Here is a link to the finding aid to the Phil Harms Collection that resides in the Benson Ford Research Center at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan: https://www.academia...the_Benson_Ford
In mid-December 2016, I spent several days looking at material found the Phil Harms Collection at the Benson Ford. There is much in the collection that I think will make it worthwhile for researchers to make the trek to the Benson Ford to examine the material that Phil gathered together over the years. The collection of programs and other material on the Legion Ascot Speedway covering the years 1930 to 1935 (Box 57) was quite remarkable and should prove a mother lode for someone; in addition, Phil also had started what appears to be a book on the track, “On Tracks Called Ascot; A history of open wheel racing,” which is found in Box 3.
However, what caught my attention after several days was material similar to what Phil had sent me and which appeared to be missing from the collection, particularly articles from Motor West, which remains on of the great untapped sources for those interested in US racing in the early years of US and West Coast Racing. The journal began in 1907 and appears to have given national racing at least a modest amount of attention most of the time and a great deal of attention to West Coast racing. My exchanges with Phil had led me to believe that he had copied a great deal of material from Motor West and other US automotive journals -- some of which he sent me, by snail mail -- and which seem to not be part of the collection. Those who actually went to California and collected the material stated that what they have at the Benson Ford is what was offered and made available to them.
At least the material has been preserved and is available to those wishing to use in their research, for which we must be thankful.
