racing photographer Ron Lathrop captured photos of the prominent racetracks and their drivers in America during the late 1960s, before going into the Air Force from 1965 - 69 and again from 1972 - 92.

Sunoco's 1969 Camaro "Inspection Cruiser". Huh, even though it's just a 307, it's still a 1969 Camaro, and that would be mighty cool to see show up

Above is the famous frozen fuel of the Penske Donahue Camaro... dry ice was used to super chill a barrel or drum of gas, which when loaded into the Camaro, was helpful in packing more fuel into the gas tank, and lower the fuel air mix temp at the carb, possibly lowering the engine temp - but certainly packing more oxygen atoms per cfm for a more power

here's a better look at the drum in a barrel, being supercooled, and frosting the bottom half of the barrel

Ron was a freelance racing photographer dating back to 1963 and did work for Sports Car Graphic, Competition Press, Road and Track, as well as a number of karting magazines and even Rod and Custom.

https://bangshift.com/general-news/thursday-time-killer-a-massive-treasure-trove-of-vintage-late-1960s-trans-am-photos/
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=8309.0

Kettle Moraine Preservation & Restoration, dedicated to the integrity and preservation of the history of motorsports, ranging from fully race-ready vintage cars to the trophies they may have won 'in the day.'

Above, Penske CHOSE the KMPR team to restore the Mark Donohue raced 1972 Gurney All American Racers Indy Eagle #7225.   Here they are at the 2016 Milwaukee Concours d'Elegance, where KMPR's work won Best in Class for Race Cars.


Thirty minutes outside Milwaukee, there is a small warehouse in the back of a quiet industrial park. It is one hour south of Road America, one of the greatest and most storied road courses on this continent, and not by accident. There is no signage, nothing to identify the business, just a few parked trailers and a small gravel parking lot. The grass out front is neatly kept but slowly subsuming the rocks.

And then you walk inside, and there are Indianapolis race cars. There are also race car parts, from loose gears on a bench to shelves full of hand-lettered bodywork, the chassis attached to the latter long ago crashed or broken up.

Rick and his son Jacques are historians. The work of their shop, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration (KMPR), has been showcased at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and lauded by Dan Gurney and Roger Penske.

Penske’s outfit asked the Dresangs for help when restoring one of the team’s enormous 1970s International Fleetstar transporters. Penske himself requested a Dresang-rebuilt Penske Eagle—the ex-Mark Donohue 1972 example shown here—to be present in 2016 when he received a lifetime achievement award from the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen. Staff at Gurney’s All American Racers shop in California have referred to Kettle Moraine as “AAR East,” due to the store of Gurney blueprints and cars, and the Dresangs’ devotion to sleuthing the team’s past.

Even with those ties, KMPR is an odd bird in the world of motorsport: a top-shelf restoration facility with no customers. The shop was founded to maintain and share the Dresangs’ vehicles, but it’s more than just a collection of machinery.

“The sport is a flushing toilet, and only a few people make it to the rim. It’s like anything—if a war’s fought, we want to know about the losing side. At Indy, there are 32 losing sides.”

“We just want to share the stories,” Jacques says. Preferably, he adds, those from outside the spotlight.

It’s why the KMPR trophy cases are full of vintage cups, from America to Europe, engraved with obscure names. Why Jacques hunts down crew members from C-level teams, or even their relatives, gently inquiring about the past.

“When I started this, I just started calling people, collecting data,” Jacques says. “Cross-referencing things, crew-member A to crew-member B. I’m an ass for the truth. I don’t care if it’s not what I want it to be, I just want to know what it was."

The work may be tedious, but the result is valuable insight into the sport’s dimmer corners—that unglamorous zone where journalists and historians rarely tread.

The Dresangs have day jobs and thus mostly deal with Kettle Moraine business in after hours. Evenings and weekends of research, mechanical work, or simply helping the odd well- known driver sort through his history.

“Take David Hobbs . . . it was funny. We were going through old photos at his house with a bottle of wine. I was asking, Who’s this guy, who’s that guy? He said, ‘Why do you want to know about him?’ I said, Because he did this and this and this, with nothing. He goes, ‘You really like the little guys, eh?’

“Yes. Because they tried. And you if you go to the Wikipedia page, there’s nothing, and it bothers me.”
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a13930479/the-wisconsin-shop-that-keeps-forgotten-indy-500-history-alive/
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In 2009, the team found an ultra-rare 1977 All American Racers Eagle DGF Formula Ford in California.

After a year of restoration, the car took to the track at the SCCA Kettle Moraine Regionals, winning one of the two sprint races. The season-ending Fall Sprints Regional event at Blackhawk Farms Fall Sprints proved difficult for the team, losing longtime friend and team member Loyd Haslee to cancer the morning of qualifying. Dresang and the team went 10-10ths for their lost friend, capturing pole position, winning all three heat races and the feature event in a car many had thought was past its prime.

