February 29, 1932

Masten Gregory, “The Kansas City Flash,” was born in Kansas City on February 29, 1932. As a driver on Europe’s top racing circuits during the sport’s deadliest years, Masten became known for high-speed bailouts when faced with a major crash. He won the 1965 Twenty-Four Hours of Le Mans in a Ferrari during the Ford vs. Ferrari years.

This Missouri History Today post was contributed by Missouri Life magazine reader Joshua Amelunke, an auto racing historian from Columbia, Mo.

Photo—”File:GregoryMasten1965.jpg” by Lothar Spurzem is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.