1960 – USA
At the end of the 1950s decade an average car in th US cost around $2,200 dollars, and a gallon of fuel was about $0.30 cents. Following the technical explosion spurred on by WWII, the 1950s produced some of the most famous, creative and most collectable cars of our time. Some of the new innovations and safety features found in cars from the 1950’s included radial tires, seatbelts, synchronized manual gearboxes, electric windows, electric operated windshield wipers, automatic transmissions, disk brakes, and powersteering.
1960 – 5/30/1960 – Indianapolis 500
At the Indy 500, defending winner, Rodger Ward, takes the lead from three-time runner up Jim Rathmann, but on lap 194 slows with tire trouble and Rathmann retakes the lead on lap 197 and goes on to victory. Tragically, two spectators in the infield are killed, and several are injured, when a homemade scaffolding collapses at the start of the race. This “500” marks the final season that the race counts toward the Formula One World Driving Championship.
The Indy 500 was the last in which all 33 starters were powered by an Offenhauser engine and which featured a 33-car field consisting of all front-engined cars. Dempsey Wilson became the first driver to both start and finish in last position.
1961 – Pikes Peak
Bobby Unser wins the Pikes Peak Hill Climb driving his newest Unser Special. Bobby breaks the 13 minute barrier with a time of 12:56.700.
1962 – Formula 1
Colin Chapman and his crew at Lotus introduced a revolutionary design concept – a Formula 1 car with an aluminum monocoque chassis (replacing the traditional space frame design). Even some sixty years later, Chapman’s design is seen as one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in motor sports history.
1962 – Germany
The Porsche W-RS Spyder, now powered by a 2.0-litre flat-eight engine, continues to build Porsche’s racing reputation by winning everything in sight.
1962 – 5/30/1962 – Indianapolis 500
It’s a historic pole day at the Indy 500, as Parnelli Jones breaks the 150 mph (240 km/h) barrier in qualifying. Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finish 1-2 for Leader Cards Racing Team.
Dan Gurney persuaded England’s Colin Chapman of Lotus to visit and watch the 1962 Indy 500.
1963 – USA/Britain
In the USA a new MG MGB Roadster cost about $2,659.
1963 – 1/1963 – USA
Carroll Shelby and Shelby American signed Dave MacDonald and Ken Miles to drive the new Cobra roadsters. In California they placed first and second at Riverside, beating the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays. Miles is so confident, he pits for a drink of water and then re-laps the Stingrays to finish second behind the race winner and teammate, Dave MacDonald.
1964 – Indianapolis 500
At Indy, the 33-car starting field had a qualifying average over 150 mph for the first time. The speed was 152.540 mph.
1964 – 5/30/1964 – Indianapolis 500
The 48th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1964. It was won by A.J. Foyt. Foyt’s second victory at the Indianapolis 500 is the last Indy 500 win for a front engine race car. The top six finishers in the race were all in front-engined Watson-Offenhausers. Foyt completes the 500 miles at an average speed of 147.350 mph, leading the final 146 laps.
However, the race is primarily remembered for a fiery seven-car accident in turn 2 in which fan favorite Eddie Sachs and rookie Dave MacDonald were killed. Thousands look on while the billowing black smoke becomes visible for miles, and the race is stopped for almost two hours. The second lap inferno brought out the red flag – the first time the 500 was ever stoped for an accident. The fiery accident also resulted in USAC banning gasoline in future races.
By mid race, pole-sitter Jim Clark enjoys a commanding lead before his Dunlop tires degrade, shred and break the car’s suspension. Parnelli Jones takes the lead but he suffers a pit fire and retires from the race. A.J. Foyt takes the checkered flag for the second time, the last time for a front engine roadster, but is visibly subdued in victory lane, after losing his competitor and friend Sachs.
Of the 33 Indy 500 starters, 12 were rear engined. Clark, Dan Gurney and Bob Marshman were the fastest in Lotus Fords but were eventually sidelined.
1964 – 08/02/1964 – NHRA
In his AA/Fuel Dragster, Big Daddy Don Garlits became the first to reach 200 mph in a standing start quarter-mile drag race. Garlits’ record run was 7.78 seconds with a top speed of 201.34 mph.
1964 – 10/7/1964 – Land Speed Record
Art Arfons piloting his vehicle the Green Monster set a new land speed record of 434.022MPH at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
1965 – USRRC
Jim Hall and Chaparral cars of Midland, Texas introduce an innovative new generation of road racing car. Named the Chaparral 2C, it was a shorter, narrower, race car than the established competition, constructed on a lightweight aluminum chassis. The 2C and it’s other variations were 1550lbs (w/fuel) Chevrolet powered rear-engined 327 CI V8 powered race cars producing 450HP at 6500 RPM. An impressive package for the time. More importantly, Jim Hall, his Midland Texas crew and specifically this car, ushered in an era of aerodynamic experimentation not yet seen in major league auto-racing.
The 2C featured a “flipper” rear spoiler, a movable wing mounted between fins on the rear of the body that can be controlled by the driver’s left foot.
While spoilers had previously been used to break the laminar airflow over the rear surface of race cars to reduced lift on the rear of the car, Jim Hall and his crew gave the driver the ability to control the spoiler’s angle of attack to the prevailing airflow. The strategy was to reduce air resistance, or drag, for high speed on the straights, then use maximum air resistance (Downforce) during breaking and for cornering. A 2speed auto-matic transmission was used (rare in motorsports of the time) to free the left foot from clutch duty and allow the driver to control the aero package with the now free foot. Ingenious!
The idea worked so well that the 2C won it’s first race. In fact, for two years the beautiful white Jim Hall Chaparrals dominated the USRRC winning 5 races (50%) in 1964 and 8 of 9 in 1965.
