Today’s Post by John Larsen
I have been a fan of open-wheel racing for a very long time and have been fortunate enough to attend numerous CART, IRL and Indycar events over the years.
A private venue called M1 Concourse in Pontiac MI has hosted an annual event called the American Speed Festival. I felt it was time to check it out knowing that the Vintage Indy group would be showcasing many rare and historic cars. They would be on the track a couple of times throughout the weekend.
The group runs a wide variety of cars from various eras. They include a Dominos Pizza Lola CART car previously driven by Al Unser Jr., an Olsonite Eagle previously driven by Dan Gurney, and the unique 1960 CERV-1.
I brought my Canon EOS 7D and EOS 7D ii bodies along with a Canon EF 70-200 2.8 L lens as well as a Canon EF-S STM 24mm lens as I was not familiar with the track layout and available access.
I arrived at the track just in time to hear the Vintage Indy group start up their cars and headed trackside to stand beside them as they headed into the pits. While I was aware of the history of the 1970? Lotus Turbine car I was not prepared for the sound of the car as the turbine started up. It was just like a small jet plane at the airport of course but seemed completely out of place at the track. The sight of the exhaust coming out of the engine directly behind the driver’s helmet is very unusual.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the vast selection of cars that took to the track in the other groups. They included rally, LeMans, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR, IROC and current exotic cars. All were truly impressive and spectators could walk around the huge tent to appreciate all of the cars up close.
In 2024 the Vintage Indy group will be showcasing their cars during the Long Beach Grand Prix event, at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix through Schenley Park, at WWT Raceway with Indycar, and once again at M1 Concourse. The sights and sounds are truly worthwhile. I hope you can make it to one of the events to watch, listen to and take photos of these historic racers.
John Larsen is located in the Greater Toronto Area, whose PhotoGraffics website contains samples of motorsports and hot air balloon photography from numerous Canadian balloon fes