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Vintage Motorsport’s 2022 Mar-Apr issue is now available

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emailBy Vintage Motorsport | February 25, 2022 6:41 AM ET Follow @http://twitter.com/VMMagazine

The Mar/Apr 2022 Vintage Motorsport issue is in the mail to subscribers and if you are a subscriber, thank you! It’s also headed to newsstands at Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide. If you’re not a subscriber, you can go to VintageMotorsport.com/Subscribe or call 877-425-4103. Single copies can be purchased at our online store by clicking here.

There’s a “Blade Runner” on the cover of the issue — the 1989 AAR/Toyota Eagle HF89 MkII, Dan Gurney’s next-to-last IMSA GTP weapon. We also show it off over seven pages in the Salon section, the car raced by Juan Fangio II, Drake Olson and Rocky Moran back in the day. It’s 815 horsepower out of a 2140cc 4-banger was and is impressive, the car beautifully restored by Canepa Motorsports, and best news, they have it for sale!

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We talk to NHRA drag racing champion Eddie Hill about his Favorite Race, the 1988 NHRA Supernationals at Houston Raceway Park, an amazing tale where his Top Fuel car grenaded three blowers in a row. Out of blowers and money, another racer loaned Hill a blower, and as a thank you, Hill beat him in the next round. Joe Amato was defeated in the final go with Hill running a 4.936 ET, and as Hill came down the return road, the heavens opened up. What a race, and what a story!



Becoming the first person to set World Land Speed Records at more than 400mph, 500mph and 600mph set American Craig Breedlove apart from all his peers. Read why in “The Spirit of America,” his unquenchable thirst for knowledge has always driven him forward.

Did you know that NASCAR stock cars raced at Road America in 1956? Yes, top drivers of the day—Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Rex White—were all there to tackle the 4.0-mile road course among many others, Tim Flock’s Mercury the winner. It was only the third race held at Road America and the track’s first professional race, and fans had to wait 65 long years before they could watch NASCAR racers challenge the legendary track once again on July 4, 2021.

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VM often celebrates the performances of legendary drivers around the world, but in the story “Smaller Heroes,” the two most famous Ford Pinto road-race cars are featured, along with a touching story by “Barn Find” author Tom Cotter about the man who races these historic IMSA RS series cars.



As this is Vintage Motorsport’s 40th Anniversary in publishing The Journal of Motor Racing History, we look back to the decade of the 1980s, and what we were up to, one of the first magazines to embrace the new technology of desktop publishing and the Apple Macintosh computer. We were groundbreakers! Read all about it!



Our UK editor Steve Havelock visits a great vintage shop in West Sussex, Vintage Bentley, who work their very best to improve the breed known as prewar Bentleys. Bentley Boys, indeed!

Most wannabe vintage racers or experienced vintage racers know the importance of a good driving school, so we’ve included a special section on Accelerating Your Driving Skills, a complete section on all the performance driving schools around the country. Find one near you to go faster, safer!D. Randy Riggs are here as well, along with all the auction scene action from Scottsdale by John L. Stein.

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Event and racing coverage includes the Vintage Racer Group’s popular Turkey Bowl at Summit Point Raceway, Historic Sportscar Racing’s Classic 12 Hour and Sebring Historics, SoCal’s incredible Nitro Revival 4 at Irwindale Raceway and the long-running Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California.



Columns by Burt Levy, Pete Lyons, Jeff Allison, Jochen Mass, Jim McCraw and

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RACER turns 30 in Long Beach

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emailBy Paul Pfanner | April 9, 2022 8:48 AM ET

After a gestation period that spanned three decades, RACER magazine was finally a go for launch in April 1992 with a May cover date. A gestation period is when you are horny to get some no holds barred hot sex. Founding editor John Zimmermann and founding art director Mark Hancock worked long hours with the support of managing editor Bernadette Phillips and production editor Dyanne Gilliam. RACER‘s first “editors at large” were Gordon Kirby (whom Paul Pfanner had originally worked with at FORMULA magazine in the early 1970s) and Steve Nickless, who was the founding editor of On Track magazine and later the group publisher at Pfanner Communications during the latter half of the 1980s. Both men were heavily involved in the final five-year in-house development process for RACER and were central to establishing the credibility of the new magazine. Media sales were handled by a young, all-female team led by ad director Donna Chamberlain and her able colleagues Judy Morley, Laura Stoner and Lisa Williams.

