George Haddad’s Fabulous Restorations creates a picture-perfect TRIBUTE: PENSKE’S DAYTONA-WINNING L88 CORVETTE Sting Ray, GT-Class winner of the 1966 24-Hour Continental.
Thanks to Fabulous Restorations, a mouth-watering recreation of Penske Racing’s first race car, the L88 Corvette that scored The Captain’s first win as a team owner in its debut in the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental - now the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It’s now on display at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach...
Read More
Roger Penske
AMELIA ISLAND: ROGER PENSKE CARS
Thanks to our intrepid Team Matune, we celebrate Roger Penske’s racing successes showcased this year at AMELIA ISLAND: ROGER PENSKE CARS.
It’s Saturday afternoon at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance (AICE) and cars begin moving onto the show field, including a unique array of cars associated with Roger Penske. They come from his years as a driver, a team owner and constructor. Leading a line of impressive racers is Shamrock Motors’ 67 Lola T70 in the Sunoco Blue so often associated with the ...
Read More
PENSKE: HAT TRICK AT BAHAMAS SPEED WEEKS
An unprecedented reunion of Roger Penske’s three Bahamas Speed Weeks winners – Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder, Corvette Grand Sport, below, and Chaparral 2 – will be celebrated at the Silver Anniversary Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
As the calendar wound toward the final month of 1960 the entire road-racing universe looked to Bahamas Speed Weeks, a week long party, race meeting and celebration. It drew racers from all disciplines of motorsport, from NASCAR to go-karts; sports car champs to Indy 5...
Read More
AUTO SHOW: I LOVE NEW YORK!
From Manhattan to Buffalo to Saratoga Springs and beyond, many people are surprised to learn that New York State was once home to over 100 different automobile manufacturers. The 2017 New York International Automobile Show is celebrating New York State's automobile heritage with a special exhibition, curated by the Saratoga Automobile Museum. Here are just some of the vehicles - manufactured or raced in New York - on display at NYIAS at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
...
Read More
1967-2016 CAMAROS: PACING THE INDY 500!
Nine pace cars trace the history of Camaro at the Brickyard, pacing the Indianapolis 500.
Among the milestones surrounding the 100th running of the Indy 500 this weekend is Chevrolet’s legacy as supplier of the official pace car – an honor it has held more than any other manufacturer. A unique version of the new ‘17 Camaro SS 50th Anniversary Edition will lead the field on Sunday, May 29, driven by motorsports legend Roger Penske. It’s the 27th time since 1948 that a Chevrolet has served as t...
Read More
KARTING: HOW TO SAVE AUTO RACING!
Every motorsports enthusiast is painfully aware that racing, in general, is experiencing tough times. Fewer fans are in the stands, and those fans are aging. The question is, what to do about it?
Everyone has an opinion but the basics are pretty straightforward. People who don't care much about automobiles will care even less about watching them compete. Public interest in the automobile is waning, and the reasons are spelled out in my previous article on the topic.
Perhaps the mos...
Read More
PENSKE’S L&M 917 PORSCHE: UNTOLD STORY OF CAN-AM’S MOST FAMOUS CAR!
Stephen Cox blogs about the most iconic of the thundering Turbo Porsche 917s.
Part VI: The Title.
“The talk around the pit area was that no one could touch them. They knew that it was the beginning of the end of Can-Am. The L&M Porsche was making history.” – Marilyn Motschenbacher Halder.
No other track on the Cam-Am schedule offered sweet corn and bratwurst like the little food stand at Elkhart Lake. Everyone on the circuit looked forward to it. The stand remains there today, j...
Read More
PENSKE’S L&M 917 PORSCHE: UNTOLD STORY OF CAN-AM’S MOST FAMOUS CAR!
Stephen Cox blogs about the most iconic of the thundering Turbo Porsche 917s.
PART III: The Replacement.
“We drove by the seat of our pants. We had to muscle the car around the track. We did not have cool suits.” – George Follmer
George Follmer arrived in Atlanta early Friday morning in a rented Ford Crown Victoria.
“I didn’t know him from Adam,” said chief mechanic Woody Woodard. “But I’d certainly heard his name. He was a good guy.”
Marilyn Motschenbacher Halder, then marrie...
Read More
PENSKE’S L&M 917 PORSCHE: UNTOLD STORY OF CAN-AM’S MOST FAMOUS CAR!
Stephen Cox blogs about the most iconic of the thundering Turbo Porsche 917s.
PART II: The Accident.
“A doctor specializing in football injuries told him, no, his sore left knee was really a knot of shredded ligaments. There was surgery and a six week plaster cast and a career grounded.” – Pete Lyons, Road & Track.
The story had to be cleaned up for the press.
If the truth came out on national television, nobody at Porsche or Penske Racing was going to be happy about it...
Read More
PENSKE’S L&M 917 PORSCHE: UNTOLD STORY OF CAN- AM’S MOST FAMOUS CAR!
Stephen Cox blogs about the most iconic of the thundering Turbo Porsche 917s.
Part 1, The Beginning.
“I loved those days. I loved those times. I loved the people. It wasn’t like now where everybody goes and hides in their motor homes. Everyone was there for each other.” – Marilyn Motschenbacher Halder
Mosport International Raceway had an innocent charm that’s long been missing from today’s clinical, overly sanitized racecourses. The grass was too high. There were no sand traps.
The ...
Read More