23 replies to this topic

[Darren Galpin]

While in a newspaper/bookshop in Rio de Janeiro, I noticed an American magazine called Vintage Motorsport. As it cost $16, I decided not to purchase it, but inside was an article on a race circuit called Put-In Bay, a US circuit used in the 1950s and 1960s. Can anyone supply a map and length for this circuit, or any other information?

[Jeremy Jackson]

Darren,

I have the VM in question; The Put-in Bay races ran from 1952-59, and then were revived in 1963 on a shorter course. (Plus some "Autocrosses" in 83-85 in the town square)

As you may have seen from the article, there's no course layout, and as far as I can see, nothing about lengths.

I'm sure someone can help you more.

[Don Capps]

I think that I have info on Put-In-Bay buried somewhere in my files. The VM article is not bad, but keep in mind that the event was really fairly small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. However, there were many who seemed to really get a kick out of it and it was quite popular for awhile. I will make a point of seeing if I can dig up that information. I know R&T did an article or two on the place.

[WDH74]

racingcircuits.net has a basic outline of Put-In-Bay, but it does not include street names or corner names, just an outline.
-William

[cabianca]

Put-In-Bay is a small island off the coast of Northwest Ohio. It was the scene of a famous battle where the term "Damn the torpedos, full spead ahead!" was uttered. At a time when road racing in America had mostly been banned from public roads, it provided a romantic setting that inspired Americans to think it was comparable to Euro road circuits like Pau, Messina and Dundrod. With corners with names like the "graveyard", not because of accidents there, although there were plenty, but because you stood in the graveyard to view the course, the course certainly had presence.

The races never attracted the big stars because no points were offered toward National Championships and, because of the shortcomings of the course, were limited to 2 liter cars. Nonetheless, the setting was wonderful. You could get there only by water ferry or by taking a Ford Tri-Motor, one of the icons of manned flight. The downtown, the main street of which was part of the course, had a well-known watering hole known as the Roundhouse. Like most things promoted by locals, the merits were probably exaggerated, but the building supposedly contained the longest bar in the world. I am blessed to have attended one race there in 1954, and although I have witnessed some of the most important races in the second half of the twentieth century, few are as ingrained in my memory as my journey to Put-In-Bay. The winner was a Siata 208S. I don't know fo such a car ever winning anything elsewhere in the states.

[gmw]

I attended three of the races at Put-in-Bay. I took the ferry once and flew on Island Airlines twice. They flew two or three Ford Trimotors and one Boeing 246 (I think that's the model. It was Boeing's first airliner from the early 30's.) It was a five minute flight or less.
The races were always on a Saturday, In June I think. They were organized by the Cleveland Region of the SCCA. They were limited to production cars under 2 liters and I think modified cars under 1600cc. The main race was usually won by a Porsche Speedster Super. I don't have a map of the course, but I can give you the streets on a Mapquest map. I don't want to get in copyright trouble by posting the map.
Go to http://www.mapquest.com/ .In the address boxes put in "Catawba & Delaware" for the street, "Pit in Bay" for the city and OH for the state. The map that comes up is at about the start finish. The pits and start line were on Delaware Ave in a city park. The course turned right onto Toledo and then there was a kink onto Langram Rd. and then out of town. The cars weren't going fast enough for this kink to be a problem. The course turned right at the airport turn onto Meechen Rd. There was another turn onto Catawba Ave at the cemetery turn. Meechen ended at the island cemetery, which was a favorite viewing spot. Catawba then continued back into town. There was another kink, this time at higher speed. There was a gas station on the outside of the kink, and I recall an MG TF spinning backwards into the gas station, and not doing any damage to either the MG or the gas pumps. The course turned right onto Delaware. I think the lap was just over 3 miles. It was all two lane roads and city streets.
In town they put up snow fencing to keep spectators on the curb, but outside of town you could walk along and across the track, being careful of course. There were a reasonable number of flag stations, and hay bales in front of trees and phone poles. I don't recall any serious crashes or injuries. Just good luck. The drivers were aware that they needed to be careful, because everyone realized that one serious accident and there would be no more races at Put-in-Bay.
The hole event was very low key, even by standards of the day. I lived in Detroit at the time and a group of us would drive down on Saturday morning. It was only three hours or so, Fly over. Walk over to the cemetery and sit on the tombstones in the shade of the trees and watch the races. Just beyond the cemetery was a winery. The islands in Lake Erie are surrounded by water the winters are less severe than the mainland and there has been and still is a small wine industry there. So we would buy a few bottles of the local wine and enjoy the races.
Historically the area is well known for the Battle of Lake Erie. On September 10, 1813 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and his fleet of nine ships defeated the British fleet of six war vessels and assured US control of the Great Lakes and access to the North West Territories. (This was part of the War of 1812, which our British friends barely knew was taking place at the time. They were occupied with Napoleon and the French and the time.) Perry did not say "Damn the torpedoes...." that was Faragatt at Mobile Bay in the Civil War/ He did send the report "We have met the enemy and they are ours..." There is a tall monument near down town to Perry and the battle.
This was racing in the era that John R. Bond once described in Road & Track as "When everybody drove MGs and like each other."

