BRISBANE, Australia -- Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula One champion who famously pushed his car to the finish line to claim his first season title, died Monday at his Gold Coast home. Adidas Zx Flux Tilbud . He was 88. The Australian driver -- known as Sir Jack in racing paddocks around the world after he was knighted in 1979 -- won world titles in 1959 and 1960 and became the only F1 driver to win a world championship in a car of his own construction -- the rear-engined BT19 -- which he drove to the title in 1966. The following year the Brabham team won its second successive world championship when New Zealander Denny Hulme drove the BT20 to victory. Brabham won his final Grand Prix race in South Africa in 1970 before retiring from F1 at the age of 44. Brabham continued to compete at different venues after his F1 retirement and his three sons, Geoff, Gary and David also had professional racing careers. Two of his grandsons, Matthew and Sam, are racing in the U.S. and Britain. "Its a very sad day for all of us," Brabhams youngest son, David, said in a statement. "He lived an incredible life, achieving more than anyone would ever dream of and he will continue to live on through the astounding legacy he leaves behind." The family said Brabham was a brilliant engineer, and technological innovations developed by the Brabham team helped to shape F1. In March 2009, David Brabham helped celebrate a 50-year anniversary for his father. Sebring International Raceway in Florida was the venue where Jack Brabham wrapped up his first Formula 1 championship on Dec. 12, 1959, pushing his Cooper-Climax T51 across the finish line for a fourth-place finish. "I was leading the race right up to the last 500 yards and the car ran out of petrol," Brabham said in an interview with The Associated Press at his home on the Gold Coast, Queensland state, in 2009. "I coasted to about 50 yards away and I pushed the car over the line. If I would have received any assistance I would have been disqualified. I managed to finish fourth, which was enough to win the championship." That race was won by Brabhams close friend, business associate and race-car designer Bruce McLaren of New Zealand. Brabham was not well enough to make the Sebring trip in 2009, but David re-enacted his fathers famous finish and also drove a handful of laps in the same car in which his father won that 1959 championship. Jack Brabhams career accomplishments were lengthy. In addition to his three world titles and 126 races from 1955 to 1970, he won the constructors championship in 1966 and 1967. He had 14 Grand Prix wins and 31 podium finishes. Australian Grand Prix chairman Ron Walker said Brabham would be "remembered as one of motorsports most influential figures" adding that his feat of winning the world championship in a car bearing his own name was unlikely to ever be replicated. "The contributions that Sir Jack made to the sport as well as the Australian Grand Prix will never be forgotten and his legacy will continue to resonate among drivers and fans," Walker said. Born on April 2, 1926, in the southern Sydney suburb of Hurstville, John Arthur Brabham grew up driving and maintaining his fathers fruit and vegetable delivery vehicles. After a brief career in engineering, he joined the Australian Air Force as a flight mechanic and later set up his own engineering works in Sydney and became a pilot. He won four Australian championships between 1948 and 1951. In 1955, Brabham moved to England and teamed up with John and Charles Cooper to make his Grand Prix debut at Aintree, England. He returned to Australia after he retired and his new interests included developing a farm, car dealership and aviation company. He was also a spokesman for a major Japanese automaker and maintained his interest in the sport, visiting numerous major international races. "On track he was always the toughest of tough competitors, tough sometimes to the point at which Id wonder how could such a nice bloke out of a car grow such horns and a tail inside one!" British great Stirling Moss wrote about Brabham in the introduction to a book about one of his biggest race rivals. "If you ever raced against Jack youd really know youd been in a race ... (he) played the game as if your life depends on it, no quarter asked, and absolutely none given. To his natural driving ability he added a deeper technical understanding." "That was a reasonable comment," Brabham told the AP, smiling, when he read the excerpt. Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles described Brabham, a four-time Indianapolis 500 starter, as "the patriarch of a racing dynasty." "Every time an Indy car runs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you can find roots that trace back to Jack Brabhams rear-engined Cooper Climax T54 that he drove to 9th place in the 1961 Indianapolis 500," Boles said. "In addition to starting the rear-engine revolution at IMS, Brabham competed ... and designed race cars that competed in the 500." Later in life, Brabham suffered from poor hearing and macular degeneration that prevented him from reading road signs, making driving difficult. He said a kidney illness "really clipped my wings," but he lived a busy life in a home overlooking the eighth hole of a resort golf course and sprinkled with mementos of his feats. Those included a glass-encased model replica of the Cooper Climax that he pushed over that Sebring finish line, and photos of the great driver with prime ministers, sporting personalities and fellow competitors. "The big aim now is to go out without an enemy in the world -- Im going to outlive," them he said in the 2009 interview. He is survived by his second wife, Margaret, and his three sons. AP Sports Writer John Pye contributed to this report. Adidas Zx 850 Dame . After 21 games, Raymond has not only proven to be one of the Leafs biggest surprises but also one of their top players. He joined TSN 1050 on Wednesday to talk about his hot start and the mindset he has playing without the security of a long-term deal. Adidas Zx Flux Sort Hvid .com) - Coming down the stretch of a lengthy road trip, the Vancouver Canucks aim to rebound from just their second loss in seven games on Sunday evening as they visit the Ottawa Senators. LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt was familiar with this feeling -- even if it had been a while. Riley Grabau scored 17 points, Larry Nance Jr. had 14 and the Cowboys beat No. 5 San Diego State 68-62 on Tuesday night to end the Aztecs 20-game winning streak. Shyatt was Wyomings coach 16 years ago -- almost to the day -- the last time a top-five team was upset in Arena-Auditorium. That was Feb. 12, 1998, when the Cowboys took down No. 5 Utah 62-56 on the same floor. "Its like a good bottle of wine -- it gets better with age," Shyatt said. The Cowboys (15-9, 6-5 Mountain West Conference) savored another marquee win Tuesday as fans rushed the court after the final buzzer, mobbing Wyoming players. "Their only other loss was to Arizona," Nance said. "I mean, to be in that category is awesome, you know? Fifth-ranked team, the fans storming the court like they did, it was spectacular." The Aztecs (21-2, 10-1) won 20 in row after losing to Arizona in their second game of the season. The streak tied the program mark set by the 2010-11 team, which finished a school-record 34-3 after reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time. "This is a tough league and you go on the road and it becomes even tougher. And with the win streak we had, I think everybody knows it and everybody talks about they want to be the team to break it and storm the court," SDSU coach Steve Fisher said. "And to Wyomings credit, they were the ones. They were the ones that did it. Thhey played better and they deserved one. Nike Air Huarache Sort. " Dwayne Polee II led San Diego State with 15 points, followed by Xavier Thames with 13. "Youve just got to take it as a learning experience," said Thames, who was averaging 18.1 points. "Theres a lot of season left, so we cant hang our heads." Wyoming built a 16-point lead midway through the second half, catching the Aztecs defence lagging several times. At one point, the Cowboys slammed down four consecutive dunks. San Diego State mounted a furious comeback, closing within four points with 1:04 left and again with 40 seconds to go on two buckets by Winston Shepard, who finished with 10 points. But the Aztecs, who were averaging 73.4 points, failed to score again as Wyoming pulled away with free throws in the final 30 seconds. Nathan Sobey and Charlie Hankerson Jr. each had nine points for Wyoming, which used an efficient offence and a stifling defence to stop San Diego State. The game featured the top two defensive teams in the Mountain West. Entering the game, San Diego State was giving up an average of 56.6 points, while the Cowboys were allowing 60.4. But it was the Aztecs who had the most trouble making baskets, hitting 38 per cent of their field goals and committing 13 turnovers while Wyoming made 58 per cent of its attempts from the floor and had 11 turnovers. The Cowboys took a 32-23 halftime lead, closing out the last 4:20 of the first half with a 10-3 run keyed by two 3-pointers from Grabau. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
