Lake Underwood

Lake Underwood (July 4, 1926 – September 12, 2008) was an American entrepreneur who competed as a champion in the racing of prototype automobiles and motorcycles. He was a master mechanic who, although high performance fuel delivery and carburetor design and mechanics were his specialties, also invented automobile improvements, especially in electronics for German automobiles.

Underwood was one of the founders of the Watkins Glen Racing School where he taught racecar driving skills. He participated in the training of Paul Newman to drive race cars for the 1969 movie, Winning, which sparked Newman's lifetime enthusiasm for the motorsport.

He was an active member of many racing, road racing, and automobile related clubs, some of which he helped to found. He served as president for some of them.

Porsche Club of America identified Underwood as one of four race car drivers who established Porsche as "the giant killer" in the early days of its racing in the United States. Carroll Shelby described him as one of the top ten drivers in the U.S. and in September 2003, Excellence: The Magazine About Porsche, named Lake Underwood as Porsche's Quiet Giant in an extensive article on some of his driving history.

He was born into the family of mechanical engineers who worked on the heavy water project in the development of nuclear power and in the Manhattan Project. Born and raised in Blue Ridge, Georgia, Underwood served as a flight crew airman in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war he was graduated from Lehigh University.

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