Masten Gregory - Le Mans winner who was almost blind as a bat

American racing driver Masten Gregory, who competed in Formula One between 1957 and 1965, and had won the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, was well known for his youngish look and thick eyeglasses. Those eyeglasses made him stand out in motorsport, because he was one the few drivers to wear eyeglasses during that time, a practice still very uncommon even today.

Glasses as thick as ‘Coke bottles’

Gregory’s eyeglasses weren’t just ordinary specs because his nearsighted vision was very poor and the eyewear was very thick. His fellow driver Carroll Shelby once commented that those glasses were as thick as “Coke bottles”.
Masten’s older brother, Riddelle Gregory, also a race driver, confirmed his poor vision by sharing one story: “Once we were driving down to Texas and Masten had me do the night driving through Oklahoma because he couldn’t see very well at night. Next thing you know, here he is racing in and winning Le Mans!”

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Despite the fact he may have been blind as a bat without his spectacles, Masten proved during his career that he was blindingly fast with them.

Continue reading the story of Masten Gregory

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Photo: formula1blog.com