
Donohue won the SCCA national championship in an Elva Courier in 1961. Experienced race driver Walt Hansgen (who worked for Inskip Motors in New York & Rhode Island) recognized Donohue's ability and befriended him, eventually providing an MGB (through Inskip Motors in Providence, RI and prepped by their race shop Competition Engineering) for Donohue to race at the 1964 Bridgehampton
500-mile (800 km) SCCA endurance event, which he won. Hansgen arranged for Donohue to become his teammate in 1965, co-driving a Ferrari 275 at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, which they finished in 11th place. That year, Donohue also won two divisional championships: in SCCA B Class in a GT350 and in SCCA Formula C in a Lotus 20B.
Donohue was hired on March 29, 1964, by Jack Griffith [Griffith Motors, Syosset, N.Y./Plainview, N.Y.] as design engineer for the Griffith, formerly TVR Grantura Mk III, powered by a Ford 289 cid (4.7l) V8 engine. He went on to assist TVR's David Hives in designing the Series 400 Griffith and then working on the ill-fated Bob Cumberford-designed, Intermeccanica-(Torino, Italy) produced Series 600 Griffith.
During its production life, there were 192 Series 200 Griffiths built, 59 of the Series 400 and only ten of the Series 600.
During his tenure at Griffith, he drove the Griffith-owned Shelby 289 Cobra making his mark on the SCCA circuit.
In February of 1965, Donohue was named comptroller at Griffith Motors, but was soon lured from Griffith by Roger Penske early in 1966.
The Griffith company went defunct in November, 1966.
In 1966, thanks to his friendship with Hansgen, word quickly spread to the Ford Motor Company about the young driver. Ford signed Donohue to drive a MKII GT40 at the 24 Hours of Daytona in a deal made by Hangsen himself, and after bringing it to a third place finish, they later signed him to drive one of their GT-40 Mk II race cars campaigned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Holman & Moody racing team. Le Mans proved frustrating for Donohue. Hansgen died while testing the GT40 in preparation for Le Mans so Donohue partnered with Australian Paul Hawkins. Donohue and Hawkins completed only twelve laps due to differential failure and finished 47th. Earlier that year, co-driving with Hansgen, Donohue finished third at the 24 Hours of Daytona and second at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
At Hansgen's funeral, Roger Penske spoke to Donohue about driving for him. In his first race for Penske, at Watkins Glen in June 1966, Donohue qualified well but crashed the car at the top of a hill, destroying it.
Donohue was invited back to Le Mans by Ford in 1967. Ford had developed a new GT, the Mark IV. Donohue co-drove in the No. 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. The two drivers disagreed on many aspects of racing and car setup, but as a team were able to muster a fourth-place finish in the endurance classic.
In 1967, Penske contacted Donohue about driving in the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). Driving Penske's Lola T70 MkIII Chevrolet, Donohue dominated the 1967 USRRC race series . Donohue drove in seven of the eight races; he won six (at Las Vegas, Riverside, Bridgehampton, Watkins Glen, Pacific Raceways, and Mid-Ohio), and In the seventh race at Laguna Seca, he finished third behind Lothar Motschenbacher and Mike Goth.
In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. Donohue did not start the first race of the year at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City due to problems getting the engine to start. Despite this, Donohue still dominated the series, even though he suffered three DNFs during the season due to mechanical problems with the M6A.
In 1969, Donohue won the 24 Hours of Daytona driving the Penske Lola-Chevrolet T70.
Donohue began his Trans-Am series campaign in 1967, winning three of twelve races in a Roger Penske-owned Chevrolet Camaro. In 1967 and 1968, the Trans-Am schedule included two of the most prized endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Donohue finished fourth at Daytona and won the Trans-Am class at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
1968 was a banner year for Donohue in the Trans-Am series, as he successfully defended his 12 Hours of Sebring victory by partnering with Craig Fisher and driving his Penske Chevrolet Camaro to victory. Donohue won ten of 13 races, a Trans-Am series record which stood until Tommy Kendall won 11 of 13 races in the 1997 Trans-Am Series.