Car enthusiasts remember Ken Block
The car world is starting 2023 in mourning. Ken Block - famed rally car driver, entrepreneur and car enthusiast -
died last Monday at the age of 55 following a snowmobiling accident in northern Utah.
Block co-founded D/C Shoes in 1994, a company that manufactures footwear for professional skateboarders.
Block sold the company years later to become a professional race car driver.
Road & Track editor-in-chief Mike Guy said, "He didn't really love American-style racing – ovals, IndyCar, whatever. He was really into rally racing."
Rallying is a type of off-road racing that focuses on car control on loose surfaces.
"It's a timed segment through the trees at ridiculous speeds, and crowds of people coming along inches by inch," Guy said.
Block's death drew memorials from all corners of the racing world—from Formula 1 to LeMans, with honors for the drivers of the Indy 500.
But it also featured tributes from business leaders like Ford CEO Jim Farley and celebrities like rapper T-Pain.
And that's because Block was much more than a skilled competitor - he was also an entertainer.
Guy said, "Kane brought cars to video in the same way that MTV brought music to video."
Shortly after his first professional race, Block co-founded an automotive clothing brand called Hoonigan.
Guy said, "Hooning a car is kind of crazy." "You're doing donuts. You're misbehaving in a parking lot. You're jumping over your great aunt's house while she's sleeping.
It's basically about finding the adventure limit of whatever you're driving." Is."
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