We love all sorts of racing here in The Garage, but nothing more than rally. As a driver, there is something very primitive about racing balls to the wall along a real road. Back in the early days of racing though, there was no choice between formats. They raced on real roads that were usually some sort of dirt. Sort of like modern rally cross, only without all the safety equipment like roofs, seat belts or decent brakes. As Ryan from the Jalopy Journal points out, these guys truly were daredevils.

Ryan tells the incredible tale of the Vanderbuilt Cup, held on Long Island in the early 1900’s. His story is accompanied by some stunning photos that were found by a member of the H.A.M.B. who was working on a research project. Both Ryan’s tale and the photo gallery are well worth spending some time.

This is the way it used to be. Race entry info and supplementary regs photostated and folded, all blurry and easily stained. Fortunately, this one has been kept in great condition. Harewood Acres was one of many WW2 air fields around North America that were turned into makeshift race tracks as sports car enthusiasts discovered road racing. Harewood Acres was an important place in the early days of racing in Ontario. Drivers like Roger Pense, Peter Ryan and Bob Holbert raced there in early Porsche RSK’s.
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