George Wallace

[Ray Bell]

Thanks for the personal account, gmw...

Sounds like a lot of fun... but didn't the populace take exception to the spectators sitting on the tombstones?

[gmw]

I don't recall any comments about sitting on tombstones. The year round residents who used the cemetary were probably les than 200 people, while there were several thousand summer visitors even without the race, So there were probably very few residents who were even aware of the situation.

[Darren Galpin]

Thanks GMW!

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by gmw
I don't recall any comments about sitting on tombstones. The year round residents who used the cemetary were probably les than 200 people, while there were several thousand summer visitors even without the race, So there were probably very few residents who were even aware of the situation.

And from your earlier post...

Here is the section in question...
The hole event was very low key, even by standards of the day. I lived in Detroit at the time and a group of us would drive down on Saturday morning. It was only three hours or so, Fly over. Walk over to the cemetery and sit on the tombstones in the shade of the trees and watch the races.....

I would have no reservations about it myself, I just wondered if there might have been some potential for public resentment at their deceased relatives' FRPs being ill-treated.

[Milan Fistonic]

In the 1955 Road & Track report of the Put-In-Bay meeting the track length is listed as 3.1 miles and in a 1958 article on the event as 3.2 miles.

[gmw]

Milan, I used the trip mileage utility in the Mapquest site and got a course length of 3.13 miles, which could easily be rounded up or down. The Mapquest site also has aerial photos of the same area as the map.
Ray, In thinking about it more, the majority of the spectators in the emitter were line up against the fence to see better. Meechan Rd ended in a T junction at Catawba Ave, There was a 2-3 foot deep ditch at the road edge before the cemetery fence, The ground level in the cemetery was 4-5 feet above the road. The ditch was filled with hay bales and the earth embankment up to the cemetery was more than 45 degree. The people sitting on or reclining against the tomb stone were mainly celebrators of Bacchus - using the local product.
cabianca, The Siata 208 that won the race in 1954, was it by any chance painted blue. One of the Detroit SCCA Region has a V8 Siata that he raced with modeate success. His name was Bill.... I know that I wasn't there in 54, I was on my honeymoon at that time.
I did go to atleast three in a row, and the more I think of it it may have been four. I am particularly thinking of the means of transportation. The first trip we took the regular car and passenger ferry from Port Clinton to downtown Put-in-Bay. The second year we went to the airport to take Island Airlines. The way they moved people in and out of the planes was unbelievable. These may be the people who gave Southwest the business plan. The second year, the first time we law, we were put on the Boeing 246. It is a low wing monoplane and the main thing I ember is that the main wing spar was in the middle of the aisle, about 15" high and 6" wide. It was covered in carpet and you had to step over it to get to the front seats. There was also a rear spar the was 8" above the floor. The Boeing, like the Fords, used the optimum route. Thy would take off on the grass already pointing in the direction of Pt-in-Bay. They would flay at 100-150 feet, land straight in and taxi to the gate. The round trip took 10 minutes or so. The third year I finally got on the Tri-Motor. It was more comfortable than the Boeing. It had woven wicker seats. I remember looking out the window and seeing the oil pressure and oil temperatures gages for the wing mounted engines being on the side of the landing gear struts. They didn't have reliable electric gauge in 1927 I suspect and wanted the advantage of sort runs between the sensor an gauge.

[Frank S]

Where else are you going to find stuff like this?

You-all make me feel rich beyond imagination.

Thank you,

Frank S

[Frank S]

I've just done a Web page from parts of the October, 1955 issue of Road & Track. Something for everyone there, including a one-page report on a Put-In-Bay race, complete with a (blurred) photo of "Cemetary Corner."
Road & Track, October 1955

Also tendered in this amazing Volume 7, No. 2, are:

· A withering critique of Torrey Pines' organizers (and pictures of Carroll Shelby, Pete Lovely, Phil Hill, Paul O'Shea, Tom Bamford, and Bill Murphy in action);
· Beverly, MA · Hawaiian · Los Angeles Hansen Dam Sports Car Races
· Buffalo Bill Mountain Hill Climb
· Maryhill Loops Hill Climb
and
· Marketplace Classifieds
· Technical Correspondence
· Autobooks Advertisement

If you see anything interesting on the Table of Contents that doesn't appear on the page, I can probably get it to you in a day or two.


