Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther (5 August 1930 – 20 September 1989) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1960 to 1967.

[3] After finishing school in 1948, Ginther followed in his father's footsteps and went to work for Douglas Aircraft, initially in the tool and die shop.

Ginther made his race debut at Pebble Beach in 1951,[4] driving a Ford-engined MG T-type sports car.

[5] However, Ginther's career was put on hold shortly after, when he was drafted for two years of national service during the Korean War.

During this time he received training and experience working in aircraft and engine mechanics,[4] skills which he would later put to good use during his driving career.

On emergence from the military, Hill requested that Ginther join him, principally as a riding mechanic, in driving a privately entered 4.1-liter Ferrari in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana.

Both Ginther and Hill were unharmed and returned in 1954 to take second place,[3] beaten only by the works Ferrari of Umberto Maglioli.

[7] In early-1958, he piloted a two-liter Ferrari to victory at the County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California, averaging 83.8 mph (134.9 km/h),[8] and won in a three-liter GT in a five-lap qualifying preliminary for the SCCA Pacific Coast Championship.

[11] Throughout this period he continued to mix his race driving with a steady job at von Neumann's dealership, and by late 1959 the strain was beginning to show.

[17] In August 1961, Ginther and Baghetti were teammates at the Pescara Grand Prix, a world auto manufacturers' championship event.

[18] Ginther averaged more than 133 mph (214 km/h) on the 6.2-mile (10.0 km) Autodromo Nazionale Monza in September 1961, to lead the first day of qualifying for the 1961 Italian Grand Prix.

Von Trips died in a spectacular crash on the second lap, which also killed eleven spectators, when his Ferrari climbed a 5-foot-high (1.5 m) earth embankment.

He appeared in an uncredited role in the 1966 film Grand Prix as John Hogarth, a driver in the Japanese funded "Yamura" team.

While making an attempt to qualify for the 1967 Indianapolis 500, Ginther broke a fuel line in his American Eagle Indy Car.

This experience, along with the recent fiery death of close friend Lorenzo Bandini, along with other factors, led to his sudden retirement.

The California Sports Car Club event was three hours cross country from Los Angeles to Huntington Beach.