Hillclimb history help needed

[glenthompson]

from CCR:

I had been thinking about writing a book on hillclimbing for many years. There are a lot of stories, records and racing history from those days that will soon be forgotten. When I started gathering my old Chimney Rock pictures, old prgrams and information from my "personal archives" I was amazed how much I had packratted away. Still there wasn't enough to start a book on history of hillclimbing.

George Bowland, John Finger, Walt Wurzbach and several others have offered their help in the form of interviews, pictures, results. With their help, I am going to undertake this project.

If anyone in this region has any pictures, brochures, results... from Chimney Rock, Beech Mountain, Buckhorn or other hill climbs in the south, please send me an email. Don't worry about giving me too much info or stuff I "probably already have". No one has all the records and there are pictures taken by individuals from all angles of those mountains that are unique. If you spectated and have memories or you course worked and had a thrill, please...write it out and email it to me. I would really appreciate your help.

I spoke recently with someone who told me a competitor ran Chimney Rock 4 years before he made it past turn 7 without wrecking. On his fourth year, he made it past turn 7 and said "I almost pulled over because I had no idea where to go!" Another driver told me recently, he lost it at the rock wall and his rear hit the ivy wall. He said it was a hard lick but the car was stilling running and rolling. He stayed on the throttle all the way up the mountain. When he got out of the car at the top, he found out he had snagged about 10 feet of ivy and drug it all the way up to the up behind the car. I've got pictures from the 60's (no I did not take them) with the sun coming up on the gates of the park with a line of Austin Healeys, TR3s and MGAs...all lined up ready for race day.

Any stories like these (old or new, funny or serious, competition or commradery) ...any results, posters, memories, trophies, any old pics, please send them my way. I appreciate your help in preserving a part of Southern racing history and I promise I'll try to do it justice. Thanks for your help.

Ted Theodore
tedagmar@juno.com