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Vintage Motorsport Newsletter 5/29/2013  
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A.J. Foyt Contends Today's Drivers
'Couldn't Carry Our Helmet Bags'
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A.J. Foyt returned to Indy with his team leading the standings (photo: courtesy indycar.com)
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Indianapolis, IN -- Coming into last weekend's Indianapolis 500 Izod IndyCar race, four-time race winner A.J. Foyt was at the top of the heap again, with his driver, Japan's Takuma Sato and Foyt's team leading the series standings after a lengthy drought. Foyt's team hadn't won since 2002 nor been tops in points since 1998. But while three-time winners Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti were attempting to tie Foyt's (and Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears') record with a win, Foyt had earlier chimed in that today's drivers can't hold a candle to Foyt and his earlier contemporaries.
In comments published in Saturday's Arizona Republic, Foyt was quoted by writer Michael Knight, noting "I don't want to be smart-assed...but you've got these drivers today who are a flash in the pan." Foyt explained that "(fans) followed me, Parnelli (Jones), Al and Bobby Unser, Mario (Andretti) for many, many years. We run midgets and sprint cars about every week, all over the country ... that's what built our fan base." Foyt went on to add, "Some of these boys today probably say: 'We could have beat him or Parnelli any day of the week.' Well, I've got news for them: They probably couldn't even carry our helmet bags."
That's presuming drivers back then could even afford a helmet bag. While many current top drivers race less than did the multi-discipline drivers of Foyt's era, it's mainly due to contract limitations restricting their appearance in other series in exchange for multi-million dollar guarantees. Knight's article noted that "Foyt said his generation was hungrier. Literally."
"We had to run," said Foyt. "If we didn't, we had no money. We couldn't eat or feed our children. After Indy i would go run a sprint-car race. People thought I was nuts. That's the difference in racing today." Never a wallflower, Foyt exuded the confidence required to be a champion when he stated, "I'm just glad to be named amongst the great race drivers....I did win a lot of very important races (including the Daytona 500 and Le Mans). To win, you've got to want to win, and I wanted to win very bad. Once you've won, second's no good."
Following Tony Kanaan's win in the 500, there would be no new member of the four-timer club, as Franchitti's crash forced a final-laps caution, and Castroneves ended 6th. As for A.J. Foyt Racing, his drivers Sato and Conor Daly finished 13th and 22nd, respectively. Sato is now 2nd in the point standings behind Marco Andretti.
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Historic Le Mans Ferrari at $12.8 Million
Tops RM's $35.5 Million Villa Erba Sale
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Top auction seller to date in 2013 was this 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM driven by Mike Hawthorn and Nino Farina at Le Mans, fetching a world-record $12.8 million
(photo: Hardy Mutschler �2013; courtesy RM Auctions)
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Cernobbio, Italy -- RM Auctions' much-anticipated Villa Erba auction last weekend here logged more than $35.5 million across 40 lots (at an 80% sales clip) with five cars exceeding 1 million Euros ($1.3 million). The top seller, no surprise was a racing Ferrari with Le Mans provenance, a 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta 'Competizione' that sold for $12.812 million (including 12% buyers premium), smashing the previous record for the model and setting a new world record for a closed Berlinetta Ferrari sold at auction. The car was raced by Mike Hawthorn and Nino Farina at Le Mans in 1953, one of three factory-backed cars that also competed at Spa, the Carrera Panamericana and won the 12 Hours of Pescara, before being imported to the U.S. by Luigi Chinetti for resale.
More than 1000 people from 30 countries attended the sale or phoned in bids at the auction held on the grounds of the historic Villa Erba, concurrent with the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este show held at Lake Como, Italy. As it was in Italy, no surprise that Ferraris were the marque most in demand with other notable sales of the Prancing Horse including $2.839 million for Lime Rock owner Skip Barber's 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Coup� Aerodinamico, $1.456 million for a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB and, of more recent (but still expensive) vintage, a 2004 Enzo at $1.39 million and a 2010 599XX sold for $1.193 million. A total of 15 Ferraris were up for grabs, and all sold. Continuing the model's recent price escalation, a 1968 Ferrari 365 GTC nabbed $764,000 from the winning bidder.
Ferraris weren't the only make popular with the buyers. An immaculate 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster garnered a strong $1.448 million from its new owner, and a 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 went for $553,280. For English car fans, the 1933 MG K3 Magnette works team car raced at the Mille Miglia and eligible for any event, took a rich $531,440, while a 2.5-litre 1937 Jaguar SS 100 made $364,000, not bad for the smaller-engined version.
RM Europe managing director Max Girardo noted that more than 25% of the sale lots exceeded their pre-sale estimates. Next up for RM Europe is its London sale Sept. 8-9. Stateside, RM's next auctions are the St. John's sale July 27 in Plymouth, MI, followed by its biggie, the Monterey, CA sale Aug. 16-17 during the Monterey/Pebble Beach week. For more information, go to: www.rmauctions.com
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Fireball Roberts, Dale Jarrett Among
NASCAR HoF Inductees for 2014
 | Fireball Roberts will be inducted posthumously in the 2014 Class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame
(photo: Orlando Sentinel) |
Charlotte, NC -- NASCAR honored members of its family dynasties with inductions into its Hall of Fame last Wednesday. Former champion Dale Jarrett will join his father Ned in the Hall, while master mechanic Maurice "Chief" Petty becomes the fourth member of the Petty clan to be so honored. Maurice joins his older brother, driver Richard Petty, along with their father Lee Petty and cousin Dale Inman, Richard's longtime crew chief.
