Dan Gurney popularized spraying champagne after winning Le Mans in 1967.
Gurney and A.J. Foyt won the 1967 race for Ford in a GT40 Mk IV, defeating Ferrari in a celebrated American victory. During the podium ceremony, Gurney enthusiastically sprayed champagne over Foyt, team manager Carroll Shelby, photographers, and even Henry Ford II and his wife.
The gesture was partly inspired by an accidental champagne shower at the 1966 race, when a cork unexpectedly popped from a bottle celebrating a class victory. Gurney’s deliberate version transformed that mishap into a motorsport tradition. A common mix-up is crediting Foyt, who shared the winning car, but Gurney was the driver associated with launching the custom.