It was July 19, 1974 that I really got to know John Young Stewart, even though I’d already met and worked with him several years before that British Grand Prix Friday practice day riding with him in a chauffeured Daimler out to Brands Hatch, a distance of some 25 miles from London’s Savile Row where we’d first made a stop at Jackie’s tailor. In the limousine with us were a cameraman and his sound recordist. Half turned to face Jackie in back, I sat up front with our driver. We were making a documentary for Trans World International, the film branch of International Management Group, better known as IMG, Stewart’s representative agents, then and still now. I was asking Jackie questions about his life in general, and more specifically of his years in racing and what he was presently doing in his then-recent retirement from Formula One, including this particular day of his providing color commentary for the BBC race weekend telecast. My recollection of that day and of how readily we were waved through traffic by Brands Hatch gate marshals, with Britain’s three-time World Champion aboard, remains vivid to the point of obsessing on the past.

Leap forward nearly 38 years to December 2011. Stewart—now Sir Jackie since knighted by Britain’s Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in November 2001—is again riding in a chauffeured car outside of London, and I’m again about to ask him questions, not from the limo’s front seat this time but by telephone far across the Atlantic and the breadth of America. This is the way my conversation went, in this order, with the first Formula One superstar.

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The Phil Hill Award has been presented annually since 1993 to the person who the RRDC feels has rendered outstanding service to road racing. The recipient may be a driver, entrant or outstanding member of a sanctioning body.

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A.J. Foyt on the grid for the 1962 Daytona Continental, precursor to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Foyt served as Grand Marshal for the 50th Anniversary of this 24-hour race in 2012.

With over 50 years in motorsports – as a driver and team owner – American A. J. Foyt’s remarkable career has seen him make his mark nationally and abroad in at least four countries: Canada, Great Britain, France and New Zealand. His race record includes: winning the Indianapolis 500 four times in 35 consecutive tries; the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967); and the Rolex 24 At Daytona (1983, ’85). He’s won 12 national titles with a total of 172 major race wins in Indy Cars, NASCAR, USAC stock cars, midgets, sprints and sports cars.

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If one has the occasion to visit Yvan Mahe’s Equipe Europe workshop in Ozouer Le Voulgis, France, the feeling one can get is that of dropping in on a living classic car museum.

Situated in the picturesque French countryside, about 30 miles from Paris, the Equipe Europe garage is specialized in the restoration, preparation, service and development of historic racing cars.

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The Louwman Museum was opened by HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on July 2, 2010. This opening marked the culmination of eight years of very hard work by Mr. Evert Louwman and his management team, led by Museum director Ronald Kooyman. Regulations being what they are, this was the time it took, from the first application to build a museum to the actual opening.

Beginning on the Louwman Collection

Owner of the collection, Mr. E.V.N. Louwman

Mr. Louwman’s father, Piet Louwman, started collecting cars as early as 1931, when a client (Mr. Louwman Sr. was in the business of importing and selling cars in Holland, among which Dodge) traded in his Dodge 1914 model (a car with all mod-cons) for something newer. This car is “the mother lode” of the Museum and takes a place of pride. The car collecting bug had found very fertile ground and Louwman never looked back. Now the Museum itself houses 236 cars of a great variety and is considered to be one of the finest all-round collections in the world.

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Bob Ensign of Ensign Restoration Services of Latham, New York, has been in business for 16 years. His philosophy is, “Do what you love. Love what you do. It is going to work.” His short cropped hair, animated gestures, steel blue eyes and great stories draw you in. Bob demands the highest quality. Here he discusses his work with restoration of a 1949 Maserati A6 1500, a 1953 Cunningham C3 Coupe and his unique MG custom while giving a tour of his shop.

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It was an eventful era that ushered in groundbreaking technical developments for the evolution of the automobile. In this period the automobile became an important mode of transport and powerful item of sports equipment, new plants were set up, and in 1926 the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft from Stuttgart merged with Benz & Cie.

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The Mercedes-Benz Museum at the company’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany is a depository of the history of the automobile, motorsport, commercial transportation and the Twentieth Century altogether, presented in one of the most modern museums in the world.

Two names, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, stand above all others in the company’s history. But there were many others, both known and unknown, who contributed to the history of the longest-established automaker in the world. They are also represented in the singular exhibits of the Mercedes-Benz museum, particularly in Mercedes-Benz’ long history of success in motorsport.

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Among the many reasons to read Michael Cannell’s newest novel “The Limit,” which accurately reanimates the 1961 Formula One world championship with sharp writing and fastidious research, none is so important or rare as the book’s honest portrayal of frailty in those too often romanticized as superhuman.

It’s no secret that books and movies about auto racing have long suffered from a glut of drivers so ludicrously masculine they could blush the cheeks of Silvio Berlusconi.  Off track the fictional aces are a montage of grizzled coveralls, cigarettes and leggy companions.  On track they’re shrewd grimaces squinting from helmets and rearview mirrors. 

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Rathmann, who was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, already was a three-time runner-up in the Indianapolis 500 (1952, 1957 and 1959) when he scored his greatest victory.

