Cunningham – The Chicane

Now that people are trapped at home, maybe there will be a push of more folks dusting off the 8mm film cans from the attic and getting more old racing footage online. Like this amazing reel from Road America in 1956—only a year after the track opened.

Road America is probably the track I’ve spent the most time at, which is probably why I love seeing old footage from here. Even 60 years on it’s still remarkably recognizable. Looks like Turn 5 was always a hotspot for spectators. That 90° turn at the end of the 2nd longest straight leading into the uphill climb is still where a lot of the most dramatic action takes place.

Man, I can’t wait to stand at that corner again with one arm draped over the fence and another holding a bratwurst.

via VSCCA on Facebook.

As precious and rare as it is for these types of videos to surface, it makes it all the more disheartening when they’re pulled from YouTube. Looking back through the archives, I was saddened to see the marvelous footage of the 1951 Watkins Glen GP that we featured in a post earlier in the year has been pulled.

In the interests of maintaining a consistent level of Watkins Glen video on the site, I felt compelled to dig into the YouTubes to find a suitable replacement. This home-movie of the ’52 race should fit the bill nicely.

John McFarland says, “Here is some really cool video shot back in 1952 (nearest I can figure from cars/numbers vs. program) by my Grandfather at the Watkins Glen Grand prix. The number 54 car at the end of the video is a Cunningham (sick!). The races were held on September 19-20 and my Grandfather was filming with experimental color film from Kodak. Color home movie footage of the racing in 1952 is extremely rare.”

Might want to consider hitting mute on this one as the 1952 footage and the 1979 soundtrack don’t exactly fit perfectly.