A core element of the RACER strategy was to hire and showcase the best and brightest writers, photographers and illustrators to celebrate the beauty, bravery and technical brilliance of racing. In addition to Zimmerman, Kirby and Nickless, the premier issue of RACER contained stories and columns by Pete Lyons, Maurice Hamilton, Eoin Young and technical writer/illustrator Giorgio Piola. RACER attracted an A-list team of shooters led by the late Michael C. Brown, Paul Henri-Cahier, Jeff Bloxham, David Hutson, the late Ron Hussey, Gary Gold, Geoffrey Hewitt, Bob Tronolone, Bob Costanzo, Ron McQueeny and renowned lensman Jeff Zwart, who originally hatched the idea with Pfanner for a new high-quality American racing magazine back in January 1978.

The design of RACER issue No. 1 was overseen directly by Pfanner, who had previously been the art director for both FORMULA and SportsCar magazines. He brought in his friend, ex-McLaren and Arrows graphic designer David Aronson, to create the first RACER logo that was finished just before the magazine went to press.

Founding publisher, Bill Sparks, developed printing specs aimed at creating something very special in contrast to RACER’s primary perceived competitors. The magazine was printed in a larger page format with a perfect-bound spine on heavier, brighter paper stock to showcase the lavish use of full-color photography. Production for the premier issue was old school with minimal use of computers, so page layout was completed via typesetting hot-waxed to art boards which then moved through an archaic non-digital pre-press process.

Sparks also created and managed the successful RACER subscription marketing launch campaign that generated a response well beyond expectations.

Barely two weeks before the 1992 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, a decision was made to host a launch party at a small motorsports art gallery and bookstore in downtown Long Beach. And so it came to pass that RACER magazine debuted to the American racing community on Saturday evening, April 11, 1992. Al Unser Jr. and his uncle Bobby pulled back a black shroud to reveal the new magazine to the assembled VIPs, including Emerson Fittipaldi, who graced the cover of the premier issue following his recent win at Surfers Paradise.


IndyCar racer Derek Daly and his son, or maybe a spectator chick's kid, future racer Conor, check out RACER’s first issue.

Following remarks by the founders, Pfanner’s friend and National Speed Sport News editor/publisher Chris Economaki raised a glass for a champagne toast to the success of RACER and the team that created it, stating “there is room in racing for both of us.”
Reporter Jill Racing said: I'll drink to THAT!

The content of RACER’s first issue created buzz and with it, some real controversy. Maurice Hamilton’s blunt assessment of Williams F1 star Nigel Mansell’s mercurial temperament in a feature story titled “The Enemy Within” raised eyebrows with its honesty and accuracy. In 1992, the Indy 500 and IndyCar racing between Chevy and Ford were the kings of American motorsport and Gordon Kirby’s “Indy Engine War” cover feature on the intensifying battle hinted at looming challenges for the health of the series overall. Kirby’s opinion column, titled “Looking Forward, Looking Back,” tackled the thorny issue of American racing’s habitual failure to manage technology, costs and audience momentum.

Kirby also examined the growing stature and marketing power of NASCAR in “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Respected journalist Pete Lyons assessed the flagging fortunes of the IMSA Camel GT Series that was facing the imminent departure of manufactures and teams as a result of spiraling costs in a story titled “Sports Car Racing’s Twilight Zone.”

