The Crank: 2010 Concours D’LeMons

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Story and photos by John LeBlanc

SALINAS, Calif. – In total contrast to the multi-zillion-dollar collector and race cars I saw at the Quail Lodge, Monterey vintage races and Pebble Beach concours last weekend, I managed to sneak away to Toro Regional Park, home of the second annual Concours d’LeMons for a few unpretentious hours. If you don’t already know, the “Concours” is an offshoot of the part old-crappy-racecar, part art-car amateur endurance racing series called the 24 Hours of LeMons. If you’re a big fan of crappy, old cars (i.e. Pintos, Pacers, etc.), with a dash of irreverence, enjoy… Read more

Stuff: 2010 Monterey Motorsports Reunion

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Story and photos by John LeBlanc

LAGUNA SECA, Calif. – Since the mid-1970s, fans of vintage racing have been coming to the Monterey Peninsula’s Laguna Seca race track to see a wide variety of vintage racers, some of which trace their beginnings to the inaugural Pebble Beach road races in the 1950s. And like the senior golf tour, or old-timer hockey, vintage auto racing is less about winning and more about showing up. Like people, getting an old racecar started in the morning is a victory. Read more

Stuff: 2010 The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering

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Story and photos by John LeBlanc

CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. – Now in its eighth year, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, is held on the golf course holes that lies between the Santa Lucia mountains at the Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel Valley. If may not be as well known as the Monterey historic races at Laguna Seca, or the Concours D’Elegance at Pebble Beach—events that follow during the annual weekend celebration of the car that takes over the Monterey Peninsula just south of San Francisco, California, this time of year—The Quail brings together car collectors, race drivers, and historians to mingle with whoever can afford the $400 tickets that support many local charities. Read more

Stuff: 2010 Pebble Beach Concours D’Élégance

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Story and photos by John LeBlanc

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.–If interest in the automobile is waning, don’t tell any of thousands of enthusiasts who made their way out to the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance this year. Between the new, the old, the classic, the survivors, and the just plain odd cars on display on the famous last hole of the golf course of the same name, the celebration of the automobile looked as strong as ever. This year marks the 60th time for Pebble Beach, or “Pebble” for short. It’s the final event on the Sunday of a week of classic car enthusiasts’ events in and around the Monterey Peninsula area that also includes the Quail Lodge concours in Carmel Valley, and the Monterey vintage races at Laguna Seca Raceway. Read more

The Crank: Why I hate (some) Old Fart cars

By John LeBlanc

MONTEREY, Calif. – Cars as art? No problem. I can appreciate the past as rolling sculpture as well as anyone else. I never really understood the fascination with driving old cars, though, at least for the cars I’ve owned or driven in the past. They’ve always been more fragile, unreliable, slower, or handle like a bag of squirrels compared to any modern car. Beyond the nostalgia associated with Old Fart clunkers—“I first got (fill in the blank) in that car!”—the whole idea of driving something before I even breathed on this planet seems to go against the basic foundation of our race, the need to move forward, progress. I don’t wash my clothes on a rock in a stream, have woolly mammoth shirts in my wardrobe, or cook my dinner on an open fire. But hey, that’s just me… Read more

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