Jack Nethercutt II

Nethercutt was born on December 22, 1936, the son to entrepreneur J.B. Nethercutt and Dorothy Sykes in Los Angeles, California. He attended the Harvard-Westlake School.^[4] Nethercutt graduated from the Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California in 1958.^[1][5]

Nethercutt entered professional auto racing in 1956 at the age of 19 while also studying in college, getting his funding primarily from his father.^[6] He began racing with the Lotus Eleven and notably used the number #102 throughout his career.^[6] With the Lotus he was featured on the cover of Road & Track Magazine.^[7] He raced the Ferrari 500 TRC from 1958 to 1960.^[7]

In 1960, Nethercutt acquired the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and entered the World Sportscar Championship for the 1960 season. At the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring, Nethercutt finished in the podium third overall and won the S3.0 class after 186 laps with American co-driver Pete Lovely, scoring 4 manufacturer's championship points for the eventual 1960 season winners Ferrari. During the following 1961 season at the 1961 12 Hours of Sebring his Ferrari's oil pump broke on the first lap and the team was disqualified.^[8] Competing with the Ferrari 250 TR at the 1960 USAC Road Racing Championship, he and Lovely finished second in class and third overall behind Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles. He won the 1960 3 Hours of Westwood.^[9] In 1961 he sold his Ferrari for $25,000 because it was "last years racecar" and according in a 2023 interview Jay Leno, it was now worth over $30 million.^[6]

From 1961 to 1963, Nethercutt switched to a Lotus 19, competing in the Sports Car Club of America and achieved several podiums, including a victory at the 1962 SCCA Divisional.^[10] Nethercutt competed in the United States Grand Prix with the vehicle for one season in 1963.^[11]

In 1965, Nethercutt would build his custom racecar called the Mirage, which was envisioned as the pinnacle Can-Am design.^[12] The Mirage was supposed to debut two years earlier, but his father J.B. was against the vehicle's construction and would not fund it, which caused Nethercutt to experience financial constraints leading to its delay.^[12] Racing experts claim that if the Mirage was completed on time a couple of years earlier, it would have been internationally competitive because of its revolutionary design from its low drag aerodynamics.^[13][14] It was also one of the first racecars with a monocoque chassis and wheels, powered by a lightweight Oldsmobile V8 engine.^[12] The Mirage was test driven by Ken Miles.^[15] Nethercutt and the Mirage were featured on the cover of the Sports Car Graphic Magazine.^[16] The Mirage was later destroyed by J.B. in a dispute.^[6]