SCCA 356 race event History

[Miracle Man]

I agree that it is probably Road America. Here is a great shot of Frank Wagenhofer in his 356 Carrera. Way back we MGA guys had to race against the 4 cams as the SCCA only used displacement to group cars. The only place we could beat them was Lime Rock. We could get close at Marlboro.

[attachment:1]59LR#111Carrera WagenhoferV2.jpg[/attachment]

[bbspdstr]

356 A Coupes and Speedsters, many with bumpers and at least one that includes USA "A" crosstubes and on with the "FP" class designation (on the nose? a 'WTF') could get the date fairly close, like '57-'59. I forget when 1500 stayed FP and 1600s were put in EP.....I'd need to look at old GCRs.....if I could find them.

That location identification is certainly an 'old guy' question.

I would agree that MAYBE that is a downhill at Road America, but it's not from the viewpoint I ever would have seen there in my handful of visits. The guardrails, the distant tower are not in my memory banks, but where else could it be? The old Glen?

Here are some race results from RA. Check car numbers (if legible in the photo) against results. Don Wester won FP in a Speedster.
http://www.racingsportscars.com/results/Road_America-1957-06-23f.html

At RA, the start is an uphill and the other side now is a short chute, corner and then a downhill. Or so I remember. Last time I was there is over 20 years ago now.

What's on the sign facing driver's left? For all we know it could be "RR crossing ahead."

Then again, when I went around the Glen the 'wrong way' it was night and I was 'testing' a friends competition Mini Cooper S and yes, some alcohol was involved. I snuck onto the track and made one reverse lap before security escorted me back to the Mini's paddock, no harm, no foul. Not Thompson, Lime Rock, Vineland, VIR, Bridgehampton, Mid-Ohio?....but again, a driver would not have that view, so all bets are off for me.

BTW, I could not get a Comp Lic. before '67, so that picture is from way before my time. Road America was too far for my ...HA!..."racing budget" so I didn't get there until Vintage came into it's prime.

Bruce

[Miracle Man]

Good interpretation of where that shot was taken. I've driven all you mentioned and for sure not Glen, Lime Rock, Bridghampton, Vineland or Thompson. Mid Ohio has that long downshill straight but this one rolls too much. I have no idea what the sign is either, unless it is a corner marker. I tried to put in a shot from 1959 Lime Rock but I was simply not savvy enough to make it happen. Here is another try.

[bbspdstr]

Wow, that location question is making me think too much. We can see about 40 cars and the shot was likely taken from a car on a pace lap. Stragglers off the grid catching up knowing they had time before a green, so that was likely a long way off. Most Chief Stewards use 25 cars per mile of track for a guide, with power to alter that on special occasions, but that ain't no short track!

On Watkins Glen vintage weekends, multi-group Vintage practice would have so many cars come out on the LONG course that one out first would go by the pit-out while more cars were still being released. We put out over 70 cars one time, way too many to be safe. "Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances."

Wait! St Jovite? What was the other long Canadian track? West coast or East coast? Bryar? Anyway, we'll get it or we won't...it's still a cool shot.

Speaking of Mid-Ohio....I enjoyed racing with/against Mark Palmer in his MGA. I also liked racing a guy in his loaner Morgan where we were often door-handle-to-door-handle, fighting for a third or fourth place. Maybe fifth. Bill Shields in his MGB would almost always best me in my Speedster...but once in a while....HA!...those truly were "the good old days." I began going to Vineland while in high school in the early '60s and found myself a VERY frustrated spectator. (I need to find those old black and white photos!) I began hillclimbing with my second Speedster. I think I paid Dennis Frick too much, $1,200, for a "race car" that had a water-pipe rollbar....and....and....that was about it. I had to either work at the races or drive in the races, but I couldn't just watch the races, even pro races.