Frank S

Edited by Frank S, 31 May 2011 - 19:54.

[CRX Lee]

I am bringing this thread up from the long past. I just returned from a short vacation at Put-in-Bay and thought I'd do an update. Thanks very much to GMW for his description of the track, it was the only description that I was able to find prior to my departure. Armed with this and the Mapquest map, I went forth to investigate the racing of 50 years ago. On a visit to Watkins Glen a few years ago, I enjoyed a drive around the original circuit so I looked forward to the same at Put-in-Bay.

As a little history, my parents attended the 1959 Put-in-Bay races when they were dating as college students. They flew across on the Ford Tri-motor and rented a cabin along Meecham Rd. with three other college student couples. Both have distinct memories of their trip, having spectated mostly at the inside of the corner at the cemetary (just down from their cabin) and also at the angle curve leaving town at the corner of Toledo and Langram. My father specifically recalls talking in the pits with a 348cc Berkeley racer and a 2-stroke Saab racer, both models of cars that he would own soon.

My girlfriend and I took her car across the ferry to the island on this last Sunday. She did not realize that my primary motive for taking the car was to get a proper odometer mileage reading for the circuit gone bye. We stayed at a nice Bed and Breakfast that could best be identified as deep in the braking zone and possibly the turn-in point for the high speed left hand sweeping turn at the end of the Cooper Straight as the course came back into town. It was named Cooper Straight as that was the family name of the gas station at the end of the straight, mentioned earlier for an MG spin-out with no ill effects. The gas station is long gone now, on the site stands a hotel a souvenir shops (what else?). As describer earlier here, there were four 90 degree right turns, one angled right turn at Toledo and Langram and the one left hander by our B&B. I did two laps of the circuit in her 2000 Honda Accord with new, factory sized tires and both times got readings of 2.99 miles for the circuit (about 50 ft. short of 3.0 miles). I feel good that this is pretty accurate within the parameters of Honda's odo accuracy.

I spent several days nosing around and found no mention of the races except for in the local Historical Society museum that has a small display about the races. They had a roughly 10 minute silent video loop of private film footage showing cars racing from a number of corners. There is a poor quality segment showing one very nasty crash of what I think may have been a Lola Mk 1. It bounces off some trees and the bodywork peels off but the driver is walked to a local police car. There are more MG T-series, TR3s, Porsche 356s, etc. than you could shake a stick at. I asked but there is no way to get a copy of this video unfortunately. I'd love to post it for members here to see. There is also a notebook showing a paper trail including an entry form, some entry lists, still photos, club newsletters discussing the results, etc. My father took some color slide photos in 1959 and I will try to get him to locate and copy them for the museum's display. The race entries were limited to 100 cars and limited to under 2000cc stock or 1600cc modified as noted above. The entry list was made up of amateur racers from mostly Ohio and Michigan, mostly Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit area. A few names that I was familiar with popped up repeatedly likerepeat winner Chuck Dietrich, Al Beasely and F. Reed Andrews. I raced against "Speedy Reedy" Andrews at Mid-Ohio many, many times in Hondas in the mid and late '90s. A 40+ year racing career, good for him!

The course itself looked quite simple with the tight corners but the straight sections had lots of rolling undulations, especially the Cooper Straight which led from the cemetary turn back into town. On these long straights, I can imagine those small bore '50s sports cars hitting near terminal velocity and revs on the rolling lumps. There was a comment from many years later from Andrews that it was the bumpiest course that he had ever raced on and that over some bumps the cars often would fly in excess of 85 ft.! Other than the short rolling lump "hills", the only natural elevation change was a big dip then climb at the cemetary turn. I would guess that it was about 12 ft. climb from the low of the dip prior to the peak at the apex of the turn. The cemetary was just as GMW described it. My mother said they returned to the island several years later and one could still see scars in the asphalt from chassis bottoming impacts from landing off the jumps. Today, Deleware street downtown is bumpy but everything else is new asphalt and pretty smooth. There is no way a modern sports car race would work there, cars are simply too fast for the primitive road layout and there is zero runoff room anywhere. The island has a total of 30 miles of roads and the max legal speed is 35 mph.

