The sleuths on the Autosport Nostalgia Forum have bitten into another mystery. Some early 60’s color photos from a handful of race meetings at Goodwood have surfaced from the collection of a former mechanic. Any other group of appreciators might be happy to just enjoy these excellent shots of an excellent track. But the Nostalgia Forum contributors are no mere appreciators, they are scholars and archivists of the highest order.
From this smattering of photos found by the granddaughter of Brit Pierce, the mechanic in question, the forum has sussed out that there are at least two and possibly three race meetings photographed here. Now they want to determine which race weekends they were. Every detail, from the obvious car makes and racing numbers, to the subtle magnified nameplates on transporters, offers a clue. They have already identified many of the cars and drivers, and even recognized bystanders in the pits, and another piece snaps into place. And just what does that transporter peeking out from behind the Ecurie Ecosse team transporter say along the top? It’s a wonderful puzzle. One that I’m happy to watch unfold.
Know your Goodwood? Check out all the photos and lend a hand. But hurry if you want to be involved. If I know The Nostalgia Forum, it won’t be long before the race weekends are known, the winning drivers identified, and an amusing story about post-race pints at the bar will be shared.
Here’s what the Washington Post had to say in advance of this July 1925 race at the Laurel Speedway in Laurel, Maryland.
Washington Post, Jul 11, 1925 14 Auto Entrants Qualify for Race Today at Laurel De Paolo Leads With and Average of 131.5 Miles for One Lap
A wide board track, wrapping 80 acres of ground as a ribbon might encircle an ostrich egg, with a huge grandstand overlooking it all, is ready today to vibrate under the great motor gruel, the inaugural race at the Washington-Baltimore automobile speedway.
Never level and in places almost up and down, it is to the arena of sixteen speed-crazed drivers, out on a Roman holiday to entertain the populace and in so doing to lower the world’s speed records.
Peter de Paolo, plucky aspirant for this year’s motor racing fame, made himself and machine a fitting apparition on it yesterday and establishing a strategic place in today’s get-away. De Paolo drove his racing Dusenberg around the course at a speed of 131.5 miles an hour, the greatest speed attained in the qualifying rounds. As a result he will have the preferred position at the start with Earl Cooper, who qualified Thursday with a speed of 129.8 miles an hour. …
An inspection of the approach to the track yesterday emphasized the traffic problem. While there is plenty of space to park machines both outside and inside the oval there is only a narrow road leading to it from the highway, a distance of about half a mile. Every effort, however, is to be made to keep traffic moving briskly. Those planning to go to the track in machines, should bear this in mind in arranging their running time.
Special trains will be operated over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. They run directly to the track. …
Arrangements have been completed for handling the vast crowd expected to attend the race. Two hundred District national guardsmen, under the command of Capt. P.G. Nevitt, are to cooperate with the Maryland guardsmen, State police and regular soldiers in regulating traffic both inside and outside the bowl. Capt. Nevitt’s men are to assemble at the armory. He stated last night that any motorist who will come by, fill his car with as many guardsmen as he can take will be given free parking space at the track.
Half the fun of this early newspaper account is the colorful language of a sporting press that hasn’t quite decided on it’s racing jargon.
This race was a full 5 years after the famous crash at the Los Angeles Speedway that killed Gaston Chevrolet (the brother of Chevrolet founder Louis Chevrolet) along with “Mechanician” Lyall Jolls. The danger of board track racing was intense. Just look at that Laurel photograph; the barrier between the track and the stands is hardly what I would call sturdy, and there seems to be no barrier of any substance between the track and infield, not to mention the prospect of skinny tires on wooden planks. Just hope no oil gets on the boards. And even the slightest sprinkle of rain would prove disastrous. The Los Angeles race, of course, inspired a favorite painting of mine by Robert Williams, Death on the Boards: The Mystery of Indy Winner Gaston Chevrolet and His Death Premonition Which Came True with the Deaths of Two Others at the Plush Beverly Hills Board Track in View of 60,000 Witness of Who No Two Gave the Same Account on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 25,1920. Which, though a mouthful, might also be the best title of a painting ever.
Thanks Shorpy for the photo. This was from a series of three photos Shorpy featured of the July 11, 1925 Laurel Speedway race.
You can buy yourself a print of the Robert Williams painting here, which is also featured in the excellent book of American car culture, Kustom Kulture. You deserve it. CarsAndRacingStuff.com has more on the Gaston Chevrolet crash, including the New York Times article that covered the event.
An event organizer finally figured out what makes the Goodwood Revival so special. It isn’t the history of the track itself, which is rich and storied. It isn’t the drivers, though Goodwood attracts many of history’s best. It isn’t even the race vehicles themselves, which are undoubtedly among the best in the world.
The Goodwood Revival is spectacular because of the attendees. The crowds almost entirely arrive in period attire. It’s a giant renaissance festival for cars. It’s the best possible cosplay. This extends to the grounds of course, which are staged and prepped in period attire as well, from traditional garages featuring period accoutrements, to classic pubs and barber shops; the entire scene is like a film set and the attendees its extras.
For Laguna Seca’s historic Festival of Legends motorcycle race, the 2010 event organizers have decided to showcase the halcyon days of motorcycle racing, the 1970s. The organizers promise to offer all the “spectacle and glamour of the era and a magical step back in time. The atmosphere, dress, food and music will celebrate life on racetracks in 1970s in a unique weekend celebration”.
