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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Motor sports > General
This is the third and final volume in a series exploring the
history of sports car racing in the Southern United States. With
the exception of the Sebring 12 Hours, the meets were largely
ignored by the national press, and no comprehensive research
material is available for the numerous events organized between
Texas and Florida, when amateur competition surged in the late
1950s. Yet, the South offers a rich road racing history, often
fueled by wealthy oilmen from Texas and Oklahoma.Many of the events
were hosted on airport courses and featured the top echelon of
European sports cars. Late-model Ferraris, Maseratis, Jaguars,
Listers, Porsches, OSCAs and Climax-engined cars such as Lotus,
Cooper and Elva did battle with American V8-powered vehicles, both
Corvettes and homebuilt Specials. This book offers a race-by-race
account of all 1959 and 1960 Southern events, from Novice Races to
the weekend-ending Features competition.The author has scoured
local newspapers of the period for race reports and results and
interviewed many of the drivers, mechanics and owners that were
involved in the competitions. He provides an exhaustive report of
the time, vividly illustrated by period photographs, many from the
archives of Bob Jackson, the acclaimed press photographer.
The history of sports car racing in the states of Delaware,
Maryland, West Virginia and Washington DC in the 1950s and 1960s
has long been talked of but never thoroughly documented until now.
This is a story of a period when sports car drivers such as Jim
Kimberly, Charlie Hayes, and Dick Thompson competed mainly for tin
cups and glory on civil airport runways and private tracks before
the age of professionalism took hold. They drove mainly European
cars, Alfa Romeos, Allards, Austin-Healeys, Coopers, Elvas,
Ferraris, Jaguars, Listers, Lotus, Maseratis, Porsches, and the
American Scarabs, now highly valued by avid collectors. The
histories of these cars are of great interest, and many are
mentioned in this book by chassis number which will aid research by
interested owners. A chapter begins with a synopsis of the activity
in each year and is followed by detailed descriptions of the races.
There is a comprehensive index, and the book is profusely
illustrated with period photographs.
Gathered together for the first time, here is a comprehensive
record of the motoring achievements and competition history of
Briggs Swift Cunningham II. He was a competitor, patron and
pioneering champion of road racing in the USA, and in addition to
the cars that bore his name with pride and competed against the
best in the world, the Cunningham team raced many other models in
the late 1950s and early 1960s in both the USA and Europe. Further,
during his long life, Cunningham owned a large variety of vehicles
ranging from the mundane to the spectacular. Richard Harman has
spent the past seven years researching this long overdue and
worthwhile tribute to the accomplishments of the great man. He was
granted unprecedented access to hitherto unpublished archive
material by the Cunningham family and the families of the team
members and has been able to trace the history of most of the
Cunningham-owned cars in great detail. This book has been awarded
the 2014 Cugnot Award by the Society of Motoring Historians and was
shortlisted for the RAC Book of the Year Award 2014. It was also
shortlisted for the 2013 International Historic Motoring Awards
Publication of the Year
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