Cars raced by Carroll Shelby, Peter Revson, Fred Lorenzen and Tony Bettenhausen have been featured in the second annual Field of Dreams car show held in conjunction with the launch of the Copperstate 1000 vintage rally. To be very honest, if you are a racing enthusiast, then I need not say much beyond that. If you happen to be anywhere near LA, you will go take an immediate look at this very special display. Some of the vintage race cars have been on display this year and that is as good as the last year’s theme of Italian racing cars. (I personally love the last year display and anything other than a complete display of Ferrari racing cars over the last century. That would be truly awesome!)
Featured at home plate of the famous diamond was a car built for but not raced by all-time stock car champion Richard Petty. The car was far from a stock car. It was a 1965 McKee Mk V sports racer powered by a rear-mounted Chrysler 426-cubic-inch Hemi engine. NASCAR banned the Hemi from stock car competition for 1965, so Plymouth, Petty’s primary supporter, pulled him from the series as well and commissioned the McKee sports racer for the Can-Am road racing series. But when the car wasn’t finished in time for the season to begin, others drove the car and Petty switched to drag racing.
There are loads of other cars that all carry with them one or more wonderful story which makes you go back to the days when racing was far more exciting and far less dependant on the car configuration. The display is a must for any auto enthusiast and hopefully this wonderful theme will continue over the next few years and we will get to see more vintage stuff. It is also a great place to visit for anyone who wishes to study the evolution of both race car design and engines. An absolute racing temple for the few days the show stops by!
