America’s premier sports car endurance race started at an abandoned WWII Army Air Corps base in Florida. “The 12-Hours of...
It is with a great deal of sadness that I write about Dan Gurney, who died on January 15. We...
Briggs Cunningham was one of the most important figures in U.S. road racing during the era of the 1950s. He raced automobiles and yachts, manufactured sports cars, established a significant auto museum and distributed Jaguars. His overriding goal was to win Le Mans with an all-American car driven by Americans....
What brothers? Most motor racing aficionados know something about Masten Gregory. An American, he won Le Mans in 1965 and...
John Von Neumann was one of those towering figures in the sports car world of the ’50s. He was one...
Last month I wrote about the road race that took place in Palm Springs in 1950. It was the first such event in Southern California after WWII. Some of you were, perhaps, surprised to learn that the California Sports Car Club rather than the Sports Car Club of America organized...
Sports car road racing started after WWII on the East Coast during the late forties. The first wheel-to-wheel event was...
Parnelli is not his real name. Rufus Jones’ middle name is Parnell. His mother named him after a Judge Parnell...
The original Trans-Am was part and parcel of one of the things that made the Golden Age golden. Many of the best U.S. drivers and teams participated, as well as most of the carmakers. One aspect of its huge success was that fans and aficionados drove and identified with the...
“Revisited” because this is my second column about Ken. My March 2006 column was the first, but in rereading it...
March 2011 Caribbean Capers By Joel E. Finn Subtitled “The Cuban Grand Prix Races of 1957, 1958 & 1960,” this...
Learning to race on a road course can be daunting. Even though it was almost 50 years ago, I remember it well. I had entered a friend’s MGTD at Palm Springs. Those of us who were novices were lined up on the grid. We were told to follow the course...
In 1953, the very first Corvettes hit Chevrolet Dealers’ show rooms. Hailed by some as the long-awaited American sports car,...
By almost anyone’s measure, one of the things that made the Golden Era golden was the Canadian-American Challenge Cup or...
After WWII, sports cars became more and more popular. As a consequence, road racing took hold in the U.S. For the most part, it was an amateur sport governed by the Sports Car Club of America, but after noticing the large crowds at some SCCA events, the United States Auto...
During the years following WWII, road racing in the U.S. initially developed as an amateur sport, mostly run by the...
Jaguar’s XK120 Roadster was introduced at the London Motor Show in the fall of 1948. A year later, cars began...
A number of those among us stood head and shoulder above all others during the Golden Age of Motorsports. Juan Fangio, Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby, John Fitch, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill immediately come to mind. Only one from that exhalted group, however, was proposed for President of the United...
Leslie Alan Richter was born on October 26, 1930 in Fresno, California. He graduated from Fresno High School where he...
During the sixties, Carroll Shelby tried almost anything having to do with cars and racing. A little-known episode was his...
When Japanese cars first came on the scene, although practical, most were somewhat stodgy. In the mid-’60s, however, Toyota decided to produce a sports car that would rival others of the genre. Japanese designer Satoru Nozaki penned a two-door coupe—the 2000GT—that some feel had styling influenced by the E-Type Jaguar....
Soon after motor vehicles were invented they were raced. Initially the contests were held on open roads, often from city...
In the February 2010 edition of Vintage Racecar, editor Casey Annis reported that a concours d’provenance had been held in...
The title of my column reads: “The Fabulous Fifties.” The era is one I know something about. During that time, I raced, rallied, officiated, and was an SCCA Regional Board member. In addition, I shot photos, wrote articles, and had a wide friendship that included some of you. Also, I...
In 1953, the Rootes Group in England, which had acquired the Sunbeam Company in 1935, produced a handsome sports car, the...
When I first talked with Vintage Racecar editor Casey Annis in 2005, the conversation revolved around the subject of me...
By 1963, Cobras were doing very well in Sports Car Club of America races. Cars driven by Shelby American drivers won the SCCA A Production National Championship. In addition, they won the SCCA Production-Class U.S. Road Racing Championship. Carroll Shelby, however, wanted to enter and win the unlimited USAC Sports...
My column in the October 2006 edition of Vintage Racecar was titled, “Shelby, the Early Years.” For the most part,...
As everyone knows, after the 1960 racing season, Carroll Shelby retired as a driver and became even better known for...
October 2009 Fast Ladies By Jean-Françoise Bouzanquet Women play the most crucial role in human life as mothers of us all, and many have enjoyed starring roles as monarchs throughout history, but too many have lived lives subservient to their men. In racing, however, this reality ensures that a woman...
