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Through the Viewfinder
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At Watkins Glen, one fine summer’s day in 1970, the Can-Am, North America’s premier sports car championship, battled tooth and nail with the stars of the World Sports Car Championship. Photo: Hal Crocker
Featured Editorials & ContentRacecar ArticlesRacecar Features

Through the Viewfinder

 Hal Crocker

An opportunistic mix of Group 5 endurance racers and Group 7 thundercars enlivened Watkins Glen’s 1970 Can-Am Text and Photos by Hal Crocker

His tender, healing hands bandaged and protected by gauze gloves to minimize the pain from his Indy burns, Denny Hulme earned the respect of one and all by wheeling his brutal McLaren-Chevrolet to victory over the stellar international field assembled at The Glen on this special weekend.
Photo: Hal Crocker

My vision momentarily blurred as every molecule in my body vibrated. Sensory overload was in the red, adrenaline rush on its way. Damn, just damn! With my eye buried in the viewfinder, I was caught off-guard by Dan Gurney lighting up his big block Chevy right next to me. I instantly knew why they were called “Ground Pounders.” It was as though there was an invisible energy field around the car. You could feel it from the ground up, as it took control of every cell of your body. Gurney, like some mad symphony conductor, then directed each movement with a blip of the throttle. I had never experienced anything quite like it.

It was July 1970. We were at Watkins Glen, New York, for the Six Hour Manufacturer’s Championship race and the third round of the 1970 Can-Am. I was working the same arrangement that I had previously at Sebring, photographing Porsche for Jo Hoppen, and doing the wire service deal. The two were a good combination, a true symbiotic relationship, and the same could be said about Group 5 and Group 7 cars being at the same place at the same time. The Six Hour would run on Saturday and the Can-Am on Sunday, and most of the Six Hour guys wanted to also run their prototypes in the Can-Am because of the series’ elevated pay out. All this made for a busy weekend, but a nice paycheck for the teams—as well as for me.

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Tags
Brand (Chaparral)Brand (Ferrari)Brand (Lola)Brand (McLaren)Brand (Porsche)Featured (World Champion)Group (SCCA (Sports Car Club of America))People (Dan Gurney)People (Denis Hulme)People (Gerard Larousse)People (Hal Crocker)People (Jackie Stewart)People (Jacky Ickx)People (Jim Hall)People (Jo Siffert)People (John Surtees)People (John Wyer)People (Lothar Motschenbacher)People (Mario Andretti)People (Mark Donohue)People (Richard Attwood)Racetrack (Watkins Glen International)Series (Can-Am)Series (Formula One (F1))

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Hal Crocker
Steve Natale has been playing with cars ever since he was old enough to first hold a matchbox car in his hand. A lifelong enthusiast of anything old with an engine in it or wheels on it, Steve has been active in the hobby for over 35 years. Currently he owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary, is an automotive photographer, blogger and writer for several automotive magazines and regular contributor to various automotive websites. Steve has attended vintage car events and visited car museums and collections around the world.
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