Monday, September 14, 2020 at 12:33PM

By Peter M. DeLorenzo



Detroit. The history of racing is filled with memorable moments, incandescent triumphs and yes, unspeakable tragedies. A kaleidoscope of images has captured these moments since racing's inception, and I plan to present a few of them in this column and in future columns in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy it.

Atlanta International Raceway, April 11, 1965. Marvin Panch and A.J. Foyt in Victory Lane after winning the Atlanta 500 NASCAR Grand National race in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Foyt took over the No. 21 Ford after Panch became ill and drove it to the win. Panch was credited with the victory per NASCAR rules. That's Leonard Wood in the lower left-hand corner of the photo.

Riverside International Raceway, January 21, 1968. Dan Gurney (No. 121 Wood Brothers Ron's Ford) after winning the Motor Trend 500. David Pearson (No. 17 Holman-Moody Racing East Tennessee Motor Co. Ford) was second, and Parnelli Jones (No. 115 Bill Stroppe/Vel's Ford) finished third. Dan was the absolute dominant force in his NASCAR guest drives at Riverside; winning in '63, '64, '65, '66 and '68.

(Photo by Dave Friedman)

Venice, California, February 1963. Carroll Shelby stands proudly next to three of his four Shelby American Cobras slated to be loaded up for the drive to Sebring, Florida, for the 12 Hours. The cars were further prepped and re-numbered upon revival.

(Photo by Dave Friedman)

Sebring, Florida, March 1967. Bruce McLaren and Mario Andretti stand next to the No. 1 Ford Mk IV in a promotional photo. The Mk IV was the ultimate development of the infamous "J-car," the machine that Ken Miles was killed in while testing at Riverside in August 1966. After the tragic loss of Miles, the "J-car" was thoroughly revamped and developed, with its racing debut scheduled for the 12 Hours of Sebring. Incredibly enough, the Mk IV was only raced twice: McLaren and Andretti won the 12 Hours of Sebring with it, and Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt memorably won the 24 Hours of Le Mans two months later.

(Photo by Dave Friedman)

Sebring, Florida, March 21, 1964. The Winners of the 12 Hours of Sebring: Dave MacDonald and Bob Holbert (No. 10 Shelby American Cobra Daytona Coupe), who were 1st in GT5.0 and 4th overall; and Umberto Maglioli and Mike Parkes (No. 22 Ferrari 275 P), who won the race overall.