Apparently San Diego’s racing community didn’t completely fizzle out after Torrey Pines was converted to the golf course. I’ve stumbled across this poster, but can find almost no information about the race. Does anyone know something about this October, ’67 event?
The poster itself is spectacularly beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that I’m starting to consider the possibility that the race itself is fictional and this poster is simply a work of art and not an advertising handbill. Part of me likes that idea that a piece of artwork takes on a life beyond it’s canvas and—like War of the Worlds—creates a mythology of an event that never happened. As time passes and memories fade, who is to say that the race did or didn’t take place.
I’m sure though, that the reality is far more simple: that I’m just terrible at Google.
Also: the SCCA’s “Sportsmanship Demands Safe Driving” slogan should have never gone away, but it seems the trademark on the phrase has lapsed.
0 replies on “San Diego Stadium Road Races?”
While serving in the U.S. Navy during 1968, I worked as a corner worker for a SCCA National event at Jack Murphy Stadium a year later than the featured poster. These were popular events due to the suburban location. The track surface had quite a few elevation changes, even though it was a parking lot surface. Surely someone has photos…and I imagine that Autoweek (Competition Press) has archives of these events. I still have brass dash plaques handed out to participants.
Local SCCA racers like Fred Puhn participated. I also recall that Formula Ford was in its infancy in the U.S. and that a couple local racers were selling cars during this period. Holtville was the usual venue for non-spectator SCCA events 2 or 3 times yearly.
No worries…it happened. I had been going to Cal Club races since the mid 50’s…I had just moved to San Diego to start a teaching job. I had also just bought a Suzuki X-6 and so I snuck on the course and started lapping. I got in a couple of laps before the guys who were setting up the track noticed and shooed me off. I went to the races and they were spectacularly boring. Guys chasing around traffic cones isn’t much fun. For some reason the races at Dodger Stadium seemed better…Who knows???
Yes it happened and I raced in it. I drove a Honda S600 in HP. I loved that course and wished we could race there again. Parking lots tracks are fine and very safe.