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Historic Sportscar Racing opens 2012 season with Camaro V8 StockCars at Palm Beach
Story and Photographs by Mike Beckers
Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) is well known for providing fans with the opportunity to see famous racing machines, many of them classics, in their natural element-at speed on the circuits where they competed in the past. In the last three years, HSR has partnered with the Crane Cams V8 StockCar Series to add some extra thunder to selected events and a real treat for the crowd. HSR combined the V8 Stock Cars with their season opener at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) on February 16-19 to create a memorable experience.
The V8 StockCars provided a field of Camaro Cup Cars. These are tube-framed racers with spec “crate motor” GM racing engines. The bodywork looks like the new generation Camaro and in some countries the cars run with different fender flares. Yes, the is an international series and the PBIR event was run with cars from the Nordic Camaro Cup. Could this be the seeds for an international Trans-Am style series? The cars are constructed by Howe Racing and are state of the art. At PBIR the V8 Stock Cars competed in multiple races and definitely drew a crowd.
The “bread and butter” of HSR events are the historic cars and this event did not disappoint. All of the cars were lovingly prepared and included Howard Cherry’s 1967 Porsche 910, Brad Hoyt’s 1969 Corvette, Bill Riddell’s radical 1963 Falcon and Dennis Olthoff’s Superformance Cobra. Personal sentimental favorites included Darrell Fancher’s 1969 Datsun 510 and William Power’s 1968 Datsun 2000 SRL 311 (sigh). All of the participants did a great job, and as always the HSR event was a “time machine” to view these great cars as we remember them.
For most of us, planning a dinner party is a daunting task. The ladies and gentlemen of HSR have to contend with hordes of car owners and racers, track officials, other sanctioning bodies and regulations. They put on a fabulous show and do it with a smile. Hats off to them and be sure to make plans to attend the HSR events in 2012.
02/20/12
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