1965 – 5/31/1965 – Indianapolis 500
The five-year old “British Invasion” finally breaks through. After starting on the front row between pole setter and Indy great A.J. Foyt and motorsports legend Dan Gurney, British Formula 1 champion Jimmy Clark goes on to celebrate victory at the Indianapolis 500. Clark’s win in a Lotus 38 (designed by Colin Chapman and the team at Lotus in England) is the first for a rear-engined racer, a Ford V8 powerplant at Indy and also the first victory with an average race speed of over 150 mph (150.686 mph). Clark’s win is also the only time a race driver won the Indy 500 and the F1 Driver’s Championship in the same year.
Arnie Knepper finished 18th in the Tassi Vatis owned Konstant Hot Spl. This was the last Kurtis chassis to race at Indy. And Bob Mathouser attempted to qualify the Chevy powered, front wheel drive, Mickey Thompson built, Challenger at Indy. He hit a speed of 153.374 mph. This remains the fasted lap recorded for a front wheel drive car.
ABC covered the race for the first time on Wide World Of Sports, on a tape-delayed basis.
1965 – Formula One
In Formula One, Jim Clark and Team Lotus are totally dominant all year and Clark secures his second (and last) F1 World Driving Championship.
1965 – 11/2/1965 – Land Speed Record
Craig Breedlove, driving his new jet vehicle the Spirit of America Sonic 1 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, established a new land speed record of 555.483MPH. Breedlove was the first to set records over 400 mph, 500 mph and 600 mph.
1966 – 2/5-6/1966 – Daytona 24 Hour
The first 24 Hour Endurance Race at The Daytona Speedway was held in 1966 and was won by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby driving a Ford GT40 Mk. II.
1966 – 5/22/1966 – F1, Monaco
For the 1966 F1 campaign Bruce McLaren formed his own team. The McLaren marque would make its Formula One debut on May 22, 1966, in the Monaco Grand Prix. The car, M2B chassis ‘2’ was powered by an Indy Ford 4-cam V8 reduced from its Speedway-standard 4.2 litres capacity to the contemporary Formula One limit of 3-litres. The engine would prove to be much louder than quick.
1966 – 6/1966 – 24 Hours of LeMans
America had the British music invasion in ’64, but Europe, and specifically the French, had the American invasion of LeMans in ’66 and it lasted for four consecutive summers.
The Ferrari six year winning streak at The 24 Hrs of Le Mans came to an abrupt end with Ford’s 1-2-3 finish at the 1966 running of the annual 24 hour classic. The experience Ford had gained in ‘64 and ‘65 allowed the new 7-liter Mk II to dominate the race in 1966. The overwhelming victory was all the more fascinating in light of the backstory leading up to that event and the political shenanigans at the finish.
Enzo Ferrari and his race team had captured LeMans six years in a row, 1960-1965, building a healthy reputation in the process. However, a business deal during that time between Ferrari and Ford went bad and Henry Ford Jr. decided to get even. Ford would beat Enzo’s Scuderia in it’s own backyard. By 1966, Ford had teamed up with Texan Carroll Shelby, Holman & Moody from No. Carolina and Alan Mann Racing out of England and created the most dominate sports prototype racer of the decade, the GT40 Mark II (’66) and Mark IV (’67-‘68-’69). As the GT40’s name implies, it was a legend-worthy closed cockpit supercar only 40 inches high, an American V8 powerhouse unleashed on rural French roads. Earlier in the year, Shelby test driver Englishman Ken Miles had managed to win at the ’66 12 Hours of Daytona and the ’66 12 Hours of Sebring with the big 427c.i. Ford, creating high expectations for The LeMans race. Taking no chances, Ford sent no less than eight Mark IIs to La Sarthe for the 1966 24 hour race. With a driver’s lineup that over four years included Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Bruce
McLaren, Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, Denny Hulme, David Hobbs, Graham Hill, Peter Revson, Lloyd Ruby, Brian Redman, Jerry Grant, Chris Amon, Pedro Rodriquez, Lucien Bianchi, Jackie Ickx, Jackie Oliver, Innes Ireland and Jochen Rindt – the competition had little hope. In an ironic twist, Ken Miles and Denny Hulme actually won the ’66 LeMans race, but a planned in-your-face photo finish gave the race win to Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon on a technicality after Miles waited for the other Ford teams on the last lap.
The finish, however, was clouded in controversy. In the final few hours, the Ford GT of New Zealanders Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon were on the same lap as the leading Ford GT driven by Miles and New Zealander Denny Hulme. With a multi-million-dollar race program’s success at stake, Ford team managers faced a difficult choice. They could allow the drivers to race to the finish and risk one or both cars crashing or breaking down.
They could dictate the finishing order to the drivers , making at least two of them very unhappy. Or they could arrange a photo-finish tie, with the McLaren/Amon and Miles/Hulme cars crossing the line side-by-side. Ford management chose the last option and informed McLaren and Miles of the decision just before the two got in their cars for the final stint. The drivers headed out to finish the race. Sometime during that last period, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), organizers of the Le Mans event, informed Ford officials that the difference in starting positions would be taken into account at a close finish. This would mean that the McLaren/Amon racer, which had started perhaps 60 feet (18 m) behind the Hulme-Miles car, would have covered slightly more ground over the 24 hours and would therefore be the winner. Secondly, Ford officials admitted later, the company’s contentious relationship with Ken Miles, its top contract driver, placed executives in a difficult position. They could reward Miles, an outstanding driver who had been at times extremely difficult to work with, or they could decide in favor of the McLaren/Amon team, drivers with less commitment to the Ford program but who had been easier to deal with.
Ford decided to proceed with the photo-finish strategy, but Miles, was having none of it. Ripping through the French countryside at times well over 200mph, apparently deeply unhappy, the Englishman decided to issue a personal protest by suddenly slowing just yards from the finish and letting a surprised Bruce McLaren across the line first. Chaos ensued in the Ford camp.