 Since 2011, the team primarily focuses on vintage open-wheel car racing and restoration, mainly with AAR Eagles as their specialty

http://kmvintage.net/news/coming-soon-to-road-track
http://www.kmvintage.net/about.html

Found and restored, Penske's Blue Hilton

After an exhaustive restoration process, Team Penske has unveiled one of the most unique pieces of its history, a customized 1972 International Fleetstar truck known in the racing circles as “The Blue Hilton.” The truck was one of the first known enclosed transporters used for racing purposes. It served the team in various capacities from 1972-1983.

the Blue Hilton transported the No. 66 McLaren that Mark Donohue drove to victory in the 1972 Indianapolis 500 – the first of Team Penske’s record 16 wins in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” In conjunction with its sister transporter, “The White Hilton,” it was used to transport the powerful, championship-winning Porsche 917s that dominated the landscape of the Can-Am Series in the early 1970s with George Follmer and Donohue before it was sold in 1983.

Until Jerry Breon, a long-time Penske team member, located the sales listing in an automotive trade magazine in the fall of 2015, this historic vehicle was thought to have been scrapped. The truck was purchased from George Boyd of Urbana, Illinois, who had utilized it while competing in various racing series until retiring it to a spot on his property.

 He was the only owner of the truck after its days at Team Penske. After verification and removal from the Boyd property, the Blue Hilton was towed to the Penske Truck Leasing (PTL) Collision Center in Ft. Wayne, Indiana where the restoration began with the help of Donohue’s original blueprints.

They took it to truck body manufacturer Morgan Corporation, who was able to supply many of the original extrusions used in building the box section. One Morgan employee had been with the company when the Blue Hilton was constructed in 1972, and provided invaluable advice during the rig’s restoration. While the aluminum skin of the box section appeared well-preserved, much of the internal steel structure had corroded after decades parked in an Illinois field.

“When you talk with the crew members that drove and worked out of this transporter over those years, and you look at the photos from the many cars it carried, you see how the Blue Hilton was an integral part of our history,” said Bernie King. “It’s certainly very much a part of the Team Penske heritage. Everyone at Penske Truck Leasing that was involved did a fantastic job of restoring this truck to how it was when it ran and carried many of the team’s winning cars.”

http://www.teampenske.com/news/index.cfm/a/666/53212/TEAM_PENSKE%20RESTORES%20ICONIC%20TRANSPORTER
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/02/27/team-penskes-1972-international-transporter-the-blue-hilton-lives-again/

Penske's Grand Sport Roadster Vette at Sebring, 1966

Only two Corvette Grand Sport Roadsters were built and Roger Penske bought both of them.

Chassis 001 was picked up from the GM factory and prepared for the 1966 Sebring 12 Hour event. Prepared by Traco and upgraded with a 427 ci "Daytona Mystery Motor" topped by a single Holley carb.

To minimize time spent in the pits an air jack/oil/water system was added to the Penske Roadster. A set of three valves on the right fender allows compressed air, oil and water to be delivered quickly and easily. If not driven carefully, the Penske Roadster could actually pick its front tires up off the ground during acceleration, so a large front spoiler was added to combat lift under acceleration and at speed.

Driven by a couple of Dicks, Guldstrand and Thompson, it made its racing debut racing against Ford GT40s, Ferraris, Chaparrals and Porsches. The competition was two years more advanced, but nothing could keep up with the Grand Sport in a straight line. A.J. Foyt, driving a GT40 Mk II at Sebring that year, was heard to say: "What's in that damn dinosaur? It went by me like I was stopped!"

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/pd673sc8959
https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/rw011gf9567

Stolen in a parking lot, engine ripped out destroying the surrounding chassis/body, and making the car beyond repairing for competitive racing, the Penske Sunoco Lola t70 Mk 3b

The Penske team had won the Daytona 24 six weeks earlier in a T70 and hoped to win Sebring but it was not to be when the rear suspension succumbed to the rough Sebring circuit.

 However, both Chevrolet and sponsor Sunoco wanted Penske to go to Le Mans so the car was put on the transporter for the trip to the garages in Philadelphia. Unfortunately the crew driving the truck stopped in Ormond Beach, FL for some rest and relaxation (bar hopping) and when they awoke the next day the car was gone.

The shell of the car was found a day later but the engine and most of the other equipment were gone. The thieves had literally cut the engine from the frame ruining the car and ruining any chances of taking the car to Le Mans.

The immaculately prepared Penske Lola T70 Mk. 3B at Sebring in 1969.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/505973489414476/?fref=nf

Penske team AMC Matadors in Nascar

All images from https://www.facebook.com/groups/505973489414476/?fref=nf

Found on http://enginedynamicsinc.tumblr.com/

Get ready for a shocking cool story... 2 AMC Spirits raced the 1979 24 hours of Nürburgring with two Penske prepared Eagle Spirits in 1979

And they didn’t just race. They finished 1-2 in class, but there’s a lot more to the story. The drivers — which included IndyCar racer Lyn St. James and James Brolin — came to Nürburgring without ever having driven the track. So, they recruited a local to show them around the place. This local turned out to be a WWII veteran named Heinz who lost his right arm while serving as the captain in a Panzer tank.

