Hanford through the lens of a teenager

Lloyd Ruby, Jigger Sirous and George Follmer caught in a nice three-car battle during the 1969 Champ Car race at Hanford Motor Speedway.(Photo Copyright ©2011 Ken Durham, www.GearHeadPhotography.com)Reader Ken Durham shared some wonderful photos from the Champ Car races at Hanford Motor Speedway that he shot as a teenage fan. 

Art Pollard's beautiful Gerhardt Offy sits in the infields after retiring halfway through the 1969 Champ Car race at Hanford Motor Speedway. (Photo Copyright ©2011 Ken Durham, www.GearHeadPhotography.com)Durham recalls that he was 15 and 16 years old when he attended the four Champ Car races between November 1967 and April 1969. He had some great access and was able to snag some nice shots using a Yashica D camera.

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April 1969 Champ Car race program

The third annual "California 200" on April 13, 1969, was the last of four IndyCar races held at Hanford Motor Speedway -- as far as I can tell -- the last major race held at the track.

The 36-page program was the first of four Champ Car races that didn't  feature cartoon-like artwork, instead featuring 1968 USAC national champ Bobby Unser sitting in his checkerboard No. 1.

The chassis-engine mix had a new twist for 1969, as turbines were nowhere to be seen, although Art Pollard was driving one of the wedge-shaped chassis retrofitted with a turbo Offy.

Here's an index of the various chassis-engine combinations listed in the program:

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1967 Champ Car race program

RELATED STORIES: Read more about Marchbanks Speedway and Hanford Motor Speedway in my Marchbanks section, including this regularly updated "History of Marchbanks Speedway, aka Hanford Motor Speedway."

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Promoters of the inaugural 1967 USAC Champ Car race held at Hanford Motor Speedway on Oct. 22, 1967, did a nice job with their 36-page race program.

PDF of the Oct. 22, 1967, Champ Car race programThe program sold for $1 on race day and has all kinds of interesting stuff. The ads are a hoot, but these were the highlights for me:

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