Born in Evanston, Ill., Bob moved to California as a boy and quickly distinguished himself first in dirt-bike racing and later in Chevrolet Corvettes, winning 18 of 20 races in 1959.

Pat is a Memphis, Tenn., native who worked in Huntsville, Ala., helping design the Tomahawk cruise missile facility and relocated from Seattle to Sedona in 2001. Two years later, she moved with daughter Meagan and son Jason to Paradise Valley for their education.

The Bondurant’s married twice — first in April 2010 at the school and three weeks later during the Monaco Grand Prix — on the track where Bob had driven to a fourth-place finish in 1966.

They had met at the January 2010 Russo & Steele Car Auction in Scottsdale. ‘Like most guys, I waited all my life for this perfect dream woman I had in my mind to appear, and when I finally gave up on her ever coming, there she was,’ says Bondurant, who celebrates his 80^th birthday April 2013 and the school’s 45^th two months earlier in February 2013.

Photo Bondurant School