It was a sad end to what should have been a glorious day for everyone connected with the GT40 LeMans effort. Miles died in testing during the continuing GT40 test program (the J-Car, later to become the Mk IV) at Riverside Raceway just two months later.
1966 – 7/4/1966 – Pikes Peak
Since 1916 The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as “The Race to the Clouds”, has been an annual automobile and motorcycle hillclimb to the summit of Pike’s Peak in Colorado USA. The course measures 12.42 miles (19.99 km) over 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,110 ft (4,300 m), on grades averaging 7%.
The race continues to be on the FIA International Events Calendar and has taken place since 1916, making it the second oldest motorsport event in the United States of America.
On July 4, 1966, Bobby Unser won the event overall for the eighth time in ten years with a record time of 12:23.800. The Pikes Peak was part of the AAA and USAC IndyCar championship from 1946 to 1970.
1966 – 9/11/1966 – Can-Am – St. Jovite, Canada
1964 Formula 1 champion John Surtees wins the inaugural Can-Am Challenge race at St. Jovite, Canada, driving a small block Chevrolet powered Lola T70. Surtees covered the 198.75 mile race distance at an average speed of 94.014 mph. Surtees went on to take the inaugural 1966 Can-Am Championship, winning three of the year’s six races. The Can-Am had evolved from the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) and the new series with its “almost anything goes” philosophy, provided an atmosphere that produced some of the greatest prototype sportscar racers ever seen in the sport. Governed by rules called out under the FIA Group 7 category, Can-Am started out with two races in Canada (Can) and four races in the United States of America (Am). The FIA Group 7 category was essentially a Formula Libre for prototype sports cars; the rules and regulations were minimal and permitted unlimited engine sizes as well as turbocharging and supercharging, with virtually unrestricted aerodynamics. As long as the car had two seats, bodywork enclosing the wheels, and met basic safety standards, it was legal.
1966 – 9/18/1966 – Can-AM – Bridgehampton, NY
Jim Hall and the crew from Chaparral cars in Midland Texas turned the racing world upside down with the introduction of the high-winged Chaparral 2E. Quite simply – There are race car aerodynamics before the 2E and there are race car aerodynamics after the 2E. This car was so bold in addressing the concept of ‘DOWNFORCE’ that most previous thought on race car design had to be reconsidered. The plan for the 2E was really incredibly simple and it’s execution so elegant that it’s arrival at Bridgehampton, NY in ’66 caught the attention of the entire world of auto-racing. Most by surprise.
1966 -10/16/1966 – Can-Am – Laguna Seca, CA
In only its third race, the Can-Am event at Laguna Seca, the revolutionary high-winged Chaparral 2Es of Jim Hall and Phil Hill took the two top qualifying spots and then proceeded to finish 1-2 in the race.
1967 – 2/1967 – The Daytona 500
“All Dixie Mourns Andretti’s Win.” reads a headline in an Atlanta newspaper after Mario Andretti takes the checkered flag and first place at the Daytona 500.
1967 – Indianapolis 500
For the first time, there were no front-engine cars that qualified for the Indy 500. The grid consisted of 32 rear-engine cars, and one side-mounted turbine.
1967 – 6/4/1967 – F1 Dutch Grand Prix
The ground-breaking Lotus 49 wins it’s debut at the Dutch Grand Prix with Jim Clark at the wheel. The car is powered by the Ford-financed Cosworth-built Double Four Valve (DFV) engine. With the new DFV engines the Lotus 49 was powerful and quick and Hill set the fastest time in qualifying, half a second faster than Gurney (EagleT1G) and a full second quicker than Jack Brabham (Brabham BT19). Clark gave the Cosworth DFV a dominate debut victory, beating Jack Brabham by nearly 25 seconds. Denny Hulme was third in the Brabham BT20. The engine became one of the most dominant in racing history, eventually winning 155 grands prix over 17 years. The Dutch GP was the start of a new era in F1 history.
1967 – 6/10/1967 and 6/11/1967 – 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The surprise winners of the 1967 running of the 24 Hours Of Le Mans in France were Americans A.J.Foyt and Dan Gurney who led all but the first 90 minutes of the race and defeated the favored factory Ferrari 330P4 of Italian Lodovico Scarfiotti and Briton Michael Parkes by nearly four laps. Considering their combined careers up to this point, its surprising that the Foyt/Gurney combo, backed by Ford, was not given better odds to win. Maybe it was the Ferrari aura at LeMans or the sheer beauty of the new Ferrari 330P4, arguably one of the most strikingly beautiful race cars of all time. But then, A.J. and Dan were driving what was to become the most formidable sports prototype of the decade. The Ford GT40 Mark IV they piloted was built by Carroll Shelby (of Cobra fame), entered by Shelby American and had a 7.0L (427c.i.) V8 engine and a newly designed low-drag body which increased the top speed of the car on the long straight at Mulsanne to over 220 mph. This remains, to this day, the sole all- American victory at Le Mans: an American-built car, prepared by an American team and driven by an all-American driver lineup.
After winning the 24 Hour Race at LeMans with co-driver A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney spontaneously sprayed champagne from the podium during the trophy presentation and awards ceremony, drenching all within a thirty foot range. This unplanned show of exuberance became a tradition that continues in most professional sports to this day.
1967 – 6/18/1967 – F1 – The Belgium Grand Prix
Just one week after his victory at LeMans, Dan Gurney became the first American driver to win a Formula 1 race piloting an American car. At the Belgiam Grand Prix, Gurney’s Eagle Westlake T1G V12, built by his own company, Anglo American Racers, covered the 28 laps of Spa’s 8.761 mile circuit at an average speed of 145.982 mph. Gurney’s speed thru the Ardennes Forest on public roads, is only about 5mph slower than A.J. Foyt’s winning speed at the recent Indy 500 ( A.J. Foyt was his teammate at LeMans).
