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The rebirth of a legend

Author

• Lorenzo Baer

Date

• October 29, 2025

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• The Rodriguez brothers - The kid and the Porsche hero, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas/Josh Lintz

Who? Harry Carter What? Stanguellini-FIAT FJ Where? Roosevelt Raceway When? 1960 Vanderbilt Cup (credits NY Daily News, colourised by the author)

Why?

Motorsport can have its origins credited to a bunch of pioneers and dreamers, who envisioned the possibility that, one day, cars would be a means of competition or entertainment for anyone and anywhere in the world. In events such as the Tourist Trophy, the Tour de France Automobile and the Gordon Bennett Cup, such avant-gardists participated in this process of forging a new sport, which would not only depend on the physical capabilities of human beings, but also on the technological development promoted by them.

The point is that at the dawn of this new era, this developing process was carried out by a select group of countries, which had the resources to promote these first meetings, such as England, Italy, France and Germany – a fortunate few amidst the general global context. In such places the necessary ingredients were found together to ignite the mixture: the elaboration and construction of the first cars genuinely intended for racing, coupled with drivers eager to push their machine to the limit, plus a public that quickly assimilated the idea of motorsport.

Even so, it didn't take long for motorsports to overcome European barriers and, within a few years, there were races in different parts of the globe. The main one of these 'outside' races in the early racing years was the Vanderbilt Cup, with European and American drivers converging on New York to measure their strengths, in the first cultural exchange provided by motorsports.

This was the case, with the various editions of the race between 1904 and 1916, and, later, with the two more events in the 1930s. But, then, a long silence. The Vanderbilt Cup would have to wait a few decades to regain its luster. And, in 1960, the day came for the pioneering race of American motorsports to make headlines once again. It was the moment for the rebirth of a legend.

A brief history of the Vanderbilt Cup (1904-16/1936-37/1960)

The beginning of the Vanderbilt Cup in the United States can be credited especially to the industrial gap that the country had compared to what was still considered the world's manufacturing and productive commercial center: Europe. Although the USA found itself in a period of industrialisation boom at the beginning of the century, something that would prove to be essential in the process of becoming a global super economy in the coming decades, the 'New World' still had its delays in certain key industrial sectors, when compared with their counterparts installed in the old dominions.

One of these sectors was the automotive one. Although companies such as Thomas Motor Co. (Buffalo, NY), Locomobile Company of America (Bridgeport, CT) and Lozier Motor Co. (Detroit, MI) were just a few of the many small American companies that manufactured vehicles in the early 1900s, they could not even come close to the level of production and quality achieved by their European counterparts, most notably Panhard, Mors, Peugeot, Darracq, Renault and Mercedes. This was manifested not only in the civilian day-by-day life, but mainly in the competitive environment, where cars from these manufacturers proved to be almost unbeatable on the tracks.

Seeing this situation, William Kissam Vanderbilt Jr, one of the richest men in the United States thanks to a fortune built over a railroad empire, decided to promote in his homeland what could be considered the first Grande Épreuve held outside Europe. W.K. Vanderbilt Jr recognised the importance of motorsport in the development of the entire automotive segment: he himself was an amateur racing driver, having in his personal collection a 70hp Mors, which was his official racing car in Europe, and a special 90hp Mercedes, a vehicle he used to break the world speed record in a closed-mile in 1904.

The first three editions of the race (1904 to 1906) were held on public roads, around Nassau County, just over 50km east of Manhattan. Although the first edition was topped by an American driver (George Heath), the two other events were won by two of the best-known French drivers of the time: 1905, Victor Hémery, and in 1906, Louis Wagner. The common point for these three events was that all the winning vehicles were French: Heath drove a 90hp Panhard, while Hémery and Wagner represented Darracq (with 80hp and 100hp models, respectively).

1907 was a hiatus for the Vanderbilt Cup, since for safety reasons it was decided to build a new track adapted to the increasingly powerful vehicles. In 1908 the event took place on the recently opened Long Island Motor Parkway and in the first edition in its new home, it was an American car - Locomobile - with an American driver - George Robertson - who won the race. ALCO took victory in the two following races, also held at the site (1909/'10), both being the result of a regular performance by Harry Grant.

