Photo Gallery 4: Allen R. Kuhn, 1963

Up close and personal view of Roger Penske.

I was at both Laguna Seca races in ’63. The June ’63 race was part of the United States Road Racing Championship. (In October the race was the Monterey Pacific Grand Prix.) There is the definitive tome on the USRRC series by Mike Martin that used my images to illustrate the June 1963 Race at Laguna Seca. Laguna Seca was a great place to shoot. Elevation changes and trees let you get a more colorful setting, even in B & W. I’m at the ‘Corkscrew’ where Don Devine #26 Scarab MK II Chevy Meister Brauser was dicing with Ken Miles in the Cobra. Don, unfortunately, was a DNF with brake and rear end problems. (oh, so many things about that, come to mind). Ken managed 9th OA and 4th in GT. The nose and right fender on the track behind the tree branch is the eventual winner Chuck Parsons in his Lotus 23B Ford.

Jim Hall, on October 20, 1963, at Laguna Seca was in his creation, #55 Chaparral 2A Chevy and thinking it is about time to cut the after-burner as he is in the ‘Corkscrew’ getting ready for the descent into a podium 3rd place finish.

Graham Hill was not number 1 this day on October 20, 1963, at Laguna Seca, but 12th OA and 5th in U2L. He was driving in the Ian Walker Racing Ltd, Lotus 23B Ford.

What do you get when you cross a Dave MacDonald with a Cooper Ford King Cobra from Shelby American? A laid-back 1st place finish for MacDonald at Laguna Seca on October 20, 1963, or like the week before at Riverside on October 16, 1963 where he scored another victory. I did not know Coopers came with a Lazy Boy seat.

There was a tight race at Pomona on April 21, 1963, where Dick Guldstrand in his Corvette Sting Ray won the production race. According to my stat expert, this was a small field and the Cobras remained in their nests. Dick got the best of Bob Bondurant who was in the Washburn Sting Ray by a few seconds. Don’t know who the lovely young girl is trying to hold her head on sitting next to Dick.

The Shelby Cobras had it pretty much their own way, as here at Pomona on July 14, 1963. Dave Macdonald, the winner of this race, is negotiating Turn 3, where some of his ‘close’ friends were standing. I have a shot at this corner where there are at least a dozen people standing around.

Whistle while you work is what some people do, like Jim Clark who borrowed a Lotus 23B Ford from Bob Challman. He is working at Riverside on October 13, 1963 where he would go on to take 5th OA and 1st in U2L. Nice of Challman to let Clark have a ride for this occasion, and with very good results. Hope Jimmy didn’t put that ding in the back fender.

I didn’t spend much time at Riverside hanging around the Start-Finish Line, but I’m glad I did on October 13, 1963. I first snapped this, with other photographers on my left. And an instant and one frame later…

… I was able to catch Dan Gurney #97 getting the jump on the rest of the field, #99 Bob Bondurant Cobra, #98 Lew Spencer Cobra, #211 Richie Ginther Ferrari GTO, and behind Bondurant is the Cobra of Allen Grant. The finishing order was: Bondurant 1st, Grant 2nd, Spencer 3rd, and Gurney 4th, who had some car problems. Shelby was so sure Gurney was going to win, that when Bob B. asked Shel, “If I win, could I drive the Cobra in the 200-mile Main Event?” Shelby said, “Sure.” Well, Gurney had problems and Bob did win the race. They put a #2 in front of the #99 and off he went. Grant had a specular start, along with Gurney, and at some point in time, they got to Turn 6 and Bob turned ‘NASCAR’ giving Grant a little kiss on the right rear fender sending Grant off the track. Grant had to wait until the entire field went by, to get back on the track. Well, Grant is like a man possessed, he passes everyone else, except Bob B. to claim 2nd. In the Main Event, Bob B. ended up 8th OA and 6th in O2L.

Side by side Dan Gurney in the Alfred Momo-Briggs Cunningham #61 Genie Mk 8 Ford is outside of John Surtees in the #11 Ferrari 250P after leaving Turn 7 at Riverside on October 13, 1963. Surtees would finish 4th while Gurney’s steed would falter as a DNF. I guess adding the 8 pieces, of what appears to be pipes, will compensate for Dan’s helmet sticking up higher that his rollbar. Good theory.

What can you say about Dave MacDonald that has not already been said? I can’t think of anything new. Here he is at Riverside on October 13, 1963 in the Shelby Cooper Ford King Cobra plying his trade. You all know what a great driver and mechanic he was. This was a truly magnificent drive for him where he not only won the race, he also lapped the entire field including 2nd place Roger Penske in the Zerex Special ‘sports car’. We know what it really was, don’t we?

Here we have cropped the image to give a more up close and personal view of Dave MacDonald.

This is another shot of Dave Macdonald at the same race, taken at Turn 6 just before he morphs into his dirt track persona. Hard to believe you could do that. This shot was used on the cover of the magazine I shot for, California Sports Car.

An example of how Mexican and American diplomatic relations should settle their differences, on the track. This track happens to be Riverside on October 13, 1963. Pedro Rodriguez in a Genie Mk 8 Ford sports car entered by Kjell Qvale seems to have an appendage attached to him. It turned out to be just Roger Penske in his Zerex Special Climax ‘sports car’; terms get a little confusing here. Penske was able to maneuver around Rodriguez to finish 2nd while Pedro held on to 3rd place. Both were bested by that MacDonald guy.

Penske on Pedro, uptight and close.

Riverside on October 13, 1963, a full view Roger Penske Zerex Special. We can now see what a true two-seater sports car looks like.

Here we have cropped the image to give a more up close and personal view of Roger Penske.

As I have said before, I didn’t spend a lot of time shooting in the pits. I did make an exception on October 13, 1963, in the ‘Pits of Riverside’. We arranged with starlet, Lorie Campbell, to do a photo-shoot with her and many of the great American and European drivers that were there for the L.A. Times Grand Prix. Carroll Shelby was one of the many who did not have a problem having his picture taken beside her. In fact, a 10-foot-high picture of this shot was used on the side of the Shelby American 40-foot trailer. Unfortunately only Shel’s image was used along with a shot of Dave MacDonald and Bob Holbert carefully cropped together. A discerning eye will spot two drivers in their ‘Business Suits’ swilling ‘coffee’ in the background. Their names are Ken Miles and John Surtees as if you couldn’t tell.