He was also involved in Briggs Cunningham's ambitious Le Mans projects in the early 1950s, and was later a member of the Mercedes-Benz sport car team.

In the late thirties, Fitch attended Kentucky Military Institute, then studied civil engineering at Lehigh University.

[2][3][4] His first passion was not cars, it was airplanes, so it was not surprising that when war broke out, he volunteered to become a pilot, whilst in England on an extended trip around the world (1939).

Fitch opened an MG car dealership and also began racing an MG-TC at tracks like Bridgehampton, Thompson, and Watkins Glen.

In 1951, in addition to campaigning in his Fitch-Whitmore, he boosted his early reputation by winning the Gran Premio de Eva Duarte Perón – Sport in his Allard-Cadillac J2.

Advised by Mercedes's team manager, Alfred Neubauer, to take it easy, Fitch's agenda was more aggressive as he saw this as an audition to join the Daimler outfit.

Fitch's car kept throwing the treads off its tyres and he also experienced a high-speed blowout that took out one of the shock absorber mounts, which affected the front suspension.

With Kling and Lang finishing first and second, putting Mercedes-Benz back on the map in North America, as for Fitch, the repairs on his car were illegal and he was disqualified.

However, whilst racing a Cunningham C5R, Fitch survived a frightening 140-mph, end-over-end crash during the 12 Heures internationales de Reims.

Meanwhile, he took ninth in his final World Championship Grand Prix at Monza, driving a Maserati 250F in the Gran Premio d'Italia.

It was Levegh driving at the time of the worst accident in racing, killing 83 spectators, and, in the initial confusion, had Fitch's family in the United States notified he had crashed.

During this period, Fitch continued to race successfully with the Cunningham team, which was now competing around the United States in Jaguar D-Types.

[3] In 1959 he drove a factory Porsche 718 RSK in the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing with Edgar Barth to second in class and fifth place overall.

Fitch did, however, return to official automotive competition at 87 years of age in 2003 and again in 2005, when he was once again teamed up with a now 50-year-old Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR owned by Bob Sirna, this time at Bonneville Salt Flats in an attempt to break the land speed record for the class, a novel venue for both car and driver.

The attempts failed due to the fuel injection pump which limited the top speed to only 150 mph, but the team vowed to return the next year.

The extraordinary event is documented in a film by Chris Szwedo entitled A Gullwing at Twilight: The Bonneville Ride of John Fitch.

John won the Gran Premio de Eva Duarte Perón – Sport in a Cadillac-powered Allard J2, he had rebuilt from a wreck.

Unfortunately, the Traffic Safety Act of 1966 placed restrictions on the ability to produce automobiles on a small scale; this was followed by Chevrolet's decision to terminate production of the Corvair, which confirmed the end of Fitch's plan.

The Fitch Phoenix has a major role in an episode of the Discovery Channel series Chasing Classic Cars hosted by Wayne Carini where he gives it a minor restoration before it going to auction and sells for $230,000.

In the aftermath of the Le Mans disaster of 1955, Fitch devoted a great deal of effort to the task of increasing the safety of motorsports and driving in general, resulting in his company, Impact Attenuation Inc. His innovations were characterized not only by their effectiveness, but also by their real-world practicality, as affordable and easily installed and maintained solutions.

[20] Other impact absorbing systems designed by Fitch are the Fitch Compression Barrier, suited for oval tracks and other such high speed situations with little runoff area, which comprises a set of strong, thick-walled resilient elastomer cylinders about a yard in diameter placed between the guardrail and the wall, gently absorbing the vehicle's energy without bouncing it back onto the track, and the Fitch Displaceable Guardrail where more room is available, a guardrail mounted on skids so that it can slide backwards on impact, gradually capturing the car.

He later extended the principle with the Fitch Full Driver Capsule, by anchoring the helmet to the seatback to prevent basilar skull fracture and hyperextension of the neck, in a manner similar to the function of the HANS device.

[21] Fitch also developed other automotive innovations, including the Evans Waterless Engine Cooling System, a propylene glycol based cooling system which does not require pressurization; the DeConti Brake, a liquid-cooled secondary braking system for light trucks, buses and similar vehicles; the Fitch Fuel Catalyst, which reduces the proportion of light chain (C1 – C4) molecules in gasoline, and inhibits oxidation and microorganism growth in both gasoline and diesel fuel; self-leveling automotive suspension systems, for which he received several patents; the Salisbury Thermo-Syphon Fireplace which uses waste heat to provide convective heating; and the Fitch Cervical Spine Traction Therapy, which allows freedom of movement in bed while continuing to provide tension that relieves disk pressure.

[22][23][24] Fitch was active in crusading for increased safety on racetracks and highways, joining with medical experts such as Steve Olvey and Terry Trammel, engineers such as Bill Milliken and Karl Ludvigsen, and journalists such as Chris Economaki, Brock Yates and Mike Joy, as well as many of his racing driver friends.

He served as consultant to numerous research and governmental organizations on the subject of vehicle handling and dynamics, as they relate to safety.

[3][26] In 1998, Fitch received the Kenneth Stonex Award from the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences (United States) for his lifelong contributions to road-traffic safety.

All have resulted in significant reductions in injuries and fatalities on the motorways of the world," said Transportation Research Board committee chairman John F. Carney III on presenting the award.

[4][27] (key) In addition to numerous articles in magazines as well as the Encyclopædia Britannica, Fitch wrote his autobiography (somewhat prematurely, in 1960), Adventure on Wheels, published by G.P.

In addition, a film documentary featuring Fitch attempting to break a speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, A Gullwing at Twilight: The Bonneville Ride of John Fitch Chris Szwedo Productions was released on DVD and is being broadcast on the American Public Broadcasting System in 2006.