In the coming years, the Vanderbilt Cup began to travel across the United States, with editions being held in Savannah (GA, 1911), Milwaukee (WI, 1912), Santa Monica (CA, 1914 and 1916) and San Francisco (CA, 1915). Despite being well-known events worldwide, the Vanderbilt Cup races lost much of its appeal with drivers outside the USA when it began its march to the western part of the country.

The involvement of the United States in the First World War, at the end of 1916, basically decreed the end of this first Vanderbilt Cup stint, as all resources used to promote such events were now destined to maintain the state of a war economy. When the conflict ended, in 1918, the Vanderbilt Cup was maintained in a state of complete stand-by, as once again, the attention of racing drivers shifted to Europe. The trance remained until 1936, when W.K. Vanderbilt Jr's nephew, George Washington Vanderbilt III, decided to revive the legacy of the race. In its second 'incarnation', the Vanderbilt Cup became a much more organised and professional event, far from the amateurism that permeated the first steps of motorsport.

The race aimed mainly to reestablish ties between American and European drivers, through some simple measures: on the American side, the race was reinstated on the official calendar of the American Automobile Association (AAA), which sought, in this way, to 'force' the American drivers to compete in the contest. To please the Europeans, the race would be shaped into a Grand Prix format, and would even be held on a new circuit, the Roosevelt Raceway, located in Long Island.

The 1936 contest had mixed feelings for G.W. Vanderbilt III: the meeting attracted a good number of international drivers, most notably the Scuderia Ferrari contingent made up of the Nuvolari/Brivio/Farina trio. In addition to them, drivers such as Raymond Sommer, Jean-Pierre Wimille and Carlo Felice Trossi were also present, giving an interesting European touch to the event.

The problem was that the European drivers and cars completely overshadowed those of the American drivers, who showed up in reasonable numbers to compete in the 1936 Cup. In the end, the result was an abyss between Europe and the United States; to simply give an idea, the best American driver classified in the 1936 race was 'Bill' Cummings who finished in seventh position, 25 minutes behind the winner Nuvolari!

In 1937, the story almost repeated itself, as drivers and machines from Europe converged on the circuit east of New York. Due to the huge prizes on stake, even the giants of the time, Auto Union and Mercedes, felt tempted to participate, and sent representatives from their official squads. In the end, it was the Germans themselves who proved to be the dominant force on the 5,363-metre route, with Bernd Rosemeyer and Richard Seaman securing the first two top positions on the podium.

But it is at this point that the difference with 1936 arises: finishing in third place was the American Rex Mays, an experienced AAA driver. Racing with a car more suitable to compete against his European rivals (since the majority of Americans drivers in the event raced with Indy roadsters, while Mays drove an Italian-built Alfa Romeo), the driver demonstrated that all that was needed was a on-par vehicle, so that the North Americans stood a chance against their counterparts from other parts of the world.

However, after this edition, a new period of torpor hit the Vanderbilt Cup. The public's lack of interest in these two editions, together with an increasingly volatile climate in Europe, contributed to G.W. Vanderbilt III reevaluating its incentive to the event. Once again, the Vanderbilt Cup was suspended and now, with no clear definition of any future return.

Two decades went by before the possibility of reestablishing the Vanderbilt Cup was considered again. The AAA had given up organising a new race with the Vanderbilt Cup title, with the Sports Car Club of America now taking its place. The Northeast Division of the SCCA, through its New York region, began looking for possible partners who wanted to reactivate the trophy and, yet again, the incentive came from the Vanderbilt family: Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, another nephew of W.K. Vanderbilt Jr.

Since the last Vanderbilt Cup in 1937, motorsport had changed substantially and was by 1960 definitely a global sport. New opportunities emerged, as new drivers and new categories defined the cream of the sport.

When the 'third incarnation' of the Vanderbilt Cup was confirmed for 1960, the first major decision was to choose which category would compete for the trophy. Always associated with single-seater cars, the SCCA sought to probe which category could fit into this classification of vehicles. USAC cars were out of the question, as they were not the most suitable for competing in a street circuit race, while Formula One proved to be extremely expensive to attract.

