Fabulous Fifties, Road Racings' Founding Fathers’

The title of this post is in no way meant to disregard the fact that there were many women involved in racing from the beginning… Founding Fathers’ just has a great ring to it. Next week, December 10th, at the Petersen (Automotive) Museum, Fabulous Fifties is hosting its Annual Lindley Bothwell Achievement Award banquet. If you're into any kind of vintage motorsports you should mark your calendar and plan to attend.

John & Robert Dixon, Carroll Shelby, Bob Bondurant, Fab 50s Banquet 2008


Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California
http://www.petersen.org/

Lindley Bothwell Achievement Award Banquet info call (310) 373-5704


About Fabulous Fifties

An informal group of South Bay and Palos Verdes Sports Car racers that started as a lunch bunch has become an internationally known banquet brigade that includes renowned celebrities and has a mailing list of a thousand. It now gets together four times a year with a spring picnic, a summer cocktail party at the Monterey Historics, a fall Concours at the South Coast Botanic Gardens (SCBG), and a year end finale at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Some South Bay-Palos Verdes attendees include Mary Davis, Bill Krause, Parnelli Jones, Carroll Shelby and Vic Edelbrock.

The Palos Verdes event at the Botanic Gardens is a "Concours d'Provenance", an idea dreamed up by Art Evans of the Hollywood Riviera. Instead of white glove perfection, the cars are judged on their race history. Some spectacular cars have been exhibited and auto world stars have attended. The first Concours was held at Carroll Shelby's South Bay facility and the Ferrari in which he won the National Championship and began his international career was brought in from Colorado. Besides Shelby, Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant, Formula One World Champion Phil Hill was there.

Three years ago the event was moved to the Gardens with the help of Norma Cantafio, Director of the SCBG Foundation. Some friends of Vince Conzi were there. Don't know Vince! He was an unheralded self-taught automotive genius that adapted fuel injection and disc brakes to an underdog race car that won the Indy 500. That was way back in 1951! This year his estate donated over a million dollars to Palos Verdes institutions including the Botanic Gardens, Malaga Cove Library, and the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. This Gardena boy and his pals are deserving of their own story.

The recent Concours honored John Morton of El Segundo. John began his career working for Shelby-American and racing the first Cobras. He was the driver for Nissan's Datsun entry into racing and won the National Championship for them driving Pete Brock's creation.

The upcoming December 10 dinner is at the Petersen Museum and features the presentation of the Annual Lindley Bothwell Achievement Award. Lindley Bothwell was a USC legend and early race car driver who owned a stable of interesting cars. This year Dick Guldstrand ("Mr. Corvette") is the recipient. Dick was Roger Penske's first driver when Penske raced Corvettes. Guldstrand went on to modify Corvettes and was so successful that General Motors produced a name-plated "Guldstrand Corvette". Mary Davis, of Redondo Beach's Portofino Inn and South Bay Bank fame, was a past honoree, along with Carroll Shelby, Bob Bondurant, Rodger Ward and Jim Hall.

The dinner is at 6 PM on December 10 and reservations can be made by phoning (310) 373-5704.

Tony Adamowicz Formula 5000 Champion Concours 2009

GREAT NEWS from BMW CCA National - Lockton Risk Services offer ON-Track Insurance

In March, the BMW Car Club of America and Lockton Risk Services announced their partnership in delivering affordable insurance to the many BMW CCA enthusiasts involved in performance driving events. The HPDE Insurance Program provides an à la carte, single-event policy designed to provide affordable physical damage coverage to vehicles used in BMW CCA high-performance driving schools at race tracks across the United States. Because of BMW CCA’s excellent safety record at performance driving events, coverage is offered at a discounted rate to BMW CCA participants attending BMW CCA events.

We’re offering this insurance because so many of our members have found that their current auto policies exclude any race-track activity. In the past five years, an increasing number of auto insurers have modified their policy language to add exclusions to their policies—look for phrases like no coverage “on a surfaced used for racing,” “at a race track facility,” or “at a performance driving school.” This leaves some BMW CCA enthusiasts with no coverage by their primary street insurance policy at all! So the HPDE Insurance Program was created by track enthusiasts and industry experts to help protect driving-school attendees or mitigate their risk.

Chapter Driving Event Coordinators should encourage member participating in driving events to look at their policies* and make sure they have the coverage they think they have. If not, visit http://www.HPDEIns.locktonaffinity.com for an affordable, single-event policy.

