Roger Penske drives the Zerex Special to victory at Riverside Raceway in 1952 | National Speed Sport News and IMRRC archive photoIf you are interested in motorsports history, you’ll want to read “Stopwatch,” the new blog just launched by the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, New York. In the blog, historians and others share stories, images and video as part of the research center’s mission “to collect, preserve and share the global history of motor racing.”
“We chose to call the blog ‘Stopwatch’ because of the obvious relationship to motor racing, but also because we hope to stop time for a few minutes and let our readers savor the great racing stories from the past,” Mitch Bishop is quoted in the announcement. Bishop is a member of the research center board and son of IMSA founder John Bishop.
“The IMRRC collection has grown exponentially over the last 15 years to include more than 5,000 cubic feet of material,” he added. “The new blog is just a first step towards making it easier for racing fans across the globe to experience the fascinating stories contained in the archive.”
The first blogs have been published on the IMRRC website and include “Road Racing Wars,” the inside story of the fight for control of sports car racing after World War II; “Dream Car,” the story of the Alfa Berlinetta that won the first race through the streets of Watkins Glen in 1948; and “An American in France,” a look at Dan Gurney’s first Formula One victory, in the 1962 French Grand Prix.”