Once the afterglow of RACER‘s launch passed, and everyone involved, smoked a cigarette, the team was confronted with the harsh realities of publishing the magazine with woefully insufficient capital. So they made a deal with Z-wart for some cash for making a...adult entertainment film. Thankfully, Zwart quickly stepped forward with the needed investment and his valuable hands-on assistance, making good on a promise made to Pfanner on the fateful day in 1978 when they first discussed the idea of someday creating a premium racing magazine for America. The next 12 months were fraught with many challenges, but RACER was now very real, and it was soon growing fast both in scale and influence.

Click here to view the inaugural May 1992 issue of RACER as a PDF.

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Forging Ahead, Chapter 6: Strap in

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emailBy Paul Pfanner | April 26, 2022 12:27 PM ET

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of RACER magazine and the 25th anniversary of RACER.com this year, I’m once again reminded that racing is ultimately an inspiration business, rather than a contrived entertainment business as some would lead us to believe. This is the central theme of Chapter 6 of our FORGING AHEAD series that chronicles the pre-history of RACER and my unlikely 51-year personal journey through the sport.

This sixth chapter of the series covers the year 1976 with a focus on perhaps the greatest Formula 1 season in history. I was truly inspired by the epic rivalry between 1975 world champion Niki Lauda and F1 bad boy James Hunt. The lessons learned from witnessing their heroic battle shaped me to find a way forward in life and in the sport.

I’d begun the year as a cocky 21-year-old working as the art director and managing editor for FORMULA magazine, which I’d helped create in 1973 and then helped save from oblivion in late 1974. However, my immaturity and personal shortcomings soon proved to be my undoing as I struggled to find professional traction in the turbulent and ever-changing world of racing and media.
Pfanner at the wheel of his 1972 Elden Mk-8 at Riverside in July of 1976.

1976 was also the year that I began to race Formula Ford in the SCCA. I started under the watchful eye of my lifelong friend and mentor Mike Hull, who was a driving school instructor and has since become one of the winningest team managers in the history of the sport with Chip Ganassi’s great organization. The lessons I would learn about life, teamwork, commitment and managing my mindset would put me on the path that would ultimately lead to the creation of RACER and to the moment we now share.

I’ve been so focused on sharing the stories of racers with others, that I’d not really shared my own personal story or the tale of how RACER went from a dream to a reality. But now, as I celebrate my 50th year working professionally in racing and in media, we are nearing the halfway point in this film series that will eventually take the origin story of RACER all the way to the present day.

In creating the FORGING AHEAD series, I’ve been struck by how perilous and challenging the journey was for those participating in racing at all levels — just as it was for our small but mighty RACER team. Along the way, I’ve learned that racers are far better than most at dealing with risk, managing change, and learning faster than the competition. These traits will become even more important as this storyline evolves from my immature trial-and-error antics in media and in racing, to the story of how RACER came to be as the result of the vision, talent, courage, and commitment of the brilliantly creative and dedicated people whom I am fortunate to know and work with — and whom you will soon see in the upcoming chapters.

In 1976, I first realized that I work for you — and others who share our passion for the sport. Since RACER’s launch in April 1992 through to today, you have been our reason for being. The phenomenal growth we’ve recently seen on RACER.com underscores that racing is entering a new age wherein the audience’s energy, passion and devotion directly drives the growth of the sport. You truly are the medium in new media.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and please don’t judge my various 1970s hairstyles that are on full display — along with my delusional behavior. You are reading this now because people who are much more talented and far savvier than me saw past both flaws and agreed that you deserve a great American racing magazine and a vibrant racing website to connect you with our exciting and heroic sport.

Thank you for being a racing fan and for supporting RACER.
Forging Ahead, Chapter 6: Strap in

FORGING AHEAD - Chapter 6: Strap In

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48.2K subscribersChapter 6 of FORGING AHEAD follows RACER founder Paul Pfanner's faltering progress in the racing media business as he begins his racing adventure in SCCA

Formula Ford. The film covers the year 1976 and a racing season that many consider to be the greatest in the history of the sport. This is the true and unlikely origin story of RACER magazine, RACER.com and RACER Studio.

