The subject of old vs. new lap times is intriguing, even recognizing that
conditions have changed a lot. So far it seems that other than a few
individual recollections there does not seem to be any source for the old
lap times. i was hoping that Tom Schultz, the author of "Road America", a
year-by-year history, might have some records. No luck. I guess everybody
in that era, myself included, just didn't think old info had any value.
Come to think of it, Vintage Sports Car Racing hadn't yet been
invented...........in fact, the only timing and scoring sheets we got were
a couple of hours late and weren't passed out freely because photo copy
machines had not yet been invented.
Ditto electronic timing, of course, which brings up another subject.
Anybody out there remember the Curta calculator? It was a hand-held
calculator that looked like a little pepper mill. It would add, subtract,
multiply, divide, and do roots accurate to 11 figures. In the 60's anybody
who wanted to win rallies used one. The latest issue of Scientific American
has a delightful article on it. I learned from the article that this
calculator was invented by a Curt Herzstark while he was incarcerated in a
Nazi concentration camp. Inventing it saved his life. He sketched it out on
small scraps of paper and after the war he interested the Crown Prince of
Lichtenstein in manufacturing it there.
Remember, you first heard it first right here on the FOT list.
uncle jack
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