Everyman Goes Racing

With Ferraris, Porsches, and Alfas around me as the flag dropped, I was living the dream I’d had as far back as I can remember

by Gary Anderson

If you walked the paddock at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the 35th Annual Monterey Rolex Historic Automobile Races on August 16–17, you might have thought vintage racing was entirely the province of wealthy enthusiasts—especially the three featured classes.

On your left you would have seen big rigs anchoring canopies over lines of Can-Am cars—ground-pounding McLaren and Lola V8s built and raced with virtually no limits on aerodynamics or engine size, until the first energy crisis in 1974. Tucked under those same canopies were neat tables covered with white cloths, at which participants and friends relaxed between races, while being served by uniformed caterers.

On your right was a marvelous display of equally noisy Trans Am cars—Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, ’Cudas, and Javelins, raced to promote sales in the muscle car heyday of the late 1960s—artfully arranged around small tables with parasols shading their owners and friends from the sun....