Bob Tullius

Bob Tullius (1930 to 2026) was an American race car driver, racing team owner and pioneer of motorsports marketing. A former Kodak salesman who had served in the United States Air Force, he bought a Triumph TR3 for his wife in 1960, took it to racing school himself and won the graduation race. In 1963 he chose racing over his sales job and became a principal driver for Triumph's North American competition effort. In 1965 he founded his own team, Group 44 Incorporated, with the mechanic Brian Fuerstenau and the advertising executive Dick Gilmartin. The team raced its own cars, built cars for paying customers and ran a marketing and sponsorship department for vehicle manufacturers. It was tied to British Leyland, campaigning Triumph, MG and Jaguar cars, and it took Jaguar back to Le Mans in 1984. Tullius drove competitively until 1988, took part in warbird air shows in retirement, and died in Port Orange, Florida, on 16 March 2026 at the age of 95.