![blackhawk01.jpg (80565 bytes)](blackhawk01_small.jpg) |
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Blackhawk Farms, Illinois -
August 1972 - In the background, from left, Unc's Practice Wife, George's
Practice Wife, George Lewis, Unc, with Paul Fanning in the Lotus XI. And no, it's not a
vintage race. In the foreground, from left, is an NSU 1000TTS, Unc's Mini From Hell, and
an early Lynx Formula V. |
![spitfire01.jpg (45200 bytes)](spitfire01_small.jpg) |
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Blackhawk Farms, Illinois -
June, 1974 - Unc and partner P.J. Petit took a perfectly good 1500 Spitfire with
1800 miles on the clock and did this to it. Unc now has less hair but probably still owns
the blue, button-down shirt. P.J. made a bundle in anti-trust law (back when you still
could) and retired to Wyoming. |
![fford01.jpg (30531 bytes)](fford01_small.jpg) |
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Blackhawk Farms, Illinois -
May, 1977 - Tired of blowing up Production car motors, Unc and P.J. bought this
T-342, the first of a series of Formula Fords they acquired from Uncle Carl's House of
Fine Lolas. Carl must have sold the cars as loss leaders, 'cause we spent a ton with him
replacing crashed-off corners. |
![fiesta01.jpg (40271 bytes)](fiesta01_small.jpg) |
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Sears Point, California -
September, 1983 - Yes, people really did race Ford Fiestas. Unc (shown with his
non-Practice wife, Nancy The Understanding) won his Class at the 1983 Pacific Coast Road
Racing Championship with this one, one of the better imported econoboxes Ford ever pawned
off on unsuspecting buyers. |
![fiesta02.jpg (55376 bytes)](fiesta02_small.jpg) |
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Laguna Seca, California -
October, 1984 - TV cameras don't do Laguna's famed Corkscrew justice - it's very
steep, as shown in the straight-on shot. This car was later rolled at this exact
spot by a rental driver, much to Unc's dismay. Unc was driving his Honda in the same race
and managed to avoid hitting his own car. |
![riverside01.jpg (54574 bytes)](riverside01_small.jpg) |
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Riverside, California -
November, 1981 - Unc and Parker Johnstone, after co-driving a Riverside 3-Hour
Enduro. Parker went on to a notable career in Formula Atlantic, IMSA RS and Camel Lights
with the Comptech Honda/Acuras, and a decent Indy-Car stint. Unc stayed home and went
slow. |
![honda01.jpg (52843 bytes)](honda01_small.jpg) |
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Sears Point, California -
June, 1987 - There were a lot of good weekends with the Hondas. Unc raced 3
different ones for some years. Here he demonstrates the maximum load-carrying capability
of a 1985 CRX Si, toting six people around on a victory lap. Note the Preppy Opus mascot
coming out of the open sunroof. |
![honda02.jpg (45905 bytes)](honda02_small.jpg) |
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Sears Point, California -
May, 1988 - There were also a few bad weekends. After rolling the car in
qualifying and sliding it upside-down into a pit wall, it was still raceable. Started
last, passed 27 cars, finished 2nd in Class by a few feet. |
![honda03.jpg (51016 bytes)](honda03_small.jpg) |
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Sears Point, California -
September, 1988 - Unc is shown here with his normal racing line ("Everything
inside the fences is part of the racetrack."). Later in a race, when the tires went
off, all four of them would be inside the berm on the gravel at 70 mph. Amazing what a
good car will do when you let it. |
![truck01.jpg (42318 bytes)](truck01_small.jpg) |
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Chicago, Illinois - April,
1977 - For those of you who think the SUV boom is something new. Before this '76
Suburban, there were 4wd International Travelalls. Oblivious as Unc was to good gas
mileage, the K20 Suburban later got even bigger tires and a 6-inch lift kit. Made a
wonderful Chicago commuter car. |