
Long-Running Safety Revolution Saved Newman
March 2, 2020
Ryan Newman's recent horrific crash on the last lap of this year's Daytona 500 reminded all of us that motorsports can be a dangerous game. Jonathan Ingram, author of the recently released book "Crash," sees Newman's survival as a natural result of the positive steps that have been taken over the past 30 years to ensure driver safety.
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Early Days In Maranello
February 17, 2020
Peter Sachs recalls the very first Ferrari sports car, unveiled in 1947 at the Ferrari factory in Maranello. [Originally posted on www.klemcoll.com]
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1975 - The First 24 Hours of Daytona Sanctioned by IMSA
January 20, 2020
It was 45 years ago on February 1-2, 1975 that IMSA began sanctioning the 24 Hours of Daytona, an event that Bill France Sr. had built into international prominence starting in 1962 with a 3-hour Daytona Continental. With excerpts from "IMSA 1969-1989," Mitch Bishop recalls the 1975 event and how it propelled Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood to stardom.
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A Truly Secret Test of the Porsche 917
December 23, 2019
Much of the development of the now-iconic Porsche 917 was conducted in secret before running its first few races in 1969. What was not a secret was the car had significant handling issues, especially at high speed. Porsche engineers worked on the issue throughout the 1969 season, but it was a hunch and a bit of aerodynamic patchwork that solved the problem. In this post from noted Porsche 917 author Jay Gillotti, he recounts the top-secret test at the end of 1969 at Daytona that would ultimately determine the fate of the 917.
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When 24 = 6: The Story Behind the 1972 Daytona “24 hours”
November 5, 2019
The 24 Hours of Daytona is one of the most prestigious sports car endurance races on the international racing calendar today. But it wasn't always run as a "once around the clock" event. Find out why in this story from contributor Martin Raffauf, who has attended a fair number of these events himself in the last 50 years.
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CRASH! From Senna to Earnhardt - How the Hans Helped Save Racing
October 8, 2019
In this excerpt from the recently released book on the development of the Hans device, Jonathan Ingram tells the story of Jim Downing's awakening to the dangers of frontal impact in race cars. It was from this awakening that Jim and co-inventor Dr. Robert Hubbard came up with the idea for the life-saving Hans device that is now used by more than 275,000 drivers globally.
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The First Porsche 917 - Chassis 001
August 26, 2019
The Porsche 917 holds a special place in the hearts of many race fans. Its flat-twelve cylinder engine sounded like nothing else on the planet and its sleek design set a benchmark for all that followed. This is the story of the very first 917 - chassis number 001.
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When Bill France, Sr. and Jr. Went IMSA Racing
August 6, 2019
IMSA was just a year old when it held one of its first sedan races at Alabama International Motor Speedway (now Talladega) in November 1970. To show their support, NASCAR founder and IMSA investor Bill France, Sr. and his son, Bill France, Jr., drove matching Ford Cortinas in the race. Here are some rare photos from the IMSA collection at the IMRRC that document the day.
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Alan Kulwicki and the 1992 Winston Cup Title
July 16, 2019
The fight for the 1992 Winston Cup championship came down the wire at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was a duel between a number of drivers that had a mathematical chance at winning the coveted NASCAR title. Read about how it all went down in this recap from historian Don Capps.
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GRAN PREMIO LIBERTAD: Memories of the 1960 Havana Speed Weeks in Cuba
July 9, 2019
This fascinating first-hand account by Luis Martinez tells the story of the Grand Prix race held on an airport circuit in Havana, Cuba in 1960 and includes some very rare photos from the event.
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