Gordon Leonard Strom

1942 - 1977  (35 years)

• Name	Gordon Leonard Strom  [1]
  Birth	3 Aug 1942	Hennepin, Minnesota, USA
  Gender	Male
  Death	16 Nov 1977	Aptos, Santa Cruz, California   [1]
  Person ID	I3903	Branches and Roots
  Last Modified	13 Feb 2026

  
  

  Father	Leonard Gustaf Strom,   b. 15 Feb 1923, South Dakota d. 2 Dec 1995, Riverside, California, USA (Age 72 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Living
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F655	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Kay
  Divorce	Mar 1970	Santa Clara, California, USA
  Children	1. Steven Strom  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Christopher Tobin Strom  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F3017	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	13 Feb 2026

  
  

  Family 2	Margaret A Hinsberger
  Marriage	13 Sep 1958	Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA
  Divorce	Mar 1973	Santa Clara, California, USA
  Family ID	F672	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	13 Feb 2026

  
  

• Notes

  Gordon Strom Complete name: Gordon Leonard Strom Birth date: 03.Aug.1942 Birth Place: Hennepin County, MN, United States Death date: 16.Nov.1977 Death Place: Los Altos, Santa Clara County, CA, United States Nationality: United States Gender: male Age at death: 35 Event date: 25.Jun.1977 Series: Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Northern Pacific Division Championship - Formula B Race: SCCA Northern Pacific Division Championship - Laguna Seca Raceway - Formula B Race Event type: race Country: United States (California) Venue: Laguna Seca (officially called Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from 1996 to 2017 and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca since 2018) Variant: 3.058-kilometer road course (1958-1987) Role: driver Vehicle type: car Vehicle sub-type: single seater Vehicle brand/model: Chevron B29 - Ford BDA Vehicle number: 9 Notes: Defending SCCA Formula B Regional champion Gordon Strom, 35-year-old, was seriously injured on Saturday, 25 June 1977, during a SCCA Formula B event at Laguna Seca. While leading the race, his Chevron B29-Ford BDA went out of control at turn two, hit the guardrail and flipped over. Gordon Strom suffered serious head injuries and a broken leg and was taken to Monterey Community Hospital, where in the following days he was listed in critical condition. He never regained consciousness and succumbed to his injuries at Los Altos nursing home in Santa Clara County, California, on Wednesday, 16 November 1977. Originally from Hennepin County, Minnesota, Gordon Leonard Strom resided in Ben Lomond in Santa Cruz County, California, at the time of his death, working for an advertising agency. He was survived by his wife, Kay and their two sons, Steven and Christopher. During the months of his hospitalization, a fund was established to help Gordon Strom's family with the overwhelming hospital bills. A West Coast semi-professional racer for almost ten years, Gordon Strom served on the SCCA San Francisco Region board of directors. He ran a Brabham BT35-Ford until 1975 when he moved up to a Chevron B29-Ford BDA, which identity is still not confirmed. Possibly its chassis was #29.75.26 which was a former Team Fred Opert's car, used by Jean-Pierre Jarier at Trois Rivieres in 1975. Strom raced his orange and yellow #9 car in 1976 and 1977 and the Chevron was badly damaged in the Laguna Seca accident. Just 20 days before his fatal crash, Gordon Strom set a new lap record for his class on the Laguna Seca track, in 1min 05.14. Sources: U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997. Newspaper Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA, United States), issue of Sunday, 19 June 1977, page 33, article "Seca Races On Tap", retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/62721563/ [S1]. Newspaper Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA, United States), issue of Sunday, 26 June 1977, page 30, article "Top Drivers, Cars In Can-Am Challenge", retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/62722103/ [event: qualifying session] [S1]. Newspaper Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA, United States), issue of Wednesday, 29 June 1977, page 15, article "Strom's Condition Remains Critical", retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/62722262/ [S1]. Newspaper The Californian (Salinas, CA, United States), issue of Thursday, 17 November 1977, page 31, article "Injured Driver Dies", retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/520312719/ . Newspaper Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA, United States), issue of Thursday, 17 November 1977, page 25, retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/62507490/ [S1]. Website Werelate, page https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Gordon_Strom_(1) [S1]. Website Old Racing Cars by Allen Brown, page https://www.oldracingcars.com/results/result.php?RaceID=K76O#note6 . Website TenTenths Motorsport Forum > Historic Racing & Motorsport History > Motorsport History, thread "Formula Atlantic etc (was 'Chevron B29s')", page https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37028&page=33 . Website Champ Car Stats, page http://www.champcarstats.com/atlantic/drivers/StromGordon.htm . E-mail by Andrei Sidorov, dated 03 August 2019, citing [S1]. Motor Sports Memoiral http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=13124

  
  

• Sources

  [S315] Santa Cruz Sentinel, Strom, Gordon. Ben Lomond Race Driver Dies at 34 LOS ALTOS – Gordon Strom, the Santa Cruz race driver critically injured in an accident last June at Laguna Seca Raceway, died Wednesday in Los Altos at the age of 34. Strom has been hospitalized since June 25, when his formula racer crashed as he was leading a race. He suffered massive head injuries and a broken leg in the accident. Strom laid unconscious in a Los Altos nursing home at the time of his death. Funeral services will be held Friday at Sprangler’s Mortuary in Los Alota. Contributions may be made to the Gordon Strom Fund, established to help Strom’s wife Kay pay the overwhelming medical bills and to start an educational fund for Strom’s two sons, Steven and Christopher. The Ben Lonond resident was well-liked by fans and peers both on the track and off. He had raced cars professionally and as a semi-pro for some 10 years. He served on the SCCA’s San Francisco Region board of directors for two years, was the region’s competition director and chief driving instructor for the region’s annual driving school in 1975. At the time of his crash, Strom was the number one ranked racer in his class, having lost but one race over the last year. Santa Cruz Sentinel: 17NOV1977 Accessed: 27OCT2015