The 2009 Wine Country Classic Historic Car Races were held May 30-31 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.
A very full field of 350 historic racecars – the most in the 23-year history of the Wine Country Classic – took part in the race weekend among 10 classes. The Morgan, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2009, was the featured car of the weekend.
One of the highlights of the race weekend was the reunion of the “Baby Doll” Morgans. Lew Spencer, a well-known Southern California Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) member, ordered these Morgan machines and named them Baby Dolls I-V. It was the ultimate Morgan racecar and a giant killer in racing circles in the 1960s, routinely beating small-block Corvettes, Porsches and Jaguars, among others, despite its smaller-displacement engines.
The winning tradition continued at Wine Country, as the Baby Doll IV 1959 Morgan +4 that won the 1962 SCCA C-Production National Championship was also victorious in Group 3 at the hands of Jeff Abramson.
Other race action saw Tom Price made it a clean sweep at Infineon Raceway, claiming his first win in Group 1 at the Wine Country Classic Historic Car Races. Price, who also won the qualifying race, started from the pole for the 10-lap main event and drove his 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 to the win in Group 1 (Pre-War Racing Cars & Sports Cars to 1952). He was followed by Danville’s Peter Giddings (1931 Alfa Romeo) and Medina, Washington’s Jon Shirley (1934 Alfa Romeo) to round out the top three. It was Price’s first win at Infineon Raceway since 2003, when he won in Group 2 driving a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.
Sports Car Digest was privileged to have photographer Dennis Gray on site to document this year’s racing action. We hope you enjoy his photos as much as we do. To see more of Dennis’ work, visit www.grayincolor.com.
2009 Wine Country Classic Historic Car Race Results and Picture Gallery (click picture for larger image)
Top-five main-event results Saturday from the Wine Country Classic Historic Car Races at Infineon Raceway. All races were contested on Infineon Raceway’s 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course. Car and hometown in parentheses:
Group 1: Pre-War Racing Cars & Sports Cars to 1952 (10 laps)
1. Tom Price, 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, Larkspur, CA
2. Peter Giddings, 1931 Alfa Romeo Corto/Mille, Danville, CA
3. Jon Shirley, 1934 Alfa Romeo, Medina, WA
4. Jan Voboril, 1924 Ford T Barber-Warnock, Topanga, CA
5. David Duthu, 1925 Bugatti Type 35A, Seabrook, TX
Group 2: 1948-1955 Sports Racing and Production Cars (10 laps)
1. Robert Manson, 1952 Schaghticoke Special, Redwood City, CA
2. Dave Olson, 1950 Jaguar XK120, Tiburon, CA
3. John Shirley, 1954 Austin Healey 100, Sonoma, CA
4. Leland Osborn, 1955 Crosley Special, San Miguel, CA
5. Bernard Juchli, 1955 Hageman Jaguar Special, Palo Alto, CA
Group 3: 1956-1962 Production Cars (10 laps)
1. Jeff Abramson, 1959 Morgan +4, Danville, CA
2. Leonard Turnbeaugh, 1958 Porsche 356A, Markleeville, CA
3. Art Hebert, 1957 Porsche, San Rafael, CA
4. Scott Brown, 1957 MGA Mk 1, Redwood City, CA
5. Ed Lamantia, 1962 MGA Mk II, Redwood City, CA