Winning Le Mans and the Belgian Grand Prix in quick succession would be remarkable for any driver, but it was especially so for Gurney. He was out to prove Americans could compete with Europe’s best, and in that one week in 1967, he did so in stunning fashion.
Historically, it was the first all American (car and driver) win in a Grand Prix since Jimmy Murhpy and Duesenberg in 1921. At Spa, he became the first of just two F1 drivers to win in a car of their own construction (the other was New Zealand’s Bruce McLaren) and that gorgeous Eagle T1G remains the only American car to win an F1 Grand Prix. Champagne anyone?
1967 – 8/6/1967 – F1 – Germany
The German Grand Prix was the first to be televised in color.
1967 – 10/29/1967 – Can-Am – Riverside, CA
With his victory at Riverside, CA, Bruce McLaren clinches the second year of the Can-Am Championship driving the M6A. His teammate Denny Hulme (having just secured the ’67 F1 Driver’s Championship) piloting an identical small block Chevrolet powered McLaren M6A secures second in the championship.
1967 – 11/26/1967 – IndyCar/F1/NASCAR
With his victory in the 1967 Season’s final Indy Car race at Riverside, Dan Gurney becomes the first racer to win races in Formula 1, NASCAR and Indy Cars. The only other two drivers to accomplish this feat are Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya.
1968 – USA
A new Ford Mustang Shelby GT cost about $3,995.
1968 – 6/09/1968 – F1 – The Belgium Grand Prix
Bruce McLaren secures the first Formula 1 win for Team McLaren in the Belgian GP at Spa- Francorchamp covering 28 laps of the lengthy 8.761 mile circuit (approx.245 miles) at an average speed of 147.133 mph. Like Dan Gurney the year before, Bruce McLaren’s speed over mostly public roads through the Ardennes forest is only about five mph less than the average speed of the ‘68 Indy 500 winner, Bobby Unser (152.882MPH).
1968 – Pikes Peak Hillclimb
Bobby Unser driving the Rislone Special wins the Pikes Peak Hillclimb with a time of 11:54.900, breaking the 12 minute barrier.
1968 – 10/1968 – F1 – The U.S. Grand Prix
In his first Formula 1 race and first time at Watkins Glen for the U.S. Grand Prix, Mario Andretti sticks his Lotus 49B on the pole.
1968 – 11/10/1968 – Can-Am – Las Vegas, NV
With his victory in the final race of the season at Las Vegas, Denny Hulme takes the 1968 Can- Am Championship driving the aluminum big block Chevrolet powered M8A McLaren. Teammate (and team owner) Bruce McLaren (the ’67 champ) placed second in the season championship in the other M8A. By this time other teams had already dubbed the Can-Am series ‘The Bruce and Denny Show’, but there was much more to come.
1969 – 5/30/1969 – Indianapolis 500
Mario Andretti captures his only Indianapolis 500 victory driving the Brawner/Hawk III-Ford. Mario covers the 500 mile race distance at an average speed of 156.867 mph. Andretti crashed in practice and suffered burns two weeks before the race, but he switched to a back-up car and won going away. The type of engine in his car was known to overheat, so Cliff Brawner, his chief mechanic, managed to insert a radiator underneath Mario’s seat, making it the hottest ride Mario had ever driven at the speedway. Mario finished all 500 miles (800 km) just five times, including his 1969 Indianapolis 500 victory. Due to the burns to Mario’s face, for the official front row picture, Mario’s twin brother Aldo stood in for him.
Of note, Mark Donohue finished seventh in Penske Racing’s Indianapolis 500 debut and was named “Rookie of the Year.”
1969 – 11/09/1969 – Can-Am – Texas
Bruce McLaren won the final Can-Am race of the season at Texas International Speedway near Houston with an average speed of 109.845mph. The victory is his sixth victory in 1969, securing the Can-Am driver’s championship. With teammate Denny Hulme’s five victories Team McLaren wins all eleven races in the 1969 Can-Am Series. McLaren victories are all accomplished in aluminum big block Chevrolet powered M8Bs.
1970 – 2/1970 – 12 Hours of Sebring
Mario Andretti’s fierce competitive edge showed itself to advantage in the final hours at Sebring. Apparently, Mario was quite pissed off by a PA announcer screaming that actor Steve McQueen was about to win the 12 Hours of Sebring. In Mario’s mind, McQueen’s co-driver Peter Revson was in the car for the final stint and had logged most of the driving laps for his team. Mario obviously felt the famous was getting an undo share of the credit for the team’s P1 position. Besides, the race wasn’t over yet. To prove what a real race driver could do, Mario Andretti does a “balls out” final stint in his Ferrari 512S and takes the checkered flag and the victory, by 23.8 seconds.
1970 – 3/24/1970 – NASCAR – Talladega
At Talladega, Nascar legend Buddy Baker, driving the Chrysler Engineering #88 Dodge Charger Daytona, officially becomes the first driver in NASCAR history to break the 200 mph barrier by turning a lap of 200.447 mph (322.588 km/h). This was also a World Record at the time for any automobile on a closed course. Buddy’s speed was more than 30 MPH faster than Al Unser Sr.’s pole winning speed of 170.221 MPH at the years Indy 500 two months later. Baker’s speed was recorded using official NASCAR Scoring and Timing equipment.
1970 – 7/12/1970 – Can-Am – Watkins Glen, NY
Jim Hall and Chaparral Cars debuted another revolutionary race car, “The Chaparral 2J”. With 1969 F1 Champion Jackie Stewart at the wheel of this ‘Ground Effect Vehicle’, the car’s cornering ability astounded observers and competitors alike. The 2J appeared to have the potential to be another devastatingly dominant Jim Hall?Chaparral Can-Am race car. Outwardly impressive, the 1,800lb car was powered by a 465ci Chevrolet engine that produced 680HP through an unconventional (for the era) 3 speed automatic transmission. The innovative part was that the rear engined 2J also had a snowmobile motor in the back just for the aero fan. With this, Chaparral became the first race car manufacturer to demonstrate a successful race car with vacuum-assisted roadholding.
