Riverside Ruminations

[Bardahl77]

Just watched a 3-episode show on NASCAR at Riverside in the Motor Trend 500 years. Very interesting, I loved the part about Gurney.

I got to wondering, if sprawl had not swallowed up Riverside, would the track still be around, and if so how would it have changed? In it's 30-odd year existence 19 drivers died there, from world-class racers to club drivers. If it were still there, I suppose there would be several chicanes like the Inner Loop at Watkins Glen, plus more level runoff areas, tire walls and SAFER barriers. When you look at wrecks like Foyt's, and the unyielding boilerplate against earthworks, it's no surprise how dangerous it was.

Here's a question - would you race at Riverside today if it was the same as it was in 1970? I know it's a dumb question, like assuming The Glen would be as it was in '70, but it's kind of a level of risk evaluation. Like if you'd run on a board track today at 180 MPH.

Is there a track you consider dangerous today?

[Jerry Kehoe]

I remember a Can-Am race in the early eighties that I was in at Riverside. My FVC ended up dropping a valve about half way through the race and I ended up parked in the ice plant in about the middle of the esses, therefore in the day I also ended up watching the rest of the race from the fence there. Each time Rosburg would come by he would be missing some part of the bodywork of the big old Lola 530 and by the end of the race and he was doing battle side by side with someone I can't remember there was hardly any bodywork left on the left hand side, couldn't really see the right but I imagine it looked similar. Keke was a wild man! At that time the track was reasonably safe with only the turn 5 wall at the end of the esses and the wall in turn nine but it was a fast corner that was banked quite a bit. For shear terror turns 2 and 3 at the original Laguna configuration as it was flat out or close to it and a mistake there had you directly into the dirt bank or guardrail and maybe the trees!

[Bob L.]

Funny how Riverside came up....just a week or so back, watched a movie called the Killers on TCM... 1964, Ronald Reagan's last picture...bunch of big names for the times... what actually snagged notice, was the racing action at Riverside.... current for that period... had plenty of shots of Cobra, with other stuff like Lotus and Elva sports races, even had a shot of 2, 2C's, at start...

so,so pic, Reagan was criminal master mind...Lee Marvin assassin, Angie Dickenson as leading love interest... Chet Aktins as master mechanic, more.... Limited racing, showed the track in period....before most of the stands were added... appeared to have lots of runoff in some spots...with big dirt clouds...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killers_(1964_film)

FYI.

Bob L.

[RussMcB]

My memories are probably the most recent, I think from the very last racing season there. I was on the crew of a Playboy Endurance C4 Corvette. It was a short endurance race (4 hours?). The series included a couple couple of celebrity drivers, like Bobby Carradine. During the race one of our cars lost a lower shock bolt so we rammed a wheel lug nut on (wrong threads) and were happy it stayed on for the rest of the race. I'm glad I wasn't the person who had to fix that back in the shop.

[azjc]

Yes I would drive Riverside today in a heartbeat - drove it from the mid 70's to the end... but in sedans. Would it scare me to drive it in my FC now? No, but there are two spots I would give the respect they deserve. I can not think of a track so different then anything I drive today, especially the long / GP course. i can still drive it with my eyes closed, every corner, every bump... I have personally seen 1 death there, taken a drivers girlfriend to meet him at the hospital. Both incidents could have happened at almost any track.

[Jim Gustafson]

Riverside was my home track in the early 70's. I raced FF's and later F-5000. I did a 360 in turn one once in a Lola/Chevy and never hit a thing, and there where walls on both sides. Loved the place, but looking back, pretty dangerous by today's standards. I was there as a spectator for the first time in 1971, and I couldn't have been on the property 5 minutes and a driver by the name of Mel Andrus was killed in the esses.

Jim Gustafson

[Tom Grossmann]

Having raced motorcycles there I'm pretty sure my answer is yes.