In the late ’40s, Southern California was the hotbed for hot rod roadster racing on the oval bullrings. Here’s some great old footage showing the incredible action. Watch this.
We don’t know a whole bunch about this wonderful old film (if you do, feel free to school us) except that it reportedly was filmed in 1947 at Corona Raceway, the famed old dirt track near Riverside, California. The cinematographer was Elmer Dyer, a specialist in action and aerial films, who apparently shot these raw, silent sequences in 35 mm for a project that was never completed. (We haven’t changed a thing except to add an audio track, “Wherever We Go” by Dink Farklebrink.)
We do know from the information slates inserted in the scenes, never edited, that the drivers include Bill Bass, Fred Pope, Connie Wiedel, and Jim Rathmann, who later found fame as the winning driver in the 1960 Indianapolis 500. The cars are stars, too: awesomely modified Model T, Model A, and ’32-’34 Ford roadsters. The hot rod racing scene in Southern California was incredibly competitive, producing many of the top drivers, builders, and mechanics in professional racing over the coming decades. And when you watch the incredible action in this clip, you’ll understand why. Please enjoy.