The idea was to use a small snowmobile engine to suck air out from under the car, thus creating tremendous downforce and roadgrip. At it’s debut, the 2J embodied features so new, dominant, decisive and outside-the-box the competitors realized that by the time the Chaparral 2J crew had a few races under their belt no one was likely to beat them. Competitors also realized that Jim Hall and his team were now apparently years ahead of everyone in understanding this technology. The howls of protest came from all directions. Of course it was banned by series officials shortly thereafter, never reaching anywhere near it’s full potential.
(Author’s note: I believe that the looks of the car may also have had something to do with it’s quick ouster from the series. Looking more like an oversized Soapbox derby entrant than a sophisticated CAN-AM racer, one competitor was heard to ask “When are they going to take it out of the shipping crate?” CAN-AM officials and promoters were probably having nightmares trying to figure out how to sell an entire grid of these “things” to a 1970 public still enamored with the idea of sleek lines and sensuous curves on a race car. If Jim Hall had covered his new “contraption” in body work resembling a Ferrari 330P4, or even his own 2E, who knows what may have happened.)
The Can-Am race however was another story, Denny Hulme in a McLaren M8D got the pole with a one lap average speed of 131.85 mph (1:02.76 sec). He went on to win the race. Interestingly, Hulmes best times at Watkins Glen in a Can-Am racer are almost identical to the lap times turned in at the Formula One race at “The Glen” only months later (10/4/70) by Jackie Stewart who took the pole with a qualifying lap of 134.136 mph driving a Tyrrell.
1970 – 10/23/1970 – Land Speed Record
At the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Gary Gabelich pilots the rocket-powered (not jet-powered) land speed vehicle “Blue Flame” to a record 630.388MPH, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. becoming the first to break the 1000 km/h barrier. Gabelich’s record stands for the next 13 years.It was the first time the record had been set by a rocket-powered car.
1970 – 11/1/1970 – Can-Am – Riverside, CA
By winning the last three Can-Am races of the season, Denny Hulme secures first place in the championship, driving the McLaren M8D, a Chevrolet aluminum big block powered racer. This was the fourth consecutive Can-Am Championship won by McLaren, (two for Bruce McLaren,’67 & ’69 and two for Denny Hulme, ’68 & ’70) all four in dominating fashion.
1971 – 3/1971 – Formula 1
Mario Andretti fulfills a boyhood ambition and joins the Ferrari F1 team.
1971 – 3/6/1971 – F1 – South African Grand Prix
Driving a Ferrari 312B, Mario Andretti scored his first F1 victory, winning the South African Grand Prix. Jackie Stewart in a Tyrrell Cosworth 001 finished in P2 some 21 seconds behind.
1971 – 5/29/1971 – Indianapolis 500
At this years running of the Indy 500, Eldon Palmer, owner of a local automobile and truck dealership, Palmer Dodge (now Palmer Auto Group), was chosen to provide and drive a pace car for the race when no automakers had taken this opportunity as they had done in the past. In preparation for the race, Palmer set up a traffic cone to provide himself with a reference point for where to begin slowing the car. Unfortunately, just before the race, someone moved the cone without his knowledge, leading to perhaps the most spectacular Indy crash of the ‘70s.
In the car with Palmer on race day were Speedway owner Tony Hulman, longtime ABC television sportscaster Chris Schenkel and astronaut John Glenn. When Palmer realized that the cone was gone, he was well past his breaking point and attempted to stop too quickly, but lost control of the car, which skidded into a temporary grandstand packed mainly with photographers. No one was killed, but 22 were injured, some seriously. Notwithstanding the distraction, Al Unser, Sr. wins for a second year in a row at an average speed of 157.735mph. ABC television broadcasts the race for the first time in same-day tape delay.
Bobby Unser and Al Unser became the first brothers to lead the same Indy 500. Also for the first time, women are given access to the pits at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), home of the Indy 500.
1971 – 10/31/1971 – Can-Am – Riverside, CA
Peter Revson wins five of the season’s ten races to capture the year’s Can-Am Championship. Revson campaigns an aluminum big block Chevrolet powered McLaren M8F, marking the fifth consecutive Can-Am Championship for Team McLaren. Bruce McLaren himself won the Can- Am title in 1967 and 1969, while team-mate Denny Hulme won it in 1968 and (under the shadow of Bruce McLaren’s death in a M8D testing accident) took his second title in 1970. By the end of the ’71 season (’66-’71) the orange cars from Colnbrook, NZ had taken 38 Can-Am victories, while privateer McLaren cars accounted for two more.
1972 – The Daytona 500
AJ Foyt won the Daytona 500 stock car race, becoming the first driver to win the Daytona 500, the Indy 500 and The 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1972 – 10/29/72 – Can-Am – Riverside, CA
Porsche’s return to the Can-Am series results in six victories in the season’s nine races and a driving championship for George Follmer. The turbocharged 5.4L 850 hp (630 kW) 917/10K entered by Penske Racing won the 1972 series with George Follmer, after a testing accident sidelined primary driver Mark Donohue. This broke the five-year stranglehold McLaren had on the series. Follmer and teammate Mark Donohue campaign the 12 cylinder turbo-charged Porsche 917/10K. The car could, according to Porsche engineers, produce over 1,000HP , allowing performance of 0 to 60MPH in 2.1 sec., 0 to 100 in 3.9 sec. and 0 to 200 in 13.4 seconds.