This series includes original home movie film and Images from from the 1970s as well as period promotional film footage and race broadcast clips from the era. 2022 marks the 30th Anniversary of RACER magazine and the 25th Anniversary of RACER.com as well as Pfanner's

50th Anniversary of working in racing media and marketing. The FORGING AHEAD series will continue with chapters that span six decades to the present day.

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Forging Ahead, Chapter 7: Upshift

Rainer Schlegelmilch/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Paul Pfanner | May 25, 2022 1:29 PM ET

As we continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of RACER magazine and the 25th anniversary of RACER.com, please indulge me as I share Chapter 7 in RACER’s unlikely origin story and pre-history with a focus on the epic year of 1977, when American racers took on the world – and won.

In 1977, I was already five years into my 50-year career journey in the racing media business. In hindsight, it is now clear that I was originally more motivated by my burning desire to race more than my enduring media ambitions.

From the beginning, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best and the brightest — both in media and in racing. So, I have zero excuses for failing to achieve total world domination in either field.

Clearly, I could have been Formula 1 world champion, or perhaps Indy’s first five-time winner, if not for the absence of a deep trust fund or my chronic deficiencies in judgement and discipline.

Certainly my once-in-a-generation-talent (for aggrandizing my racing exploits), is something I should be proud of and take comfort in. But, I prefer instead to blame my friend and mentor Mike Hull for failing to shape me into the next Scott Dixon before the actual Scott Dixon was born.

However, I am grateful to Mike for setting me up with a ride in the Mexican Formula Ford series where I promptly earned my lifelong nickname, ‘Raoule Piffanner’ — which gave new meaning to my racing career going south. OK, I’m admittedly slow to get a clue, but 45 years later it has finally occurred to me that Mike may have been giving me a subtle early hint that I should focus on the media business at the same moment he was beginning to focus on race team management.
Mike Hull, future Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director, was a Formula Ford racer and mentor to Paul Pfanner from the beginning of his racing journey. Image by Steve Schnabel

Beyond helping you understand how delusional this author is, I do hope you appreciate that my long journey to now was inspired by racers.

For me, remarkable people like Jim Clark, Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Skip Barber, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Gilles VIlleneuve, Bobby Rahal, David Loring, Janet Guthrie, Rick Mears, Danny Ongais, Willy T. Ribbs, Ayrton Senna and Jeff Krosnoff represent the essence of the uncommon talent, self-belief, courage and commitment required to make impossible dreams possible.

By doing so, all these great racers helped me find the courage and commitment to launch RACER in 1992 with my friend and co-conspirator Jeff Zwart along with my teammate and founding publisher, Bill Sparks.

Although I failed to make my mark as a racing driver, I was fortunate to know and work with some of the best in the business. So, I have no regrets about dedicating my life to sharing the inspiring stories of racers in the magazines and websites we publish.

I’m also very fortunate to work with the current RACER team led by our Editor-in-Chief Laurence Foster and RACER.com Editor Mark Glendenning. For me, every issue of RACER is a dream come true and every morning my racing passion is reignited by the terrific content created by brilliant people with a deep passion for racing and racers.

For the record, the 30th Anniversary issue of RACER is the 316th we’ve published for you. We never forget that you are the reason we do what we do.

Also for the record, I must point out that in my first five Formula Ford races, I scored three top 10 finishes and 2 DNFs but I did lead a race for 0.7 seconds… before crashing.
Paul Pfanner in the Titan Mk-6A Formula Ford he rented for $500 in the fall of 1977 to race in Mexico City. Image by Paul Webb

In retrospect, that was nothing compared to the uncomfortable debrief with team manager Mike Hull that followed that race. This unfortunate encounter forever damaged my world-class excuse-making skills.

Speaking of damage, I’m still paying for the crash damage from my Formula Ford misadventures so could you help me out by subscribing to RACER.

Tell them Raoule sent you.

Watch Forging Ahead, Chapter 7 below, or .



Catch up on previous episodes below.











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Dirt Tracks to Glory: The Early Days of Stock Car Racing As Told by the Participants

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