Fireball Roberts, Tim Flock and Jack Ingram will also join Jarrett and Petty in the Hall's class of 2014, with induction day slated for Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 to be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 from a ceremony here. The quintet was selected from a list of 25 nominees by a 54-member voting panel comprised of NASCAR reps, retired competitors, media, track owners, manufacturer reps and a nationwide fan vote.
Jarrett, the 1999 Sprint Cup series champion, won three Daytona 500's, two Brickyard 400's and is 21st on the all-time wins list with 32. He and his father Ned are the third father-son duo selected to the Hall, following Bill France Sr. and Junior, and Lee and Richard Petty.
Maurice Petty was the chief engine builder at Petty Enterprises, propelling Richard Petty to most of his record 200 NASCAR wins and seven titles. He also drove in 26 premier series races from 1960-64, with seven top-5 finishes.
Glenn "Fireball Roberts" was arguably stock car racing's first superstar, a flashy showman who won 33 races including the Southern 500 in 1958 and '63, and the Daytona 500 in 1962. Overall he won seven races at Daytona beginning with the the Firecracker 250 in 1959 -- the year the speedway opened. He died in 1964 following a fiery crash at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Tim Flock was a two-time NASCAR premier series champion, with 39 wins in 187 starts, good for 18th on the all-time wins list. His first title was in 1952 in Ted Chester's Hudson Hornet, and his second championship, driving Karl Kiekhaefer's Chrysler, stemmed from 18 wins in 39 races, a mark which stood as the single-season wins record until broken by Richard Petty with 27 wins in 1967.
Jack Ingram drove to success on what became NASCAR's Nationwide series. He won three titles in a row from 1972-74 in what was billed the Late Model Sportsman division, then took the inaugural Busch series title in 1982 and again in '85. His 31 wins in 10 season was a record until Mark Martin broke it in 1997. For more information, go to: www.nascarhall.com
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Unrestored Duesy SJ Among Stars
At Dragone Auction This Friday
 | | This, the last unrestored Duesenberg SJ, is expected to fetch $1.5-$2 million at Friday's Dragone Auction in Westport, CT (photo: courtesy Dragone Auctions) |
Westport, CT -- Classic car restoration experts and purveyors Manny and George Dragone have progressed into the collector car auction arena, with their 2nd annual auction slated to take place this Friday, May 31 at their showroom and auction gallery in Westport, CT. In keeping with their vision, the sale beginning at 4 p.m. offers rare and desirable investment-quality cars from around the globe
"This year we are offering ... cars that have been stored away for decades," explained Manny Dragone.
In addition to a wide array of vehicles, including classics, military vehicles (even a German WWII half-track motorcycle) and race cars, on offer will be a selection from the Helmut Christian Peitz collection, including a 1927 Rolls-Royce Piccadilly Roadster originally owned by J.P. Morgan, Jr., a 1916 Locomobile Model 48 coupe with Locke coachwork, a 1916 Packard from the Austin Clark collection and a 1907 Columbia Electric Park Surrey ensconced in the Ford Museum for decades, and a 1910 Renault Towncar formerly owned by John Jacob Astor's wife Madeline Astor. For racing enthusiasts, there's also a 1979 Penske PC-6 Indy race car driven in the Indy 500 by Gordon Johncock.
Star of the sale is likely the 1934 Duesenberg SJ-514 Continental Touring Berline with coachwork by Rollston. One of only five closed SJ's built, this matching-numbers example has only 49,000 miles on the clock, and is said to be the last unrestored example of the original 35 SJs built. It was originally owned by New York socialite Mrs. Henry Evans. Built at a cost of $18,000 for European touring, it traveled with Evans aboard the Queen Mary a number of times and has only had four owners, all via private sales. Also on hand will be a 16,000-mile 1952 Jaguar XK120 coupe, a 1929 Bugatti Type 40 Grand Sport and a "barn find" 1938 Mercedes Speciale Kombination roadster.
Dragone Classic Motorcars, in business for 35 years, claims the Dragone auction is the "first and only permanent classic car auction site in the Northeast U.S." Manny Dragone noted, "The Dragone auction will always be limited to the cars we feel truly can't be found on the market and are true investment quality cars." For more information or directions, visit www.dragoneclassic/auctions.com
or phone 203-335-4643.
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Calling All Spridgets! VSCDA 3-Race Series Returns in 2013
 | | The Spridget pace lap as the drivers head into Turn 1 at Gingerman Raceway for their May event's launch (photo: Roger Heil) |
Grand Rapids, MI -- Following on the heels of its successful inaugural season, the Vintage Sports Car Drivers Assn. has decided to bring back its Sprite-Midget race series. The first season exceeded expectations, with 12-17 Austin-Healey Sprites and MG Midgets duking it out across three race weekends spread out over the summer at GingerMan, Blackhawk Farms and Grattan Raceway. A total of 28 racers attended this best two of three race series, with 12 drivers qualifying for final points awards at the Grattan finale.
The 2013 VSCDA Sprite-Midget Race Series will include the same tracks as last year. The GingerMan event has already taken place May 2-5, so the series title is still available for drivers who sign up for the Blackhawk Farms event June 14-16, and the Grattan Grand Finale Aug. 16-18. Currently there are 14 contenders with points from the Gingerman weekend. Cana Comer, Gary Kropf, Randy Byboth and Justin Przyby are all tied for the lead with 24 points apiece. Incidentally, Comer brought her new daughter, Remington Marie Comer (born in January!) to the track to show her off. Asked if this was Remy's first time at a racetrack, Cana replied, "No, we won here last year."
For a list of Spridget classes, rules, and points system,
visit: www.vscda.org/groups/2-SpriteMidget.php
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1977 Indianapolis 500, A.J. Foyt's 4th Win
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