Historic Racing Articles
In-depth stories from motorsport history
Indiana Fairgrounds in 1968. Chuck Booth and Wally Meskowski's declaration of love!
It is September 7th, 1968, Chuck Booth (Driver) and Wally Meskowski (Mechanic) at the Hoosier Hundred, USAC Champ Car race, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Photograph courtesy Raymond Golub Memorial Collection
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The strange tale of the Bédélia
This strange vehicle is a Bédélia and as strange as this vehicle looks, the design and engineering process is perhaps even stranger.
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ERA driver Geoffrey Ansell, of Ansell Brewery fame, confirming that the worlds of alcohol and fast-cars don’t mix.
Here he takes the wide line in 1948 at the first British Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone. Due credit should be given for the effort, but apparently he emerged from the devastated straw-bales with nothing worse than a few scratches.
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Innes Ireland taking a unique approach to F1 passenger carrying at Spa in 1961
At the wheel is Maurice 'Le Petoulet' Trintignant, the last pre-war driver to be involved in Formula One. Innes Ireland was a larger-than-life character who, as a rival team boss once said, he..."lived without sense, without an analyst and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone."
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San Diego model Raquel Tejada, later better known as Raquel Welch
Don Cameron receives his just desserts from local beauty Jo Raquel Tajada after winning a West Coast Midget race at Pamona in 1959.
Little did I know when I posted this just two days ago that she would pass away today (15th February 2023). RIP Raquel Welch.
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Little did I know when I posted this just two days ago that she would pass away today (15th February 2023). RIP Raquel Welch.
Major Theodor Weissenbergerr
Major Theodor Weissenbergerr wasn’t really all that popular amongst the allied aeronauts of WW2.
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Reg Parnell at the International Trophy in 1951 navigating the Ferrari Thinwall Special
Here we see Derbyshire pig-farmer Reg Parnell at Lake Silverstone in Tony Vandervell’s privately entered Ferrari. Parnell would use his knowledge of the local tides and currents to beat the finest Grand Prix drivers that the World could then muster.
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Turn 1 at Indianapolis in 1933.
The track has been flooded by un-seasonal rain. Practice is cancelled, leaving you under-employed. You have a flying-helmet, some goggles, and another chap has found a canoe behind the garages.There’s a certain inevitability about what happens next.
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Jimmy Daywalt with the Sumar Special at Indianapolis in 1955.
As originally conceived, The Sumar Special was designed to carry an elegant, all-enveloping bodywork. Which led many motoring writers to describe it as one of the most beautiful cars ever to run in the Indianapolis 500. Except that of course… it wasn't.
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