I remember that the Reader’s Digest used to have a series of articles titled some-thing like “The Most Unforgettable Character...
Some of our California sports car races during the fabulous ‘50s were not just for current vehicles. At some SCCA...
On this, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Monterey Historics, I thought it would be interesting to look back and see how it all started. The date was August 10, 1974. August 10 that year fell on a Saturday. There was no Sunday racing even though California has no “blue laws”...
Until Sir Jack Brabham won the Times Grand Prix in 1961, the Ken Miles-driven, John Von Neumann-owned Porsche-Cooper was the...
For two consecutive years—1969 and 1970—Porsche won the World Manufacturers Championship. Brian Redman was an important part of the teams,...
There were a number of outstanding road-race weekends during the fifties. Phil Hill’s win at the first Pebble Beach comes to mind as well as Carroll Shelby’s at the last. In Southern California, one of the best-loved venues was Palm Springs. It had everything: a famous resort, wonderful winter weather,...
In the Western U.S. during the ’50s, there were a number of road-racing drivers who went on to international success...
Like many other sports during WWII, automobile racing experienced a hiatus. Soon thereafter, however, competition resumed. The Formula One World...
Lance Reventlow was the son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. As most aficionados know, he was active in motorsport during the fifties. Lance’s best friend was Bruce Kessler, son of bathing-suit mogul Rose Marie Reid. Because Bruce and I were friends, I became acquainted with Lance. The first time Lance...
During the Fifties and Sixties, one of the most popular sports car racing venues in the West was Palm Springs....
During the Fifties, a number of women were involved in the sports car craze. This was during a time when...
One of the most successful relationships in motor sports during the sixties was between Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles. It resulted in transforming Cobras into world-class automobiles, not only on tracks, but also on roads. The relationship between the two was not just a business one, it was also very...
When I first talked with Vintage Racecar editor Casey Annis in 2005, the conversation revolved around the subject of me...
For the last 20 years or so of his life, Rodger Ward and I were friends. Even though I had...
One of the most enjoyable—at least for me—of fifties events was the Pebble Beach Sports Car Road Races. The last one was held during April 1956 and, from then on, races in the area were held at Laguna Seca Raceway. In my May column in this magazine, I remembered the...
I had just been discharged from the Army and was pursuing my education with the help of the GI Bill....
In the February 2010 edition of Vintage Racecar, editor Casey Annis reported that a concours d’provenance had been held in...
Carroll Shelby once remarked, “There are only two people I can think of who could sit down, take a welding torch, build their own chassis, go out to test it, and then win races with it. They are Jack Brabham and Chuck Daigh. I put Chuck in the same category...
I’ve always been fascinated with the Goodwood Revival concept of “a magical step back in time.” For some time, I’ve...
During the fifties, everyone’s hero was Juan Manuel Fangio. He won the World Driving Championship five times, an achievement that...
The immutable rule of life is that every living thing is born, lives and dies. Publications are living things, and as such, they don’t live forever. Remember Look magazine? During the ’50s, there were four metropolitan daily newspapers in Los Angeles; now there is one. When the sports car craze...
Although there were a number of pre-WWII cars that can be described as sports cars, the craze in the U.S....
Art Evans Fifty years ago, the world-famous Laguna Seca race course was created by a tree. It’s interesting as well...
There is a man who is not only unknown to the general public but also to much of the racing community. He was, however, of vital importance to modern American road racing. With the exception of those who organize races, he is virtually anonymous. Jim Haynes, however, is my own...
My column in the October 2006 edition of Vintage Racecar was titled, “Shelby, the Early Years.” For the most part,...
Automobile racing started soon after the appearance of autos themselves. Those first events, on public highways and byways, went from one town to another. Thus “road racing” was born. After WWI, racing continued on roads, except in the U.S., where competitions were mainly of the “circle-track” variety on ovals. Due...
During the fifties, Aston Martin produced sports cars with the designation, DB, which, of course, stands for David Brown. In...
On August 4, 2007, an icon of American racing and my dear friend, John Fitch, turned 90 years old! In...
During the fifties, I not only had a business relationship with Bill Devin, but we were also friends. We saw each other rather frequently in later years when he and his wife, Mildred, (we called her “Middie”) moved close to my Palm Springs house. When Bill passed away in November...
