The Logbook

"A Big Hill to Climb" Appearing in SportsCar January 2020 by Jeff Jacobs

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.

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.

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.

The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), in partnership with the Society of Automotive Historians and the Popular Culture Association’s Vehicle Culture Area, will present "The Cultural Turn Meets the First Turn: Writing Motorsports History" at the fifth annual Michael R. Argetsinger Symposium on International Motor Racing History.

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.

"Back and Forward" Appearing in SportsCar September 2019 by Jeff Jacobs

The International Motor Racing Research Center celebrated Vintage Weekend with a program and displays related to the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival and the Hilliard U.S. Vintage Grand Prix, which was held Sept. 5 through 8.

"Runoffs Past" Appearing in SportsCar October 2019 by Jeff Jacobs

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.