A 1957 publicity photo, showing Bob Drake in Joe Lubin’s 1.5-liter Bobtail Cooper/Climax next to his wife Mary Davis. Mary is at the wheel of Bruce Kessler’s 2-liter Ferrari 500TR, a former Johnny von Neumann car. [photo: Joe Playan collection, courtesy Jerry Entin]
Story by Willem Oosthoek
Today only a few surviving California motorracing enthusiasts seem to remember the name of Joe Lubin. Yet, Lubin’s activities were a major part of the West Coast sports car scene from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. After all these years it is pertinent to go back in time and revisit his contributions to the sports.