*Request a current copy of your policy. The written policy is your legal contract. An agent may or may not be able to provide you with the correct information orally when asked.

The BMW diesels are coming...

The long anticipated 2009 BMW 335d Sedan and X5 xDrive35d SAV are finally available to order! Production starts in November and the finished product will begin arriving at South Bay BMW by mid December.

In 1998 a BMW race-tuned 320d sedan won the 24 hours of Nürburgring demonstrating endurance, performance and fuel economy. Currently in Europe,more than 65% of new vehicles sold are diesel powered. Now BMW is setting its sights on the US market with the introduction of two dynamic turbo-diesel models.

liter sequential twin-turbo inline-six cylinder diesel power plant produces 265 hp, 425 lb-ft of torque and both vehicles have an incredible highway range of over 580 miles on a single tank of fuel.

Earlier this year I had an opportunity to test drive both the 335d Sedan and X5 xDrive35d and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. “I’ve got to have one” is more in line with my feeling. I remember well the slow, stinky, carbon covered diesels of yesteryear; these are not your daddy's diesels. Carbon emissions are down 10% - 20% from comparable gasoline vehicles, and there’s a near-elimination of both smoke and NOX emissions. I actually stuck my nose to the tailpipe and it smells more like a dryer vent then an exhaust pipe.

The 335d leads the field with EPA fuel economy of 23 MPG city/36 MPG Highway making it the most fuel efficient BMW and highest EPA MPG rated 6 cylinder, gas or diesel ever offered in the US market. Despite this level of economy, the 335d performs as well or better than many of the leaders in the category accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds. This tops both the Audi A4 3.2 and the Mercedes C350.

The BMW X5 xDrive35d, like the 335d is a category standout. The Advanced Diesel SAV achieves an EPA rating of 19 MPG city/26 MPG Highway and still accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds, making it faster and more fuel efficient than any diesel SUV in the US.

The 335d and X5 xDrive35d have the same standard feature and option profile as the 335i and X5 xDrive30i. Active steering is not available on either diesel model. Demand will be high and allocation low.

BMW CCA at Auto Club Speedway, September 27th & 28th 2008

When you consider the timing, children back in school, financial market meltdown and all the election hoopla, the BMW CCA LA Chapters premier 2008 event at Auto Club Speedway was a total success. The turn-out was respectable and as expected everything was well organized, safe and fun. The temperatures were mid-pack, meaning it stayed at or just below 100 degrees and the wind never got too aggressive. Having worked with other clubs in the past I must say how impressed I am with how well these events are put together. Keep in mind that this is a non-profit organization, run by volunteers.

Auto Club Speedway is situated on 568 acres (formally Kaiser Steel) in Fontana, California just north of Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County. In late 1993 Penske Speedways, Inc. and Kaiser Ventures Inc., began preliminary discussions in Detroit about the closed Fontana mill site and ultimately Kaiser agreed to remediate the proposed site in accordance with state environmental regulations to clear the way for construction of the speedway. On April 20, 1994 Penske/Kaiser announced a joint venture to construct a permanent superspeedway in Southern California. The next day (surprise-surprise) CART announced multi-year sanction agreement for the PPG CART World Series and by July NASCAR was on board with the Winston Cup Series. Less than 3 years later, January 10, 1997 Penske driver Paul Tracy is first driver to run the new 2-mile oval.

Timeline

June 20, 1997 - Official Opening and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

June 21, 1997 - Inaugural Auto Club 200 NASCAR Winston West Series race - Winner Ken Schrader
Inaugural IROC Series race - Winner Mark Martin

June 22, 1997 - Inaugural California 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race - Winner Jeff Gordon

September 27, 1997 - Inaugural PPG-Firestone Indy Lights Championship race - Winner Clint Mears
Mauricio Gugelmin sets CART qualifying world record of 240.942 mph

September 28, 1997 - Inaugural Marlboro 500 PPG CART World Series Finale race - Winner Mark Blundell

October 18, 1997 - Inaugural No Fear NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race - Winner Mike Bliss

October 19, 1997 - Inaugural NASCAR 300 Busch Series race - Winner Todd Bodine

October 28, 2000 - Gil de Ferran sets new qualifying record with average lap of 241.428 mph

October 4, 2001 Grand American Road Racing Association announces first event March 22-24, 2002 on the speedway's new road course, featuring the Rolex Sports Car Series.
Auto Club Speedway and the Indy Racing League announce the addition of a 400-mile Indy Racing League event to the 2002 schedule slated for March 24, 2002.