Hopefully this isn’t all wishful thinking and the attendees will don their best short-shorts for the series. I’ve long been hoping that this enthusiasm among attendees at vintage events would spread from Goodwood to our shores. Even if the 70s isn’t your personal favorite period for fashion, I hope you’ll get into the spirit if you’re making your way to next year’s event. If it succeeds, we may see more of the classic racing spirit at Stateside events. I hope so.
Hell for Leather has more details, and will no doubt be following the story.
(Photo from Paul’s Place EUPEN’s vintage motorcycle racing Flickr Stream)
How could I have missed this? Road America is only a few hours drive away and somehow I completely missed the chance to see some marvelous vintage Ferraris at a racing pace in the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge. The series is open to pre-1980 machines, and divided into disc and drum brake classes.
The drum brake class featured two—two!—Maserati 250Fs on the starting row. Ultimately the pole-sitter, Peter Giddings, won the drum brake race by more than 30 seconds. No surprise there, Giddings has won most of the events since the series started in 2000. So chalk another one up for Giddings. No matter though; whatever the official site lists in standings for the event, the folks hanging out at the Turn 5 fence and the Hurry Downs benches were the real winners. It’s a bit of a rarity to see vintage machines from Maranello racing hard here in the Midwest and I’m really kicking myself for missing the opportunity.
If you’re in Quebec, don’t make the same mistake I did. The next Shell Ferrari Historics will be hitting Le Circuit at Mont-Tremblant from July 24 to 26.
State Senator T. Newell Wood was a politician for 30 years. But for us, his greatest contribution was the race he hosted in the mid 50s around his estate in Pennsylvania: Brynfan Tyddyn. We’ve written about this amazing lost track before, but here’s something we haven’t seen. Senator Wood’s personal racing car.
This little 500cc single seater was one of a handful made by the Hakanson Brothers in Sweden under the Effyh nameplate. Effyh made a bit of a name for themselves on both sides of the Atlantic. Effyh team driver Ake Jonsson piloted the factory example to three Formula 3 World Championships. In the States, John Fitch took an example to class victories at the Bridgehampton Road Race and at the Giant’s Despair hillclimb — which is probably where Senator Wood first laid eyes on one.
This example, like the Fitch and Jonsson machines, was originally powered by a JAP engine; this one legendarily found in Wood’s barn and restored. The example set by the dominant Cooper Formula 3’s Norton power compelled Woods to upgrade to Norton power and Cooper suspension for this Effyh. The new powerplant made this little F3 really move around up the track at Brynfan Tyddyn’s sister event, the Giant’s Despair hillclimb.
This is the first online announcement of the Feature Car of the 2009 RM Monterey Auction!
For sale is the Dino Ferrari 1953 166 Mille Miglia #0050 (ex 0308M). This 166 Mille Miglia was the personal car of Enzo Ferrari’s son Dino and the first small grill Ferrari. Dino had a major role in the development of this car. To quote the October 2004 issue of Forza: “A fresh impulse came from Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo (Dino), who received a spare 166 MM chassis from his father. Dino came up with some ideas of his own to be executed by local coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti: together, they conceived of an aggressive and fluid line for Dino’s 166 MM. Scaglietti bodied the Mondial that scored the early-1954 success based on this design, with its unusually small front grill”.
This is the first Ferrari Jack Reuter purchased. In 1965 he happened to see it partially covered through a window of a warehouse in St. Louis Missouri. He was able to locate the owner of the building (Ed Kaysing) and purchased the car for $1,000. It was in pieces but was “so original it would make you cry”. He then restored the car and took it to the 1966 Ferrari Club Of America meet in Indianapolis Indiana where he won the prize for Best Roadster. We still have the pewter cup…He later sold the car to Ken Hutchison.
166 MM When Purchased By Jack Reuter In 1965
Cliff Reuter
Update: This car did not sell at a high bid of $1.1Million against an estimate of $1.5Million-$1.8Million. I’m surprised.
Sports Car Digest visited the incomparable Mario Righini Collection outside Modena. It’s an astounding assortment of significant sportscars; including this Ex-Tazio Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 in which he won the 1933 Targa Florio and Monza GPs.
Head over to Sports Car Digest for the complete gallery.
I was contacted recently by a member of Abarth’s digital media team, who sent along this trailer for an upcoming documentary on the Italian engine tuner. This focuses a bit on the re-emergence of the brand alongside the reborn Fiat 500, and promises that Abarth’s tuning will be a part of Fiat racing for a good while now. Perhaps more intriguing to Chicane readers, are the glimpses of historic footage here with the hopes that finished film will feature a great deal of history of this remarkable engineer and his firm.
From 1967—1970, American comic book publishers Charlton Comics published Grand Prix comics. They were a hilariously pulpy series of short graphic stories featuring dashing racing drivers dodging murderous rivals on the track and beautiful women off the track. I happened across an issue recently and just had to share this frame with you. I want it blown up to wallpaper size to cover my bedroom wall.
With the unexpected popularity of the Japanese cartoon Speed Racer pulling young boys to television sets around the world, it makes perfect sense that a series of comic books would follow. I sure would have spent 12¢ on an issue.
Interestingly, Grand Prix comics started with issue #16, having evolved from an earlier Charlton car culture series, Hot Rod Racers. I can imagine the boardroom at Charlton volleying for which motor culture to adopt as these things go in and out of fashion. What came after 1970? Chopper Comics, perhaps.
There are a handful of copies for sale on Ebay right now; some of which even have their opening bids starting at the cover price. With so few issues, I can’t imagine it would be too hard to collect the entire run. They’re certainly good for a laugh.
