55Hagerstown Fairchild Races.jpg
Briggs Cunningham sucks in and fastens his seatbelts in his 150SMaserati. Bob Bucher in #29 Allard looks ready but Sherwood Johnston in the #60 D Jag is still fussing with his helmet. The Presidents Cup is ready to race.
Briggs Cunningham in the 2 liter Maserati, masquerading as a 150S, checking gauges. Sherwood Johnston, in Cunningham’s D Type sits next and BARC and Jake’s Stable driver Bob Bucher is in the #29 Cadillac-Allard JR.
A long shot of Johnston in the Cunningham Jag. Long, flat airport runways but a good crowd showed for the races.
Phil Hill comes east with a 4 cyl Ferrari Monza. Hill, being a superb driver tries to challenge the D Type of Sherwood Johnston but the Jag’s power is too much. Hill does finish 2nd.
Briggs Cunningham (blue drivers suit) holds court before the first race. We believe that is Ed Crawford in the green slicker on the left.
David Darrin’s Darrin lost a wheel and spun and sat on the course for several laps before the tow truck could move it. Johnston concentrates on where he is going and pays no attention to the Darrin.
Phil Hill is more curious as he looks over at the Kaiser-Darrin. The driver, David Darrin was the son of Dutch Darrin who built the cars.
Early in the race Hill is still challenging Johnston but it wouldn’t last. Sherwood pulled out an 11 second victory over the west coast ace. Johnston had come from the LeMans disaster earlier in the year and soon would never race again.
The checkered flag for the main event, the President’s Cup goes to Sherwood Johnston. Jessie Coleman is the flagman.
Coleman brings Phil Hill’s Ferrari home in 2nd. Hill and Johnston lapped all but 3rd place Bill Spear’s 300S Maserati.
On the grid prior to the race, Sherwood Johnston seems relazed and happy. The monstrous Allard Olds of Ray Saidel is behind along with an Allard J2 and a C Type Jag. What an auction those cars would make today.
The race is over and Alfred Momo, the chief of the Cunningham team congratulates Johnston. Jessie Coleman waits to present the checkered flag and wreath to the winner.
Lots of joy as Johnston is still sitting in the car. He was not really pressured during the race and is certainly enjoying the spoils of victory. I wonder if that is Mrs. Johnston. She is also in the photo on the starting grid.
Race one is to start at 8:30, but communication problems set it back a bit. Len Bastrup’s Lotus IX is already in place.with Dave Ash’s Lester MG alongside.
Coleman was a showman starter. Here he exaggerates his “is everyone ready” signal. Cunningham in the Osca is outside and Norm Christiansen’s Porsche on pole. You can see Ed Crawford’s blue 550RS white headlight behind Christiansen.
Race 1 is off and Crawford has taken the lead in the first 100 yards. Cunningham would pass the Porsche and lead the race.
Briggs leads the Porsche in the 1500 cc OSCA. About half way Briggs spun into the grass, spun again trying to get out and fell to 8th place.
Briggs in the very fast OSCA has caught Crawford but it is too late. The Porsche was not to be denied and won.
Ed Crawford, an insurance guy from the midwest was one of America’s early champs. His blue 550RS was very unusual as most were Porsche silver.
The furious pace of Crawford and Cunningham has them lapping an MG special. These were longer races than many today, but with wide open runways, lapping was not a problem.
David Ash in the Lester MG had a decent race finishing 8th. But the specials were no longer a challenge to the new Porsche’s and bigger engine OSCA’s.
The very first racing MGA in SCCA. Joe Herson drove it well and was only beaten by Porsches. In the all MG Lavender Hill Mob cup, an MG-TF beat the MGA but Bill Kincheloe was driving. Some guy named Sherm Decker also raced an MG-TF to 7th.
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