During the early fifties, one of the biggest sports stars in the United States was Sam Hanks. Notice I said...
This is a little-known story, but the real father of Riverside Raceway was Jim Peterson. I thought this would be...
I remember that the Reader’s Digest used to have a series of articles titled some-thing like “The Most Unforgettable Character I’ve Ever Met.” High on my own list of such characters is my close friend, Andy Porterfield. Andy is amazing for a number of reasons. Among other accomplishments, Andy has...
There is a man who is not only unknown to the general public but also to much of the racing...
During the early fifties, road racing in the United States took place, for the most part, at airports. While airports...
During the fifties, Aston Martin produced sports cars with the designation, DB, which, of course, stands for David Brown. In addition to the 2-door hardtops—called saloons by the factory—a series of open sports cars, actually sports racers (later called sports racing cars), were constructed, raced by the factory and sold...
On August 28, we lost our great and good champion, Phil Hill. The entire world of motor sports is saddened....
Like many other sports during WWII, automobile racing experienced a hiatus. Soon thereafter, however, competition resumed. The Formula One World...
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...
In the February 2010 edition of Vintage Racecar, editor Casey Annis reported that a concours d’provenance had been held in...
Whether or not most of us realize it, a most unusual man is among us. Until the late ’50s, he...
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...
On August 4, 2007, an icon of American racing and my dear friend, John Fitch, turned 90 years old! In...
Until Sir Jack Brabham won the Times Grand Prix in 1961, the Ken Miles-driven, John Von Neumann-owned Porsche-Cooper was the...
During the fifties, everyone’s hero was Juan Manuel Fangio. He won the World Driving Championship five times, an achievement that would not be equaled for almost 50 years. The race that put the fifth crown on his head was at the world’s most challenging circuit, the old Nürburgring. At the...
My first car after leaving active duty in the Army in 1953 was a 1948 Buick convertible that I sort...
Although there were a number of pre-WWII cars that can be described as sports cars, the craze in the U.S....
I had just been discharged from the Army and was pursuing my education with the help of the GI Bill. My Uncle Phil, who had just bought a new Austin Healey 100, invited me to go with him to a sports car race at Palm Springs. I didn’t know what...
There were a number of outstanding road-race weekends during the fifties. Phil Hill’s win at the first Pebble Beach comes...
By 1963, Cobras were doing very well in Sports Car Club of America races. Cars driven by Shelby American drivers...
I don’t remember when I first met Lance Reventlow, but it must have been through my buddy, Bruce Kessler, who was Lance’s best friend. Lance became a significant figure in fifties-era racing because of his creation of the Scarabs. I knew him, but not well, so recently I talked with...
Art Evans There used to be a monthly feature in the Reader’s Digest called something like “The Most Unforgettable Character...
I’m writing this column during the waning days of 2006. Fifty years is traditionally a significant anniversary. What I remember...
Art Evans Fifty years ago, the world-famous Laguna Seca race course was created by a tree. It’s interesting as well as tragic to see how it happened. Interesting in that a lot of circumstances had to come together; tragic in that it involved the death of a good friend. First,...
It is well known that some great stock car road racing took place at the Riverside International Raceway. Dan Gurney...
Southern California has always been a hotbed of car aficionados. The hot rod craze started there and, after WWII, it...
During the Fifties and Sixties, one of the most popular sports car racing venues in the West was Palm Springs. The very first race organized by the California Sports Car Club was held there on April 16, 1950. The location had a lot going for it. It is a resort...
For two consecutive years—1969 and 1970—Porsche won the World Manufacturers Championship. Brian Redman was an important part of the teams,...
For the last 20 years or so of his life, Rodger Ward and I were friends. Even though I had met him only once during the fabulous fifties when he drove a customer’s Devin SS when I was the Devin distributor. We became close friends when I asked him to...