1973 – 10/28/1973 – Can-Am – Riverside, CA
Described as the most powerful closed track race car built to date, the 917/30KL dominated the Can-Am series during the 1973 season. Mark Donohue won six of the season’s eight races to take the prestigious Can-Am Championship for ’73. Mark and teammate, defending series champion George Follmer, campaigned the seemingly invincible Porsche racecar. Donohue’s advanced 917/30KL reportedly produced 1100 to 1200HP in race trim, while weighing in at under 2300lbs (including driver and full fuel). With full boost in testing, the 5.3L 12 cylinder twin turbo-charged Porsche could generate 1500+HP. This car could, according to Porsche engineers, allow performance of 0 to 60MPH in 1.9 sec., 0 to 100 in 3.4 sec. and 0 to 200 in 10.9 seconds with a top speed of over 260MPH. Simply awesome! – The ‘Unfair Advantage’ indeed!
The astonishing high-level of performance and frightening fuel consumption of the engines, and ever increasing risk of these speeds and a large fuel load, has led many experts to believe the 917/30 was the car that finally killed Can-Am racing with the then current rules and regulations (1966-1974). The 917 was also the only championship winning car in Can-Am not to be powered by Chevrolet.
Can-Am was the birthplace and proving ground for (what was at the time) outrageous automotive technology. Can-Am cars were among the first race cars to feature wings, effective turbocharging, ground-effect aerodynamics, and aerospace materials like titanium. During it’s height, Can-Am cars were at the cutting edge of racing technology and frequently set lap times as fast as, or even faster (around laps of circuits used by both series) than Formula One cars of the era.
1975 – 8/09/1975 – Talladega Speedway
Mark Donohue set a closed course world speed record at Talladega Speedway in a Porsche 917/30. His speed of 221.160 would stand for four years.
1975 – 8/19/1975 – Indy/Can-Am/F1
1972 Indy 500 winner and 1973 Can-Am series champion, Mark Donohue dies from head injuries sustained during practice at the Austrian F1 Grand Prix.
1975 – 9/7/1975 – F1 – The Italian Grand Prix
At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Niki Lauda’s third place finish in a Ferrari, is enough to secure his first F1 World Championship.
1975 – USAC
AJ Foyt became the USAC national driving champion for a record sixth time.
1976 – 10/24/1976 – F1 – The Grand Prix of Japan
At the conclusion of the Japanese Grand Prix at Mt. Fuji, McLaren driver James Hunt is crowned world champion. This was the first F1 grand prix held in Asia (Japan).
1977 – F1- Europe/UK
The Lotus 78 Ground-Effects car is introduced. Mario Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson are signed to pilot the new design for the ’77 F1 campaign.
1977 – 4/03/1977 – Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach/F1
Mario Andretti wins the United States Grand Prix Formula 1 race at Long Beach in California. Mario’s win is the first by a U.S. driver at a U.S. F1 race. Andretti (John Player Lotus) edged Niki Lauda (Ferrari) by .773 seconds before 65,000 in the race that helped solidify the Long Beach race’s future. Jody Scheckter (Wolf Ford) was third.
1977 – 5/14/1977 – Indianapolis 500
Pole-sitter Tom Sneva becomes the first competitor to officially record a 200mph (200.535mph) lap during qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).
1977 – 5/22/1977 – Indianapolis 500
On the final day of qualifying in 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first female to qualify for the Indy 500.
“Just a few years earlier, women had not even been allowed in the press box at Indianapolis, much less the garage area or the pits. A woman might be a reporter, a photographer, a timer/ scorer, she might own the race car–but she couldn’t get near it at any time for any reason. A woman on the track itself was unthinkable.” Janet Guthrie.
1977 – 5/29/1977 – Indianapolis 500
A.J. Foyt, Jr., driving his own Coyote-Foyt-Ford, becomes the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 with an average speed of 161.331 mph. Gordon Johncock, in his DGS Wildcat, led 129 laps and had a 16 second lead on A.J. Foyt one lap after final pit stops when his crankshaft broke.
After becoming the first woman to qualify for the race, aerospace engineer Janet Guthrie broke the gender barrier, becoming the first woman to compete at Indy. She finished 29th out of 33 cars when her timing gear failed on lap 27 but secured a place in history nevertheless. The next year (1978) she placed in the top 10. Her helmet and race suit would later become a part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection.
1979 – 2/1979 – NASCAR – The Daytona 500
In 1979, the Daytona 500 became the first stock car race that was nationally televised from flag to flag on CBS. The leaders going into the last lap, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, wrecked on the backstretch while dicing for the lead, allowing Richard Petty to pass them both and win the race. Immediately, Yarborough, Allison, and Allison’s brother Bobby were engaged in a fistfight on national television. This underlined the drama and emotion of the sport and increased its broadcast marketability. Luckily for NASCAR, the race coincided with a major snowstorm along the United States’ eastern seaboard, successfully introducing much of the captive audience to the sport.
1979 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/F1
Gilles Villeneuve was fastest qualifier in his Ferrari and ran a mistake-free race for the victory as only nine F1 cars completed the race. It was the debut of the soon-to-be-dominant 1.5-liter turbo Renaults, which practiced and qualified but did not race because of broken driveshafts. Jody Scheckter P2 (Ferrari) and Alan Jones P3 (Saudia/ Williams) shared the podium with Villeneuve.
1980 – 5/25/1980 – Indianapolis 500
Johnny Rutherford, driving the innovative Jim Hall designed Chaparral 2K ground effects race car, took the checkered flag at the Indy 500 with an average speed of 142.862mph (he qualified on the pole at 192.257mph). Jim Hall’s radical new Chaparral 2K chassis drove a flawless race, after being a heavy favorite entering the month.
