Per a request from Bob Evans and the History gang...

[Brent Mills]

Here's a great place for you guys to share all the history you can muster up. Great idea Bob, now bring it on!

[G.R.]

Thank you! Thank you!

Brent,
Way to go! I always enjoy the "History" posts.
This is one "Great" site.

[snakeeyes]

Hope this doesn't spawn a trade dress suit from "The History Channel."

Don't worry, Brent. Jamo and I will defend you. I'll write the briefs and he'll circulate them around the world.

Seriously, thanks, Brent, for giving us history buffs a place of our own. We need it! With all of the interest in vintage racing, you'd think it would be leading to increased interest in all forms of the media. The recent acquisition of Speedvision and subsequent spawning of NASCAR TV, err, The Speed Channel, has me wondering. I have nothing against NASCAR, just not 24 hours a day. An editorial in this month's "Vintage Racecar Journal" confirms my worst fears, however: Editor Casey Annis writes of how, out of concern for The Speed Channel's treatment of vintage race programming, he telephoned the channel's "newly appointed president" and asked him, "What about your historic racing programming? You know, event coverage like the Monterey Historics and the Lime Rock Festival?"

Alarmingly, he reports that "there was a long pause before he replied, 'I don't think I've heard of those before, hold on a second and I'll ask.'" Annis says that he then heard the guy shout to someone in the background if they had something called the "Monterey Historics", and then he came back on the line and said they didn't have any plans for those shows, although they would be keeping the "Legends of Motorsport" series (which, as far as I can tell, has been re-runs for about the last three years).

Dim, dim, dim. It was only three years or so back that Speedvision was broadcasting eight hours a day, LIVE, from Monterey all weekend. How far the mighty have fallen!

Anyhow, so thanks again, Brent. Here is a little trivia to get us started: Who is the only driver to have won the Indy 500, the 24 hours of Le Mans, and the Monaco GP (several times)? First correct answer wins the right to wear a smug look as the winner of the first trivia contest on the new "History Channel".

Bob

[Bob Parmenter]

Bob,
That wouldn't be Jim Clark would it?

And how about that World Rally stuff as the NASCAR alternative?

[Robert Evans]

Brent,
Thanks! I'll participate very soon. I've got lots of neat books with some very interesting stories from the 50's and 60's. This is cool!
Bob

[snakeeyes]

Bob P., a good guess along the right lines, but no. Clark won two of the three but not Le Mans.

This particular driver was an F1 world champ more than once, and only scored his Le Mans victory in the twilight of his career. Later his offspring starred in racing, as well.

That World Rally stuff is simply amazing to watch. Especially on pavement!

[mr bruce]

A fellow by the name of Hill. By the way Bob, Got a bright orange CHEETAH with a pink bow on it for your little princess. Good work!

[Bob Putnam]

You guys can always slaunter over to my current compilation of vintage magazine articles. No ads, of course.

FFCobra.com also has a couple of magazine article scans (marginal OCR quality, unfortunately) which I may someday have time to turn to HTML...

[snakeeyes]

Right you are, Mr. Bruce. Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed this particular trifecta of race victories. Indy in '66 (compare his comments in the winner's circle--"I'm a bit surprised to have won"--to today's "the Tampax Tampons/Coca-Cola/Preparation H Chevy Lumina was really running great on its Goodyear Eagles" pre-prepared speech); Monaco in '63, '64, '65, '68, and '69; and finally Le Mans in '72, teamed with Henri Pescarolo in a Matra (where, at age 43, Hill hobbled around the pit lane like an old man, to the consternation of his teammate, then jumped in the car and proved as fast as just about anybody there).

His son Damon won an F1 World Championship for Williams.

Thanks for the kudos, Bruce. Carson Rose and her mother are both doing well.

Bob

[Fred Douglass]

Very interesting on the historic racing, etc. I, for one, am a little "NASCAR fatigued. Turn left,turnleft,turnleftturnleftetc. ad nauseum. I also know that most guys on this site have a very healthy disdain for F1....but I used to like it. Check out the performance specs on one of these little rockets (v.s. our Indy cars). I ditto the world rally series. Nonetheless, having seen the F1s at Watkins, and having followed the intensity of the drivers' championship, I still feel that there's GOT to be some room for these races on TV. Just my $.02.

[snakeeyes]

I have liked NASCAR as long as I've liked racing. Used to root for David Pearson back in the Seventies when I was a youngster. I just don't need ten hours of finite analysis of it each day, any more than I'd want the same treatment of F1 or any other series. I actually like that the Speed Channel is rebroadcasting the NASCAR races during the week, since I'm usually doing something else on Sundays, but I wish they'd keep the vintage programming that Speedvision had become known for.

Oh well, thank the lord for retailers like Classic Motorbooks--and Club Cobra...

[JimsGems]

Thanks Brent, this is very cool.