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Racing Up Donner Summit in 1967
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Jun 17, 2019 18:36:12   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
I was looking at the photos of Donner Summit posted by RE on May 12 (I'm a little behind on the Hog). It reminded me of an event I worked on there in August 1967. In that time frame, I was working on the timing crew at Northern California sports car races, both amateur and professional. There was a hill climb up about the last 2 1/2 miles of the Donner Pass highway. They blocked off the highway and sent cars up individually, using automated timing to see who was fastest. I worked as a flagman at the event, sitting on a large rock above the highway with my flags in case there was a problem on the course. The cars returned to the starting line using I-80. I'm sure a lot of drivers on I-80 were surprised to see racing cars (especially the open wheel type) on the highway. It was a great way to spend a nice summer day.

Here are some photos, most from my flag station. Note that there are chicanes made with hay bales to keep the speeds down somewhat. The photos aren't very good quality, but I think many of you will find them interesting. I took them as color slides with a fixed lens rangefinder Minolta and scanned them as JPEGs with no post processing. I'll have to dig them out, re-scan at higher quality and then post process them at some point when my life slows down some. Comments are welcome.

C Production Sunbeam Tiger
C Production Sunbeam Tiger...
(Download)

Sports Racer, unknown type
Sports Racer, unknown type...
(Download)

Part of the course with Donner Lake in the background
Part of the course with Donner Lake in the backgro...
(Download)

B Production 1963 Corvette (see last photo also)
B Production 1963 Corvette (see last photo also)...
(Download)

C Production Sunbeam Tiger on another run
C Production Sunbeam Tiger on another run...
(Download)

Mustang, probably a 1965 or '66 GT 350
Mustang, probably a 1965 or '66 GT 350...
(Download)

F Production Volvo P1800
F Production Volvo P1800...
(Download)

The Mustang on another run
The Mustang on another run...
(Download)

F Production Alfa Romeo
F Production Alfa Romeo...
(Download)

The 1963 Corvette after he overdid it on another run - the driver was OK
The 1963 Corvette after he overdid it on another r...
(Download)

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Jun 17, 2019 18:38:37   #
UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT
 
Interesting series! That 'vette needed fiberglass work.

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Jun 17, 2019 18:45:02   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
UTMike wrote:
Interesting series! That 'vette needed fiberglass work.


Thanks for your comments Mike. I suspect there was also some suspension work required, as well as laundering his driving suit.

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Jun 17, 2019 18:47:34   #
pixelmaven Loc: Reno, NV
 
Thanks for the fascinating set and dialog, Dennis. A great bit of history!

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Jun 17, 2019 18:50:04   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
pixelmaven wrote:
Thanks for the fascinating set and dialog, Dennis. A great bit of history!


I'm glad you enjoyed them pixelmaven.

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Jun 17, 2019 18:51:02   #
pixelmaven Loc: Reno, NV
 
Love your images. Keep posting them!

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Jun 17, 2019 18:54:38   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
pixelmaven wrote:
Love your images. Keep posting them!


Thanks, and I will! I also have some photos of a race at Lake Tahoe from a month or so later that I'll post soon.

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Jun 17, 2019 19:18:22   #
RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia
 
Good set.

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Jun 17, 2019 19:35:55   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
RichardTaylor wrote:
Good set.


Thank you for the kind words Richard.

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Jun 17, 2019 19:45:46   #
Beils
 
Great photos that bring back the time and memories!

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Jun 17, 2019 19:48:51   #
JasonC Loc: Houston, Texas
 
Excellent series; thank you so much for sharing!

Jason

PS Peter Egan would approve of your "flagman" activities and photographs!

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Jun 17, 2019 19:49:08   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
Beils wrote:
Great photos that bring back the time and memories!


I'm glad to take you down memory lane. Thanks for the kind words Beils.

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Jun 17, 2019 19:55:50   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
JasonC wrote:
Excellent series; thank you so much for sharing!

Jason

PS Peter Egan would approve of your "flagman" activities and photographs!


Thank you for the kind comments Jason.

I hope Peter would approve. He was my favorite columnist at R&T (I have been a subscriber since late 1962). in 1986 my wife and I were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary in Southern California and I decided to stop by the R&T offices, which were then in Newport Beach. They welcomed me in and sent me to Peter. As I recall, we chatted for about 45 minutes, almost like old friends. In addition to cars, we also shared an interest in airplanes (I'm an aerospace engineer and also have an A&P certificate).

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Jun 17, 2019 19:57:11   #
Beils
 
This brings me back to shooting the Watkins Glen Gran Prix in the early 70’s! Thank you for the trigger!
These events were amazingly visceral! Speed, color and noise.

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Jun 17, 2019 20:00:27   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
Beils wrote:
This brings me back to shooting the Watkins Glen Gran Prix in the early 70’s! Thank you for the trigger!
These events were amazingly visceral! Speed, color and noise.


Good times! Watkins Glen has been on my bucket list for a LONG time. Formula 1 in the 1970's was an amazing (and tragic) time. 1967 begat the most beautiful F1 car ever (IMHO), the Gurney/AAR Eagle.

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