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Margie Petersen was born and raised in New York and was a top professional model having appeared on hundreds of magazine covers, as well as in hundreds of TV commercials for a variety of national advertisers such as Coca-Cola and Ivory Soap. A former Miss Rheingold, Mrs. Petersen was also a television actress, as well as under contract with MGM.

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Scaglietti gained Enzo Ferrari’s trust and respect both through his bodywork and design skills and for providing a retreat for Dino Ferrari as a youth. Scaglietti is credited with the “headrest” bump present on most racing Ferraris of the 1950s and 1960s, a design at first despised by Enzo but championed by Dino. The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, with its pontoon fenders, is one of the most famous Scaglietti designs.

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I took this portrait of Phil Hill at his home in Santa Monica on June 6, 1993. It was one of a number I have taken of motorsports personalities. When I got ready to take the photo, Phil asked me what Fangio wore when I took his picture. I replied that he wore a suit and tie. So Phil went upstairs and changed his clothes. (photo credit: Art Evans)

On the night of November 10, 2011 a Tribute to Phil Hill was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The occasion — organized by Bruce Meyer’s Checkered Flag 200 group that supports the museum — celebrated the 50th anniversary of Phil becoming America’s first Formula One World Driving Champion. In addition to the festivities, the museum displayed an assemblage of cars Phil owned or raced.

A feature of the evening was the presentation of part of a documentary film about Phil Hill that his son, Derek, is working on. The part shown on multiple screens depicted the 1961 Formula One race at Monza where Phil clinched his championship driving a factory team 1.5-liter “Sharknose” Ferrari Dino Type 156. The film was impressive in its production qualities and I look forward to seeing the finished product.

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Derek Bell at Monza, 1983

Derek Bell celebrated his 70th birthday on 31 October 2011. Born in Pinner, Middlesex, Great Britain in 1941, Bell is considered to be one of the most versatile and popular racing drivers of his time.

Derek Bell began his racing career with Lotus in 1964. In Formula 1 he then took his place on the starting grid for Ferrari in 1969.

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With John Bentley doing the ghostwriting, Carroll Shelby wrote his book The Cobra Story in 1965, at a point when the Cobra story wasn’t done yet — not by a long shot. So you could say he began building the legend of Shelby American even before he was done with the first phase of the Cobra and, remarkably, he is still building them 50 years later!

There have been many books since, most concentrating on the car and few on the man himself.

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Supported by the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, this site (www.SAFEisFAST.com) is an invaluable tool for up-and-coming racing drivers, as well as established ones, to hone their skills and learn from the best in the world.

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Phil Hill, driving for Ferrari at the Monaco GP in the first race of his championship-winning season, 1961. Credit: Ferret Fotographics

For its thirteenth annual fall celebration of the Legends of Motorsport, The Petersen Automotive Museum, along with The Phil Hill Family and The Checkered Flag 200, will present a very special “Tribute to Phil Hill” and the 50th Anniversary of his Formula One World Drivers’ Championship, to be held at The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. This is a uniquely memorable one-night event for all who join The Petersen’s distinctive guests, friends and colleagues, and which includes the separate Phil Hill: The Life of a Legend exhibit (independently sponsored by The Auto Gallery) of Phil Hill-related cars—classic and racing—and personal memorabilia provided by eminent collectors and The Phil Hill Family, now in the Museum’s Bruce Meyer Gallery through November 27th.

The Petersen Museum’s previous yearly tributes to Dan Gurney & Riverside Raceway, Phil Hill & Le Mans, Andy Granatelli & the Indy 500, along with those honoring Parnelli Jones, Carroll Shelby, Don Prudhomme, Corvette Racing, and Trans-Am Racing, and other treasured evenings, have each been applauded by all and widely covered in the motor racing press.

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Dr. Ferry Porsche and Dr. Wolfgang Porsche talked to Arnold Wagner during the 1977 San Diego Porsche Club of America Parade where he showed them the Andial Porsche 917 of Randolph Townsend and the 911 BP Production Targa of Howard Meister.

Arnold Hubert Wagner, an original partner of Andial – one of America’s most successful and respected authorities on Porsche performance tuning – died at the age of 75.

Wagner, who, along with partners Dieter Inzenhofer and Alwin Springer, worked at Vasek Polak Porsche in Redondo Beach before the three Porsche specialists formed Andial (AN for Arnold, DI for Dieter and AL for Alwin. From the company’s formation in 1975, ANDIAL established its credentials in the racing arena during an era when the privateer racing team could effectively compete. The results of ANDIAL’s Racing Division speak for itself. ANDIAL-prepared cars and engines have won on every major racetrack in the U.S.A.

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Twenty racing drivers whose resumes include championships in karting, FIA GT2, SCCA Nationals, Indy Lights, European rallying, USAC National Sprint Car, British Formula Renault, and numerous major event victories around the world, were voted in as Regular members.

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“Craig Breedlove represents what you can achieve if you have a clear vision and determination,” commented Fred Simeone, executive director of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. “With only a handful of volunteers and a shoestring budget, he was able to accomplish what many others could not. His achievements captured the country’s imagination and made him a household name.”

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