HomeNews and EventsRoger Penske racing winners at Amelia Island, and other event news

Roger Penske racing winners at Amelia Island, and other event news

The Carlisle Winterfest in Florida, and special honors at he London Classic Car Show and Quail motorcycle gathering

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Renowned race driver, team owner and business leader Roger Penske, the official honoree of the 25th anniversary Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 8, will be recognized with a number of special features during the premier Florida event.

Chief among them will be a class of Penske Indy Winners made up of five Indianapolis 500-winning cars – Team Penske has won an unprecedented 18 times in the iconic Indianapolis 500. 

penske
1972 McLaren M16B/1 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum photo

The cars that will be featured in the concours class are:

The 1972 McLaren M16B/Offenhauser – Mark Donohue’s record setter and Team Penske’s first of 18 “500” winners

The 1988 Penske PC-17/Chevrolet – Rick Mears’ Indy pole car and “500” winner

The 1994 Penske PC-23 Mercedes – Benz 500I Al Unser Jr. wins in “The Beast”

The 2009 Dallara IR-06/Honda – Helio Castroneves’ third Indy “500” winner

The 2019 Dallara DW-12/Chevrolet Simon Pagenaud’s pole winner and Team Penske Indy 500 win number 18.

“The cars of Team Penske have been a pivotal part of the Indy 500 for half a century,” said Bill Warner founder and chairman of the Amelia Island Concours.  “These Team Penske cars made motorsport history; a few changed Indianapolis forever. Having these five Team Penske Indy 500 winners for the 25th annual Amelia Concours is an honor.

1988 Penske PC-23/Mercedes-Benz 500 | Team Penske photo

“Today, a Penske company owns The Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Warner noted. “Penske’s stewardship of these and many other significant race cars speaks with eloquence and clarity to the future of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500.”

Penske’s success as a driver will be honored with “an unprecedented reunion of Roger Penske’s Bahamas Speed Weeks winners,” according to an Amelia concours news release.

Penske’s first victory in the Bahamas was in a Brumos Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder in which he won the 1961 Nassau Trophy Race.

In 1964, Penske became the first and only driver in Bahamas Speed Week history to win all three major races in the same year.  The cars he drove were the John Mecom Corvette Grand Sport that won the Nassau Tourist Trophy, Penske’s Chaparral 2 that won the Governor’s Trophy, and another Chaparral 2 in which he relieved Hap Sharp to win the Nassau Trophy.

Penske in a 1963 Chapparal 2 | David Friedman

The Brumos No. 44 Porsche 718 RS 61, John Mecom’s Corvette Grand Sport and the Nassau winning Chaparral 2 will comprise a corner of the Cars of Roger Penske Class at the concours. The Brumos Porsche has special significance at Amelia Island because of its origin at the Brumos dealership and race team in nearby Jacksonville.

“I’m grateful that we have this car back in north Florida to honor Roger and his link to Porsche and Jacksonville,” Warner added. 

For more information about the Amelia Island Concours, visit the event website.

Carlisle Winterfest to heat up in Florida

Carlisle Events’ Winter AutoFest arrives in Lakeland, Florida, for three days of car festivities at the Sun n’ Fun Expo Campus from February 21-23.  Known for its something-for-everyone offerings, the AutoFest features special displays, celebrity guests and, of course, plenty of vendors, swap meet and a flea market with collectibles, merchandise, home goods, automobilia and the sundry parts and pieces needed for DIY restoration projects.

Winterfest has added a Mopar contingent | Carlisle Events

There’s also a two-day collector car auction February 21-22 featuring more than 400 vehicles for sale, including an all-Corvette themed hour February 22. In addition, there is a car corral with vehicles for sale by owner.

Returning features include the 42nd annual NCRS Winter Regional Corvette Meet, the free cruise-in, Corvette and Mustang displays, and vendors.  New this year is a major Mopar presence with all sorts of Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and other Mopar brands displayed, as well as seminars, vendors and swap meets.

Two other special displays will feature race-prepped cars, including the rare appearance of a Ferrari FXX-K hybrid racer, and a 50th anniversary gathering of 1970 model year cars and trucks. 

For more information, visit the event website.

London Classic will honor Bruce McLaren

The London Classic Car Show, held February 20-23, will mark 50 years since the tragic race-track death of Bruce McLaren, one of motorsports greatest legends, with a special selection of his cars and personal memorabilia, including his racing jacket, crash helmet and trophies.

concours
Bruce McLaren

The cars include:

The 1929 Austin 7 Ulster that McLaren and his father restored, and in which Bruce ran the hillclimb at Muriwai Beach in 1954, his first competitive driving experience.

The groundbreaking M7C-1 Specification, a one-off creation by Gordon Coppuck.

The M14D Specification designed by Gordon Coppuck and Jo Marquart and built for Andrea de Adamich in 1970.

The M8D Specification, produced in 1970 and powered by a 680-horsepower Chevrolet V8, The M8D provided the McLaren team with one of its most successful years in Can-Am, winning nine of the ten rounds. Sadly, this model is most remembered as the car that McLaren was driving when he was killed in a crash.

More than £70 million worth of classic cars from some of the world’s most prestigious marques will be gathered under one roof at this year’s sixth annual London Classic Car Show, showcasing about 500 classic cars at its new home of Olympia London, with many cars available for purchase.

For more information about the London Classic, visit the event website.

Quail Motorcycle Gathering honors Roland Sands

The Quail Motorcycle Gathering has announced that prolific American motorcycle racer and designer Roland Sands will be honored during the 12th annual bike fest held May 12 in Carmel, California.

The Long Beach rider holds several track records and was the 1998 American Motorcyclist Association 250GP Champion.

Roland Sands racing on dirt | The Quail

“After 10 years of professional racing, Sands founded Roland Sands Design (RSD), a motorcycle, product and apparel company which has played a pivotal role in popularizing high-performance custom bikes to the masses,” according to a Quail news release. “Over the last five years, the team at RSD has expanded into the event space with the Moto Beach Classic in Southern California and the Super Hooligan National Championship, a series that unites the custom-motorcycle scene with flat track racing.”

His motorcycle designs have won a number of prestigious awards, including three V-Twin Wheel Design of the Year awards, a V-Twin Control Design award, a Chip Foose Design of Excellence award, a second-, third- and fourth-place award in the Modified Harley class at the World Championship of Custom Bike Building, a V-Twin Trendsetter of the Year award, a Biker Build-Off championship on the Discovery Channel, a Biker Build-Off Rookie of the Year award, and a 2Wheel Tuner Brappy award.

Sands will be invited on stage during the show for a Fireside Chat, where he will discuss his success and accomplishments.

The event will take place on the lawns of Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California, and will include farm-to-table Mexican cuisine and goods from motorcycle lifestyle vendors. Children, families and even pets are welcome.

For more information, visit the event website.

Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

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