Skip the first minute


Found on http://www.carcrushing.com/10-things-didnt-know-amc/

How many grades of gas were needed? Why 8? Penske advertising Sunoco gas

Found on http://bangshift.com/blog/vintage-tv-ad-perfection-roger-penske-and-mark-donohue-pitching-sunoco-fuels-circa-1968.html

How to cram more gas into a race car... step one, innovation. Step two, dry ice 21 gallons of gas. Step 3, bring to the race track and cram into the Penske Camaro

that is a lot of frozen condensation on that drum

in the above you can see the can in the can, and below the drawing was found that gave dimensions

the above image image shows the car at the most recent Pebble Beach event, recreating the glory days of 1967 and the famous frozen gas trick

photos from http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=k0rdem8317u8nl330ji7usq3a7&topic=8309.15 and http://saacforum.com/index.php?topic=14660.75

1969 Mission Bell 250 http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/

top 10 car guys of all time, in no order

Steve McQueen
Henry Ford
Jay Leno
Petersen Publishing founder Bob Petersen
'ol dad Gray Baskerville
NHRA founder Wally Parks
Mickey Thompson
Smokey Yunick
Bob Lutz
Zora Duntov

Not afraid to add to the list instead of bumping anyone off it, I'm adding Enzo Ferrari, who you may not know, was selling cars so he could afford to make and drive race cars.

Am I wrong? Did I not think of some other people who are more of the "car guy" through and through, for their influence, history, ability, hands on knowledge, and passion for vehicles in general? I hope you surprise me! Please either email me at jbohjkl@yahoo.com, or use the comment section

East Side (Yo!) http://backstreetwheels.blogspot.com/ adds the following, and I'm going to have to think about them and look them up for my own education before I'm going to add them to my list... some I'm probably going to, but not all of them I think... anyway, here is East Side Richard's top car people:
Giles Villeneuve
Paul Newman
Don Garlits
Shirley Muldowney
Roger Penske
Carroll Shelby
Mark Donahue
MARIO
Ron Fellows
A.J. Foyt
Phil Hill
Danica Patrick (HOT)
Sterling Moss
Lee Iacoco
Dan Panoz
The Edelbrock family

All right, I'm adding Carroll Shelby to my list without further thought, I've already made the case for Carroll, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2006/12/meanest-cobra-ever-made-ever-carrols.html

I'm adding Bruce Meyer, former chair of the Peterson Museum, collector, restorer, etc. Owns several instantly recognizable cars, like the Pierson bros coupe, the Greer, Black and Prudhomme dragster, the Doane Spencer highboy roadster, and the So-Cal Special bellytanker
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/collecting/2005/03/04/cz_ms_0304guide.html

Randy add Walter P Chrysler.. who introduced the Plymouth and DeSoto lines of cars in the 1920's and they survived the great depression, something Randy believes was only accomplished by one other line that was introduced in the 20's.... Pontiac
East Side Richard forgot his favorite, Giles Villeneuve in his earlier list, so that is now appended. Giles had the best battle for 2nd place in racing... is the contention of http://www.theprancinghorse.co.uk/profile_villeneuve.html and I agree emphatically. Just enjoy the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFxfPw1LoCg&feature=related for the first minute, Giles is in the red Ferrari

Penske, the brilliant career highlights

Here is a man who has prevailed in every form of racing in which he has participated:
Penske has won the Indianapolis 500 more times than any other owner.

His team was so dominant in the Can-Am Series that he destroyed it, because it was no longer competitive.
To this date, the Penske 917 Can-Am Porsche is considered the single most awesome racing car ever created.

Back when Penske was the team owner for the original Trans-Am, his Chevies dominated. Until he switched to, of all things, American Motors. Two years later, the Javelin won the championship. A couple of years after that, the series imploded, partly because it took too much money and too much commitment to compete with Penske.


However, Penske’s commitment to his drivers isn’t best illustrated by the races he’s won or the series he’s dominated. It’s best illustrated by a story told by Dr. Terry Trammell, at the time of the events the rising star of orthopedic surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.
It was during a race at a track in Canada called Sanair that Mears crashed in an open-wheel racer. In those days, drivers’ feet protruded beyond the front axle line and any frontal impact damaged the driver’s feet, usually crippling them for life. There was no crush zone. Other than the driver’s feet.
Mears’s feet were pulverized by the crash.
Mere hours after the crash, two men showed up at Methodist Hospital in Indiana.
They located Dr. Trammell, explained to him that they had been sent by Mr. Penske, and that they were not allowed to take ‘no’ for an answer. Dr. Trammell explained that he had surgeries scheduled. They explained that the jet was waiting.
Dr. Trammell got on that jet. The attending doctors had not believed that Rick Mears would walk again. Instead, he won two more Indy 500’s. Driving for Roger Penske.
What is less known is that Penske had dispatched the two men and the jet to Indianapolis before Mears had been taken from the track to go to the hospital.
But, you see, that’s always been Penske’s genius.
He’s a genius at recognizing who is, and who isn’t, just that good.
And then sticking with them, no matter what it takes, to make it happen.

Via: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/-dodge-wins-the-daytona-500-is-roger-finally-paying-attention-ar52623.html