Interestingly, Put-in-Bay is said to have the highest per capita number of vintage cars in the country which I can believe. With only about 400 year-round inhabitants and '20s to '60s primarily American cars everywhere. Every Sunday they have a city supported "old car parade" around the park and we saw probably 20+ cars that day. A token TR4, TR7, '60s Jag saloon and a few other imports were amongst the Model Ts, Packards, DeSotos, and other cars there. Of greatest interest to me were a pair of Amphicars who not only participated in the parade but took a few laps through the harbor as well. I had never seen an Amphicar in waterborne action and enjoyed it. Afterward, I noted that it was the first time that I had ever seen a car with seaweed hanging from the control arms.

So that is my update. The 2.99 miles of road are still there and go check the Historical Museum for some documentation. Otherwise, only ghosts and fading memories of racing at Put-in-Bay remain.

[etceterini.com]

Here is a picture of Don Black driving his Siata 300BC 1100cc at Put In Bay:



cliff reuter
www.etceterini.com

[JB Miltonian]

There's a line map of the course in R&T, November 1959, p. 64. From the course description:

"A 3.2 mile circuit on island roads, 12-15 ft wide (!) with an asphalt surface. Winds through the town and countryside. All spectator facilities inadequate. Race speeds vary from 80 to 110 mph."

[kevracer]

Nice recap at

http://www.leihs.org...tory_races.html

[Joe Bosworth]

Put in Bay was certainly a time warp race that is well beyond today's comprehention. Relaxed is barely tells the story (stories).

If you were flying over, you couldn't forget the Trimotors. Sitting on the wicker seats, looking though the gaps in the corrugated fuselage and seeing the waters only a few dozen feet below.

True, you could wander the course at will outside of the main street of town.

Once finished with your race you would sit at the Round House Hotel drinking a beer as the next race went by about 5 feet away.

Then there was the year that there was a gentleman standing at the snow fencing at the gas station with a rolled up newspaper in hand. He kept trying to hit Chuck Dietrich on the helmet as he went by in his MGTC. I think he succeeded from time to time.

Yes the roads were bumpy, doubly so in the Morgan +4 that I raced there. So bumpy that a plug lead dislodged. Not too big a problem; just pull over and put it back on. Only harm was a few places.

But that was no real hardship as the fun to be had over the evening after the races was mostly what it was all about anyway. The local wines were plentiful, drinkable and cheap. Too much so the next morning!

Where is the Stoddard Tweaty Bird Siata these days??

Regards

[Marksberk]

Hello CRX Lee-

I live in Northwest Ohio and own several Berkeley sportscars. I also track the history of local racing venues. I saw your post about your parents talking to a racer of a Berkeley in 1959 and your father owning a Berk.
I am looking for pictures of Berkeleys actually racing at Put-In-Bay as we (US Berkeley owners group) do not have any photos showing the cars. There were 3 cars entered in 1958 driven by Clark Turner, Bill Pickrel, and Ted Weatherup. In 1959 the entered cars were driven by Bill Pickrel, George Squire, and Gordon Griffen. We have a nice little article written by Ted on our Berkeley racing pages on the Coldplugs.com site. I have dined with Bill (Xenia), talked to Ted (Xenia) and Gordon (Cleveland), and plan to visit George in CT. next week. Clark is unaccounted for. So we would like to know more about your parents experiences with the cars.

One of our owners is the son of Ted Jayne who raced a Berk and has recently restored the car. His dad purchased the car from Chuck Stoddard and he speaks to Chuck periodically.

I have a friend who owns a bright yellow Siata/Jabro/Crosley in the late sixties-could this be the car mentioned? The car now sits behind his garage in Yellow Springs-it was totalled in a barn fire years ago.

I also know Suzy Dietrich in Sandusky. She would love to hear from people and talk about racing (women were not allowed to race at Put-In-Bay). I saw Bill Green the historian at Watkins Glenn last week. He said that she was a very good driver and a real looker back in the day.

Later

Mark S.
Perrysburg, Ohio

[Rob Semmeling]

Can anyone supply / confirm the dates for the first and last Put-In-Bay races?

?? 1952
June 6, 1959
October 5, 1963

[Terry O'Neil]

Can anyone supply / confirm the dates for the first and last Put-In-Bay races?

?? 1952
June 6, 1959
October 5, 1963

Rob, The first event was Sunday 14 September 1952. Rain prevented completion of the event.
Races were annual to up and including 6th June 1959. Then one race in 1963 on Saturday October 5th.
Terry

[Rob Semmeling]

Terry, thanks for your swift reply, much appreciated.

Btw, this month's pay check is in so I'll be ordering your new book soon!

[SCHKEE T332]

They still have a reunion...

http://www.vintagera...b...d=55&page=1