Ryan submitted a new blog post: Tom Cobbs: Pikes Peak, 1960 Part 2 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
The "spectator" frames are a great addition to the whole experience of the Pikes Peak event! Another thank you for all this.
One thing I forgot to mention, and it damn sure deserves the spotlight… I’ve just plowed through what... seven, maybe eight... rolls of film shot at Bonneville in the ’50s and ’60s. And every single time I sit down to research those images, it’s a goddamn exercise in frustration. Why? Because the SCTA's historical record-keeping is basically nonexistent. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: it borders on criminal. Now stack that against Pikes Peak. The Hill Climb Association has done a hell of a job preserving its history. You wanna know the field or the finishing results from any event going all the way back to 1916? It’s literally one click. That blows my mind... Makes Bonneville look like a pack of cavemen scratching numbers in the dirt, only to have the salt flat wind erase it all by sundown. And maybe that’s fitting… Bonneville in the early days wasn’t about tidy records or neat columns of data. It was hoodlums with wrenches and nerves of steel, chasing speed until the motor scattered across the salt. Who the hell had time to log trap speeds when the bottom end was already torn apart on the tarp?
Al Unser Sr., sprawled out on a rock, eyes closed, his box camera resting dead-weight on his chest...except that's no box camera, I believe that's a radio? Anyway great, if grainy photos and I especially like the overview in the first photo, sets the scene!
Thank You Looks just like too much fun. Neato to see the spectacle. Such a competitor,,, the natural forces of nature. Centrifical Force, Gravity, Elusive Traction, and good old gasoline. Great Photos
Cool pics. Got to see the Hill Climb multiple times up close and personal in the 70's. Tagged along with my brother in-law who was the regional forester and had fire duty during the hill climbs. Had pass access to the pits/staging areas as well as the rest of the course and got to visit with the crews including the Unser clan. At the time a lot of nitro being used....and at that altitude, made for a dizzying experience around the starting line. Some of the good ol' days.
Love these pictures. We ran a car in the Mt. Washington hill climb in the 90s and early 2000s until it was stopped for a couple of years. Sprint car based special. And as crazy as it was, it doesn’t hold a candle to what those guys were facing. There’s a video made from film footage from one of the years when Bobby Unser was racing his sprint car on the mountain. I don’t have a link. But it is worth every moment spent looking for it. Only a roll bar, and open face helmets. It took big brass ones to drive it then
Also interesting to note… There appears to be far more spectators at the Hill Climb vs. some of the images we’ve seen of Bonneville in the 1950’s. I assume this is due to the Hill Climb being more watchable from “track side” than a 5 mile long course.
Grainy and cloudy? Yes, but I can almost hear the raucous roar as they blast up that hill. Pulling at full throttle, the engine working under load, open headers barking. Music to a gearheads ears.
Good stuff. The photos look more like something us mere mortals would take which somehow makes them more real. Dan
@Joe Blow recently sent me a later version of this film stock. I've never shot it and can't wait to try. From all accounts it's an absolute nightmare to meter - zero dynamic range to speak of, but I actually like the chunky grain when it's exposed half way decent.
Back then, the night before the hill climb was the one and only night that camping was allowed above the toll road entrance. At the right vantage point, above the tree line, you could watch them come up for several miles.
Love all the images......especially the very interesting #5 sprint car/big car that appears to be modified with the front axle pushed way out front from it's normal position. That's what Pikes Peak was all about .....experimenting and run what you brung......a great period in our motosports history.
I was going to comment on that one too, it caught my eye as I thought that was a more recent development. Fascinating
Those less than clear shots, all the better, makes your imagination kick in. And those full size cars are quite a sight, must have really tested their driving skills to wrestle them at speed up the mountain. The moonshine revenuers would never have caught them.
Some more detailed/closer pics of this car in Ryan's first article (Part 1). https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=60342
Thank you.......totally missed those very detailed pictures first time around......love the Lincoln Continental tow car also. Looks like a young Bobby Unser giving the car a good looking over in one picture. Might have to try to get more info on the car.....owner.....driver. Looks to be pretty high $$ with Offy engine and very nice rear axle assembly and front suspension. Thanks again
You bet. Think Ryan did articles on 1 thru 6 of these trips and this car is in some of them. He probably knows the details on it. Looks to be a local car.....or the sponsor was. 3312 East Bijou is a commercial address in the Springs. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=60727
The 1960 Pontiac won Pikes Peak, the Daytona 500, Winter Nationals Eliminator, NHRA Nationals, etc. etc. Amazingly versatile race car. Love mine!
I drug home a 1960 Poncho four door just for the rearend for my bracket racer, that car must have weighed three tons!
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