That's a skinny me at Lime Rock in 'the summer of '68, working for Penske Racing, getting race tire take-offs from the Jennings Speedster for my hillclimb Speedster, pictured below.[edit: that was not Penske Racing then, that was before. That was the brief Gene White Racing gig I had after a time with Penske, '66>'67]

I'd sleep with my then-girlfriend in the back of that '68 VW Squareback and tow my Speedster to hillclimbs with it as well. Then, the BIG change came when my draft notice arrived and racing went on hold.

Penske went from a Lola into a deal with Porsche while I was away (in the USAF, no way I was getting drafted!)...a LOT of things went on hold or changed in those following years. I doubt many in our generation can say they were not impacted by that time in our lives.

Bruce

[Victoracing]

Regarding the photo #37208, long downhill:

I believe I found the location, Meadowdale, ILL.
Meadowdale is outside Chicago; I've never been there, but Mark Donohue famously was July 23, 1961.

There is a very similar photo of the USRRC event found in GHOST TRACKS, Pete Hylton, pg.14
The article mentions "the world's longest straightaway" and the front straight dropped downhill after the pit road. The narrow guardrails and tower at top of hill, the access road entering drivers' right all seem to match. The sign on driver's left looks like braking points, better seen on the Turn 1 pic. . . . from that Turn 1 shot......
How about the pedestrian near the first sign? Your photographer? . . that could be a fire extinguisher next to him but thats a bad place for flag station!


Perhaps the place to start checking entry lists, my guess 1958-59. (ED: Track opened Sept.13-14, 1958 and closed 1968.)
Cars #0, 13, 22, 82, are listed by RSC (RacingSportsCars.com) as DNS on one sheet, and entered on another. Typo, not a coincidence I'd say.

I'll even speculate that this was the first race there; fresh earth around guardrails, huge crowds (RSC 125,000) and the guy almost standing on track lead me to think they didn't have their stuff together yet. As mentioned before, early cars in pre-1961 classes. Huge field for the inaugural race. RSC lists 29 entered smallbore race, but there are more cars than that in photo. Lots of late enters and even if they



Both pics found on web currently, I'll credit Hylton but do not know the source of the nice Turn 1 shot.


Gary

[Miracle Man]

Meadowdale is a great suggestion. I couldn't say as I never went there. Definitely not Bryar, I raced that one. Vineland, NJ was a fun place. An oval and drag strip and a road course. Real grandstands on the oval. Always had big entries as it was close to Phila and an easy drive from NYC.

[356]

Enjoying the history guys.
~Vance

Here are several more though I don't know any details. The first two feel like Southern California to me.



This last one I have no clue about.

[Jack Staggs]

The first two look like Santa Barbara [Goleta] .

[356]

Does this track ring any bells?
~Vance

[JR]

Not fakes!
Sebring and Daytona early 60s.
Dick

[Jack Staggs]

Laguna Seca

[356]

Thank you Jack.

[bbspdstr]

84255 with it's original owner, the late G. Nagle Bridwell, and a friend, Frank Robinson, touting a #1 at an east coast track. Note the square roll bar. Also note that it was raced with a hardtop. It was #52, 53 and also 58 or 116. (below, at unknown tracks, one maybe Cumberland)






The upper picture is of Nagle in the car as it was when new with silver paint in 2008, followed by his funeral card last year. Four others owned and raced that Speedster, but it was always known as "Nagle's car."

[Miracle Man]

The first shot of Nagle is at Marlboro for sure. The second is on an airport but I think Montgomery, NY not Cumberland. Cumberland had big hills surrounding the valley. Hah, I went on my website, www.barcboys.com and sure enough that photo was Montgomery 1959. Nagle was 14th and the TR3 of Al Ackerly ended up 21st. I was there and remember it was cloudy and wet. 4 cam Carerra's were still in FP so Nagle was simply outgunned by Harry Blanchard, Frank Wagenhofer, Bill Romig and a bunch of EP AC Bristols. If one of you could teach me how to put a photo on this site I would. I did one, but putting a file in the attachments & Photos box and then hitting submit does not seem to work.

[356]

Try another browser and see if that clears things up.
~Vance