March 23, 2002 - Inaugural Grand American Rolex California 400 sports car race – Winners Didier Theys & Fredy Leinhard Jr.

March 24, 2002 - Inaugural Indy Racing League Event - Winner Sam Hornish Jr.

June 18, 2004 - Phil Stratford sets the Auto Competition Course record of 1:27.605 seconds (118.349mph) in a Tyrell Formula 1 car during the Southern California Historic Sports Car Festival

The 21 turn, 2.88 mile Auto Competition Course, like all super speedway/road course combinations is respectably fun but with no real elevation change. The road course portion of the track is 45 feet wide transitioning to 75 feet (with 15-foot apron) on the oval. There are some fast esses and other interesting combo turns to satisfy the technicians’ and frustrate the hammer footed, however the long 3100 foot front straight, chicaned at the entrance of turn 1 (for driving school purposes) still allowed you to open up a bit. Unrestricted speeds into turn 1 through turn 2 with the 14 degree banking would be excessive for school purposes.

The BMW Car Club of America does not employ a traditional track event format like other car clubs. There are no time-trials or open run groups. There are mandatory classroom sessions throughout the weekend, driving students are divided into 4 groups based on experience level and every car has an instructor in the right seat. In the car, helmet to helmet radio systems are used to allow the student and instructor to easily communicate on track in real time. This is a tremendous training tool (compared to the shouting necessary in the old days). The BMW CCA instructor corps (of which I am honored to be a member) is top notch. The degree to which they are trained and organized is outstanding and they’d rival many professional driving organizations. Again all are volunteers.

I’d been to the facility once before during a NASAR event back in the ‘90’s, but this was my first experience on track. Needless to say I had to do a quick practice session. In my auto racing past it was necessary to become a quick study when facing a new course (or new car) and so I pounded out a few laps prior to the start of Saturday run groups and my first student. During the weekend I went from a ’71 RS Porsche 911 on Saturday to an E92 M3 student on Sunday. I had the opportunity to do a handful of laps in both and thoroughly enjoyed the contrast between the unbridled raw drive of a vintage machine like the 911 and the high tech influence of M dynamics in the BMW. I’m not a huge fan of electronic interference, but I understand why it’s necessary with new-age super cars. The reason I did not turn off the aids on the M3 was to experience the MDM setting my student had set.

There’s been a lot said about it being too big, too heavy, too expensive etc. I say who cares? It’s smooth, powerful and in corners like you’d expect a BMW would. For $65 to $70K, what car out performs? And being that I was in someone else’s “investment”, I didn’t push. There was a lot more there and I look forward to having an opportunity to really shake one down in the near future.

My only regret during the weekend was that I opted not to bring our E90 sedan this time. After taking it to the July San Diego Chapter event at Buttonwillow my wife’s attitude was akin to that of a mother toward an abusive father… So I drove my buddies 2008 M Roaster. Fun, yes! On the drive out, but not permitted on the track. The reality is that I need to pick up a decent, inexpensive, E36 M3 to drive at

these events. There is ample opportunity as an instructor to get out there and drive solo or with a passenger and sitting in the pits twiddling my thumbs when I should be driving is slightly frustrating.

These track events are an outstanding opportunity for anyone, driving anything (within reason) to have an amazing, one in a lifetime experience. One of my favorite students this past summer was an older gal, probably in her sixties who came to the school in her 2005 BMW 325i sedan with an auto transmission and no sports package. She stuck it in drive and putted that thing around the track all weekend. I asked her what inspired her to come out to a performance track event to which she simply replied, “I’ve always wanted to try this”. By late Sunday, day two of her school she was getting kind of racy and I could hardly contain my grin. The great thing is that neither could she.

Paul Newman

During the mid 1990’s through my affiliation with the Drivers’ Connection at Willow Springs, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work with Paul on several occasions during private days he organized for various celebrity friends. He was truly one of the most gracious people I have ever met. We’ve truly lost an ambassador for the sport and an icon of our time.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about BMW Car Club Events and performance driving schools in Southern California visit the Los Angeles Chapter at http://www.bmwclubla.org/