Tom Sneva broke an Indy 500 record by becoming the first driver to start last (33rd) and lead the race. Sneva led two times for 16 laps. Sneva also became the first driver to start last and finish in 2nd place. Johnny Rutherford started 1st and finished 1st, while Tom Sneva who started 33rd finished 2nd. The first time the first and last place starters finished first and second.
Rutherford, the winner in ’74 and ’76, became the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 three times. Rutherford would go on to take the Chaparral 2K and win the 1980 PPG Indy Car World Series Championship.
An Offenhauser engine ran in the Indy 500 for the last time in 1980, completing 46 consecutive years of competition.
1982 – Formula 1
The brilliant Colin Chapman and his F1 think tank at Lotus, unveiled a new active suspension system, signaling the start of an era of electronic driver aids in advanced race cars.
1983 – 5/29/1983 – Indianapolis 500
Three-time runner up Tom Sneva is stuck behind the lapped car of Al Unser,Jr., who is helping protect the lead of his father Al Unser Sr. despite being shown the blue “move-over” flag. Late in the race, Sneva takes advantage of some slower cars to pass both Unsers in daring moves on the main stretch and third turn on lap 190. Sneva goes on to take the checkered flag and a well deserved Indy 500 win.
1984 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/CART
In 1983, faced with increasing F1 prize purses, skyrocketing sanctioning fees and increasing shipping charges to move vast amounts of the F1 circus from Europe to the U.S. West Coast, race founder Chris Pook was approached by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and agreed to host the Champ Car/CART series and make their Long Beach debut in 1984.
It was a new era that dawned at Long Beach as CART and the superb Indy Car Championship Series replaced the much more-costly-to-stage F1 contest. But one thing stayed constant – Mario Andretti was still the guy to beat! He won in ’84 Cart debut at Long Beach in a Budweiser Lola, becoming the race’s first two-time winner and the first to win in both F1 and CART machinery as he beat Geoff Brabham’s Kraco March to the checkered flag by more than a minute. Tom Sneva (Texaco March) was third.
Once again, Mario Andretti had ridden to the rescue at “The Roar at the Shore”.
“We weren’t exactly sure if the Champ Cars would have the same mystique for race fans,” said event director Jim Michaelian. “But we didn’t miss a beat.” Mario, put his Budweiser-Haas Lola under the checkered flag … and again put the race back into headlines around the country. Since then American drivers have dominated the streets of Long Beach ever since, winning 16 of 34 Indy Car races (as of 2019).
When Indy cars arrived at Long Beach in 1984, the circuit was shortened to 1.67 miles in length, then was shortened again to 1.586 miles where it remained until 1999. The one lap distance is 1.968 miles as of 2019.
1984 5/27/1984 The Indianapolis 500 At the Indy 500, an exciting first half turns dull as defending champion Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti fall out late with mechanical trouble, leaving pole winner, Rick Mears in a March, the winner of the Indy 500 by over two laps.
The most cars ever entered for the Indy 500 came in 1984 with 117 cars vying for the 33 spots on the starting grid.
1984 – 6/3/1984 – F1 – The Grand Prix of Monaco
The ’84 F1 race at Monaco was the race where Ayrton Senna established himself as a bona fide F1 superstar. For only his sixth F1 race, in a dry qualifying session the Brazilian driver could only manage to qualify 13th on the grid, but conditions on race day were considerably wetter. That weekend the new Toleman TG184 was introduced, a deal with Michelin was completed, and the team took a leap forward in competitiveness. The team further improved matters by increasing the engine’s power and Michelin provided the latest-spec wet tires. With the advantages of his rivals’ more competitive cars blunted by the rain, Senna charged through the field, picking off drivers like Keke Rosberg and Niki Lauda. It was preview of the classic Senna, at his best in torrential rain. He then began closing down on leader Alain Prost at three to four seconds per lap. But just as an unlikely victory seemed possible, the race was red- flagged as Senna was deciding how to pass his future nemesis, so he didn’t get to complete what would have been one of the wonderful underdog stories in F1 history. Though Senna was initially disappointed to have to settle for P2 behind winner Alain Prost, the race being stopped was probably a blessing in disguise for Ayrton as he’d earlier damaged his suspension and if the race had not been red-flaged at that time, it’s unlikely he would have finished the full distance. The magnitude of what he achieved that day proved that Ayrton didn’t just have F1 potential – he had arrived.
1984 – 7/4/1984 – NASCAR
With his win at the Firecracker 200 at Daytona on July 4, Richard Petty became the first driver in NASCAR history to win 200 races.
1984 – 9/1984 – CART/(IndyCar)
Rick Mears incurs seriously injures to his feet in a crash at Sanair Super Speedway in September.
1984 – CART/(IndyCar)
Mario Andretti won the CART(IndyCar) championship, his fourth (the first three were USAC titles). Andretti was the first to win titles in USAC/CART and the Formula One championship.
1985 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/CART
Polesitter Mario Andretti held off some early challenges to win handily in his Beatrice Lola but, behind him, fuel economy was the deciding factor. Hard-charging Danny Sullivan (Miller March) ran out of fuel a scant 120 yards short of the finish line, handing second place to Emerson Fittipaldi and his 7-Eleven March.
1985 – CART/(IndyCar)
In CART(IndyCar), Al Unser Sr. edged his son Al Jr. for the title by only 1 point.
1986 – Formula 1
In Formula 1 racing, computer technology began to find it’s way into the design of the cars. The computers monitored fuel consumption, the level of boost the driver was using, fuel consumption and more. The computer was connected to a data link on the car which downloaded the info to the pits each lap, so the team manager could radio back race status and instructions each lap. The teams using Honda engines took the concept further. They relayed real time data by satellite back to Tokyo for analysis by Honda engineers.
1986 – 4/1986 – USA
The premier issue of David E. Davis’ new publication Automobile magazine is released.
