Article by Ben Kuhl.
Driving a vintage racecar, at its core, is an expression of passion toward a sport that came long before us and will continue eons past our mortal existence. What amplifies that passion even more is when the venue where racing is taking place boasts of a history that is world renown in its legends and lore. My own recent expression of passion took place while participating in the 2021 Trans Am Speed Fest, hosted by the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA).
Today’s 2.2-mile layout of WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway began in 1950 as the Pebble Beach Road Race, and utilized the winding roads and dense pine trees of Del Monte Forest for its backdrop. It would take another six years and the death of Ernie McAfee at the wheel of his Ferrari 121 LM to encourage the surrounding communities to prompt the founding of the local organization, SCRAMP, to oversee the creation of a dedicated track.
SCRAMP would acquire a dried-up lakebed from the then-operational Fort Ord Army base for $3,000 (now close to thirty thousand dollars when adjusted for inflation). Then for the cost of $125,000 ($1.2 million when adjusted for inflation) a 1.9-mile high-speed racetrack was created that would remain mostly unchanged until speeds continued to rise, bringing forth a need for further revision. From 1988 on, the track and surrounding facilities would see safety improvements, lengthening and added configuration features, along with renovations which today are seeing a renewed burst of traction under the caring stewardship of the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation.
Arriving at the track and setting up inside the paddock impressed upon me a surreal feeling that would last the full three days of the Trans Am Speedfest. No matter where you walk, you are surrounded with the racing history of the rich sense of the legends that came before us in motorsports.
In 1965 a rookie Scotsman by the name of Stewart would make his American debut and finish an unassuming 13th in his road race at Laguna Seca. Thankfully, things would look up as this very same Scotsman would go on to be a triple Formula 1 World Champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973.
In 1996, Alex Zanardi cemented himself in racing history books with a fantastic last-lap pass in Laguna Seca’s famous Corkscrew — the pass, by tossing his No.4 Ganassi Racing Raynard down the inside of driver Bryan Herta who had nearly secured a win for his No.28 Rahal Reynard.
Taking to the track for the first time in the reliably hazy Monterey peninsula morning was equal parts awe inspiring, humbling, terrifying and fun. The track winds and flows with turns 3, 4, 5 and 6, rewarding those who have the fortitude to carry speed through each corner. Going through the world renown Corkscrew for the first time caused parts of my body to clench that had never done so before, but it would be the next two corners that arguably provided more fear and fun. The Turn 9 Rainey Curve provides a significant amount of elevation change and gives the sensation of driving down a mountain. Get it right and you feel like a hero just long enough to set-up for turn 10 where the track quite literally grabs you in and spits you out towards turn 11.
It took a village to make it through the entire weekend. Mechanical gremlins were chased and remedied in what seemed like the nick of time. The frantic racetrack schedule left little time to rest or find a sense of stability which left me feeling like a small Elden in a big field of Formula Fords (nearly 30). Calming words would come from Paul Pfanner, whose passion and dedication to motorsports is truly something to aspire to.
The expression of passion that followed would mark my own entry into the history books of WeatherTech Laguna Seca. No records were broken, no last-ditch Corkscrew pass was completed, no driver will be moving onto the top echelons of motorsports. Instead, as young student of the sport I would race where giants stood, where a track in the face of a global pandemic would profoundly refuse to become a source of tales only of the past. SVRA, WeatherTech Laguna Seca and the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation are allowing the sport of vintage auto racing to live on one lap at a time.
