There’s a funny scene from the otherwise forgettable poker spoof The Grand where Richard Kind’s character refers to Doyle Brunson as “Tex Brunson” and the announcer Phil Gordon says, “…it’s a tell when you don’t know who Doyle Brusnon is.” Likewise, you can’t call yourself a racing fan if you don’t know Phil Hill, who sadly passed away today at the age of 81 after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Trying to sum up Hill’s magnificent career in part of a paragraph is futile, so here’s the stuff I really dig. He won both his first and his last race. He drove the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. He signed with Enzo Ferrari (not an easy task). He won Le Mans three times (with his teammate Olivier Gendebien, pictured behind Hill above).  And he’s the only American-born driver to win the F1 drivers championship. Like many of you, I learned more about racing reading Mr. Hill’s Road & Track columns than from all my other sources combined. Phil was also raised in nearby Santa Monica, where he lived until he died. Sad day. [Source: Jalopnik]