1986 – 4/13/1986 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/CART
Two up-and-coming youngsters, both sons of Indy Car royalty – Michael Andretti (Kraco/STP March) and Al Unser Jr. (Domino’s Pizza Lola) – gave a hint of things to come in front of 77,500 fans, dueling through the final laps before Andretti edged Unser at the checkered flag by only 0.38 seconds…or 44 feet! Another offspring, of F1 royalty, Geoff Brabham, snuck his Valvoline Lola by Tom Sneva for third place.
1987 – Formula 1
In Formula 1 racing, Lotus developed and manufactured a computer controlled suspension (called “active suspension”) for it’s new Honda powered V6 Lotus 99T/4, to be driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Reading sensors that monitored speed, acceleration and various G- loads, the computer adjusted the parameters of the suspension through electro-magnetic valves on the damper units, theoretically resulting in optimum grip and ride. Senna scored the first wins for the technology in Monaco and Detroit but still came in third in the driver’s championship to the two William’s drivers Piquet and Mansell.
1987 – 4/30/1987 – Talladega Speedway
Bill Elliott sets the all-time NASCAR qualifying record at Talladega Speedway, winning the pole for the Winston 500 with a speed of 212.809. Due to mandated restrictor plates in 1988 Bill’s record still stands.
1987 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/CART
Ilmor-Chevrolet power ruled the streets of Long Beach as Mario Andretti grabbed the pole and, on race day, ran away and hid in his Hanna Lola. His victory margin over Al Unser Jr. (Domino’s Pizza March) was a phenomenal one lap-plus-29.35 seconds, or almost 2.5 miles! Tom Sneva
(Skoal Bandit March) finished third and Michael Andretti was fourth, nearly 3.25 miles behind his father.
1987 – 5/31/1987 – F1 – The Grand Prix of Monaco
Ayrton Senna was truly the master of Monte Carlo’s tight and twisting city streets taking his first Monaco F1 victory in his Lotus/Honda. Senna would go on to record six victories in Monaco during his shortened career. Unlike his later wins, this one owed as much to luck as skill. As expected, the three leading Honda-engined cars were at the front as usual with Nigel Mansell taking pole in his Williams, Ayrton Senna second in the Lotus and Nelson Piquet third in the second Williams.
At the start Mansell went straight into the lead. The Brazilian was second with Piquet third ahead of Alboreto, Prost and Cheever. The order at the front remained unchanged until lap 30 when Mansell slowed with a turbo failure. Senna went into the lead and remained there all the way to the flag, despite stopping for fresh tires late in the race. Piquet stayed second while Prost moved to third, passing Cheever who had run third for much of the race.
1988 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/CART
“Little Al” Unser came up big and went Mario Andretti one better, winning his first Long Beach race by one lap plus 33 seconds, leading for 73 of the race’s 95 laps in his Valvoline March. More than 84,000 fans watched as Bobby Rahal (Budweiser Lola) and Kevin Cogan (Schaefer/ Playboy March) followed Unser Jr. across the finish line.
1989 – Formula 1
Ferrari introduced a new, seven speed semi-automatic transmission that featured, for the first time, a paddle type gear selector.
1989 – Grand Prix of Long Beach/CART
It was Little Al for the second year in a row…but this time his win wasn’t quite so popular! Dicing with Mario Andretti in the closing laps, Unser locked his brakes and spun Andretti off- course in Turn 3. Unser went on to win in his Valvoline Lola by 12 seconds over Michael Andretti (K/Mart/Havoline Lola) and Emerson Fittipaldi (Marlboro Penske), but was greeted by a hearty chorus of boos on his victory lap.
1989 – 5/7/1989 – F1 – The Grand Prix of Monaco
At the start of the Monaco Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna, driving the years dominate McLaren Honda, took the lead from teammate Alain Prost. The two McLarens remained at the front all afternoon with Senna winning by almost a minute without any real challenge to his domination. Senna had secured the pole by over one second to Prost, his closest competitor and in the race proved that gap was no fluke. After the race it was determined that Senna had been running at this pace having lost first and second gears, which are generally considered essential to good performance on the twisting city street circuit at Monte Carlo.
1989 – 10/22/1989 – F1 – The Japanese Grand Prix
A year on from Ayrton Senna’s inaugural title triumph at Suzuka, the Brazilian and arch rival, McLaren teammate Alain Prost, again arrived in Japan in the thick of a title battle, only this time relations between the two men were much more hostile.
Three weeks after Ayrton Senna’s dominant victory at the Spanish GP, the Brazilian needed to win again in Japan to keep the World Championship unresolved going into the last race of the year in Australia. Seemingly in top form, Senna took pole position ahead of the F1 World Championship points leader, Prost, in second. The Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell shared the second row.
At the green light, Prost made a good start and took the lead. Prost stayed in front for the first half of the race and inched away to build up a lead of five seconds. Then Senna began to catch up to him and by lap 40 they were only a second apart. Prost had the advantage on the straights, Senna was better in the corners.
Prost had led for most of the race, but by lap 46 Senna had closed in enough on his teammate to have a run up the inside into the chicane. The pair tangled and came to a halt, their cars locked together. Prost, thinking the World Championship was over, climbed out of the cockpit and abandoned his McLaren, but Senna, never one to give up easily, had, with a little help from the marshals, gotten his car started and fought his way back into the race. Senna’s pace was furious and merciless. On lap 50 Ayrton sliced past the leader, Benetton driver
Alessandro Nannini, at the chicane to take the lead. Against all odds, Senna had won the race. His subsequent disqualification from P1 (for not re-entering the track in the proper manner), had, in his mind, cost Ayrton the ’89 World Championship title. McLaren appealed the decision but the FIA Court of Appeal not only upheld the decision but subsequently fined Senna $100,000 and gave him a suspended six month ban. To Ayrton, who felt he was cheated out of a championship, the entire ordeal would leave a bitter taste in his mouth for years to come.
