Once upon a time, before the invention of cable television and internet grocery shopping, human beings would routinely go outside, hook up a flat tow bar to the family station wagon, and drag their sports car to the race track for a weekend of fun. They’d remove their windscreen, tape up the headlights, put some more air in the bias plies, don a helmet (one with perhaps less protection offered than a modern bicycle helmet), and head out onto the track to test the bond between man and machine.
Vacaville, Vineland, Bridgehampton, Road America, & Mid-Ohio were all popular destinations. It was easy to be an amateur racer back in the day; there was little barrier for entry. Whether you had a TR3, Lotus Eleven, or a Bugeye Sprite, you were eligible and welcome to compete. The halcyon days of sports car competition are in the rear view mirror, but they are fondly remembered even today; even if you weren’t there with your own car, or in the paddock with your father taking in the action, you’re still a vintage racer at heart and you understand.
Our new Vintage Racer shirts are inspired by an actual weekend in July, 1958. On that day, the racers and spectators scattered around the field probably didn’t think it was a particularly special moment in history. It was just another fun weekend to kick the tires and light the fires… but to us, that was a moment in history that means a lot.
