Vintage Car Racing
Vintage car racing continues to grow in popularity, and as time goes by, more cars are eligible to compete in this sport which is as much about ‘Show’ as it is about ‘Go’. Vintage car racing has broad appeal to all age groups. Older fans can reminisce about the races they attended in their youth or watched on television, while younger fans are enticed by the retro styling and back to basics design that ruled racing before technology entered onto the scene.
One of the most famous car races of the post-war era was the Carrera Panamericana that was run between 1950 and 1955 across a rough and uneven Mexican course. This race was truly legendary, with Mercedes and Porsche battling American makes such as Lincoln (yes, Lincoln) for the glory of road racing victory. Porsche later celebrated their successes in the race by using the ‘Carrera’ name on some of their more sporty models. The race was revived in the 1980s and is now run by vintage vehicles. I guess one could say, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’.
In the US, vintage auto racing’s home is the historic racetrack at Watkins Glen NY. The track celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998 by hosting the Zippo U.S. Vintage Grand Prix. The event was so well attended and received that the ‘Zip’ has become an annual event. Not only original racecars, but also their original drivers, are featured in the Grand Prix Festival Race Reenactment that runs on the original 6.6 mile long circuit winding its way through the village of Watkins Glen.
