The Logbook

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.

Peter Sachs recalls the very first Ferrari sports car, unveiled in 1947 at the Ferrari factory in Maranello. [Originally posted on www.klemcoll.com]

In honor of Peter Argetsinger, race driver, racing coach, and IMRRC Governing Council member, we have Peter’s 1955 MG-TF sports car on display here at the Center.

Peter O. Argetsinger, a member of the International Motor Racing Research Center’s Governing Council and an international racing champion and respected driving coach, is being remembered across the industry for his talents and joy in the sport.

"History in the Making" Appearing in SportsCar February 2020 by Jeff Jacobs

"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.