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Unc's Back Pages

(wherein we fire up the scanner and clean out the scrapbook)

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79k Blackhawk Farms, Illinois - August 1972 - In the background, from left, Unc's Practice Wife, George's Practice Wife, George Lewis, Unc, with Paul Fanning in the Lotus XI. And no, it's not a vintage race. In the foreground, from left, is an NSU 1000TTS, Unc's Mini From Hell, and an early Lynx Formula V.

45k Blackhawk Farms, Illinois - June, 1974 - Unc and partner P.J. Petit took a perfectly good 1500 Spitfire with 1800 miles on the clock and did this to it. Unc now has less hair but probably still owns the blue, button-down shirt. P.J. made a bundle in anti-trust law (back when you still could) and retired to Wyoming.

30k Blackhawk Farms, Illinois - May, 1977 - Tired of blowing up Production car motors, Unc and P.J. bought this T-342, the first of a series of Formula Fords they acquired from Uncle Carl's House of Fine Lolas. Carl must have sold the cars as loss leaders, 'cause we spent a ton with him replacing crashed-off corners.

40k Sears Point, California - September, 1983 - Yes, people really did race Ford Fiestas. Unc (shown with his non-Practice wife, Nancy The Understanding) won his Class at the 1983 Pacific Coast Road Racing Championship with this one, one of the better imported econoboxes Ford ever pawned off on unsuspecting buyers.

55k Laguna Seca, California - October, 1984 - TV cameras don't do Laguna's famed Corkscrew justice - it's very steep, as shown in the straight-on shot. This car was later rolled at this exact spot by a rental driver, much to Unc's dismay. Unc was driving his Honda in the same race and managed to avoid hitting his own car.

54k Riverside, California - November, 1981 - Unc and Parker Johnstone, after co-driving a Riverside 3-Hour Enduro. Parker went on to a notable career in Formula Atlantic, IMSA RS and Camel Lights with the Comptech Honda/Acuras, and a decent Indy-Car stint. Unc stayed home and went slow.

52k Sears Point, California - June, 1987 - There were a lot of good weekends with the Hondas. Unc raced 3 different ones for some years. Here he demonstrates the maximum load-carrying capability of a 1985 CRX Si, toting six people around on a victory lap. Note the Preppy Opus mascot coming out of the open sunroof.

45k Sears Point, California - May, 1988 - There were also a few bad weekends. After rolling the car in qualifying and sliding it upside-down into a pit wall, it was still raceable. Started last, passed 27 cars, finished 2nd in Class by a few feet.

50k Sears Point, California - September, 1988 - Unc is shown here with his normal racing line ("Everything inside the fences is part of the racetrack."). Later in a race, when the tires went off, all four of them would be inside the berm on the gravel at 70 mph. Amazing what a good car will do when you let it.

42k Chicago, Illinois - April, 1977 - For those of you who think the SUV boom is something new. Before this '76 Suburban, there were 4wd International Travelalls. Oblivious as Unc was to good gas mileage, the K20 Suburban later got even bigger tires and a 6-inch lift kit. Made a wonderful Chicago commuter car.

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	79k	Blackhawk Farms, Illinois - August 1972 - In the background, from left, Unc's Practice Wife, George's Practice Wife, George Lewis, Unc, with Paul Fanning in the Lotus XI. And no, it's not a vintage race. In the foreground, from left, is an NSU 1000TTS, Unc's Mini From Hell, and an early Lynx Formula V.
	45k	Blackhawk Farms, Illinois - June, 1974 - Unc and partner P.J. Petit took a perfectly good 1500 Spitfire with 1800 miles on the clock and did this to it. Unc now has less hair but probably still owns the blue, button-down shirt. P.J. made a bundle in anti-trust law (back when you still could) and retired to Wyoming.
	30k	Blackhawk Farms, Illinois - May, 1977 - Tired of blowing up Production car motors, Unc and P.J. bought this T-342, the first of a series of Formula Fords they acquired from Uncle Carl's House of Fine Lolas. Carl must have sold the cars as loss leaders, 'cause we spent a ton with him replacing crashed-off corners.
	40k	Sears Point, California - September, 1983 - Yes, people really did race Ford Fiestas. Unc (shown with his non-Practice wife, Nancy The Understanding) won his Class at the 1983 Pacific Coast Road Racing Championship with this one, one of the better imported econoboxes Ford ever pawned off on unsuspecting buyers.
	55k	Laguna Seca, California - October, 1984 - TV cameras don't do Laguna's famed Corkscrew justice - it's very steep, as shown in the straight-on shot. This car was later rolled at this exact spot by a rental driver, much to Unc's dismay. Unc was driving his Honda in the same race and managed to avoid hitting his own car.
	54k	Riverside, California - November, 1981 - Unc and Parker Johnstone, after co-driving a Riverside 3-Hour Enduro. Parker went on to a notable career in Formula Atlantic, IMSA RS and Camel Lights with the Comptech Honda/Acuras, and a decent Indy-Car stint. Unc stayed home and went slow.
	52k	Sears Point, California - June, 1987 - There were a lot of good weekends with the Hondas. Unc raced 3 different ones for some years. Here he demonstrates the maximum load-carrying capability of a 1985 CRX Si, toting six people around on a victory lap. Note the Preppy Opus mascot coming out of the open sunroof.
	45k	Sears Point, California - May, 1988 - There were also a few bad weekends. After rolling the car in qualifying and sliding it upside-down into a pit wall, it was still raceable. Started last, passed 27 cars, finished 2nd in Class by a few feet.
	50k	Sears Point, California - September, 1988 - Unc is shown here with his normal racing line ("Everything inside the fences is part of the racetrack."). Later in a race, when the tires went off, all four of them would be inside the berm on the gravel at 70 mph. Amazing what a good car will do when you let it.
	42k	Chicago, Illinois - April, 1977 - For those of you who think the SUV boom is something new. Before this '76 Suburban, there were 4wd International Travelalls. Oblivious as Unc was to good gas mileage, the K20 Suburban later got even bigger tires and a 6-inch lift kit. Made a wonderful Chicago commuter car.