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They Raced at Dodger Stadium
December 15, 2003: Today in the Sports section of the Los Angeles Times is a small story about the races (two) that were held at Dodger Stadium in 1963. This photographer was there. (You need to register to view articles at LATimes.com.) My best friend, Phil Cripps, had just got hold of a Bolex Super 8 movie camera and wanted to photograph some action. So it was off to the races at Dodger Stadium. The big draw, as I remember it, was the contest between the Shelby Cobra and the Corvette. I didn't know what we would see but what we did see was a wipeout by the Cobras over the Vettes. Phil got his action movie but not the way he intended. He was standing behind a stack of hay bales shooting the cars as they made a left and then right turns. Only problem was one of the Vettes lost it's brakes and plowed directly into the hay bales in front of Phil. He barely got out of the way. Phil was the fellow that introduced this photographer to Can-Am racing and Laguna Seca in 1969. I had gotten back from Vietnam in June of that year and after a summer in Laguna Beach went looking for Phil. He was at Art Center Los Angeles (now located in Pasadena.) It was then that Phil showed me the film he shot at Dodger Stadium in '63. What a hoot! I hope he kept that stuff. It might be worth something now. This photographer wasn't a committed shutter bug in '63. He carried no camera. Allen Kuhn was there and he did get photos of the races. He has been very generous in allowing this site to use two of his photos from these races. Do your part and visit his site. He has many historic racing photos. If you don't see something you want then e-mail Allen with your request. His prices are very reasonable.
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