The choice fell on Formula Junior, which in 1960 had already found wide acceptance in the United States. The SCCA itself had already organised its own FJ championship, with national and regional events spread across the West and East coasts. After a rough start in the US at the beginning of 1959, the series gained momentum at the end of that year, especially after the United States GP, held in Sebring, when FJ was one of the support categories for the main F1 event.

By the beginning of 1960, FJ cars arrived in American ports by the dozens. A steady demand for vehicles in this category reached manufacturers such as Elva, Lotus and Stanguellini, an ocean away from their end customers. Therefore, there was no doubt that the SCCA would make a wise choice in promoting the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup in this category, seeking to combine the high popularity of the FJ with the omnipresent prestige of the Vanderbilt Cup. Now it was just a matter of waiting, and seeing the reaction of those who would actually do the races: the drivers.

A call to all interested parties

Just before the opening period for race registration, the SCCA elevated the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup to a 'special status'. This happened because the organisation, which generally revolved around amateur drivers, aimed to attract more qualified competition to the event, seeking to balance the number of more inexperienced drivers with some better-known names from the national and international scenes.

The brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez were without a doubt the biggest international stars in the race. Especially Ricardo, who between 1957 and 1959 had a meteoric rise on the American national scene, after achieving a string of good results in SCCA events in its southern division (Florida, Georgia, Louisiana) and the Caribbean. Pedro followed in his brother's footsteps, also climbing his way through the lower divisions of the SCCA until he found himself at the highest level of North American sport.

Both had been part of the OSCA squad in 1959, before being hired to drive GT cars for the North American Racing Team (known by the acronym NART). Because of this, both theoretically could no longer participate in SCCA events, but the loosening of the organisation's rules only for this race allowed the Mexican duo to be authorised to enter the competition.

Ricardo Rodriguez would have an OSCA-FIAT for this race, a model produced by the traditional Italian manufacturer Automobili OSCA in 1959. The car was powered by a 1089cc FIAT L4 103 engine and that generated something around 70bhp. The car would race under the NART team's own flag, property of ex-driver and Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti.

Meanwhile, Pedro would pilot a Scorpion-DKW, a vehicle manufactured by Rytune Ltd, from Winchelsea, England. Scorpions were very rare cars on the FJ grids. Instead of being mass-produced, like many others built by major manufacturers in the category, Rytune Ltd made only nine of these vehicles before the operation was absorbed by Elva, another large manufacturer in the segment. Pedro Rodriguez's Scorpion was only one of six built with 1000cc DKW engines, which produced a maximum of 80bhp.

Although DKW engines also proved to be another popular choice in this first stage of FJ, they were quickly replaced, as units from BMC and Ford Cosworth became cheaper and more popular. This was due to the fact that DKW engines were notoriously unreliable in long-distance races. Therefore, DKWs became known as 'bad investments', as many FJs powered by DKWs spent more time in the workshop than on the tracks.

Returning to the subject of drivers, another foreign name deserves its due recognition: Lorenzo Bandini. In the early 1960s, the Italian was another on the rise on the European scene, especially in the Italian national context. The driver had gained greater international visibility after his victory in the second leg of the Cuban GP (the Gran Premio de la Libertad), a leg of the mainstream international FJ tournament, the Campionato A.N.P.E.C./Auto Italiana d'Europa.

For the race on Long Island, Bandini had exchanged his traditional Stanguellini, with which he competed in the national and international FJ championships, for a Wainer, one of the revolutionary types in the category, due to its rear engine. Also having the FIAT 103 L4 powerplant as its driving force, the car soon proved to be competitive only in very specific conditions, as its weight distribution was a handicap on fast circuits, where the lightweight Stanguellinis and Elvas had the upper hand.

The trio formed by Bandini-Pedro-Ricardo ended up being the only shadow of foreign representation in the race. This ended up being the great failure of the Vanderbilt Cup revival, largely due to the terrible date chosen for the race: June 19th. Such a day may seem irrelevant on the American calendar, but if seen in the broader context of the situation, it meant that the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup would take place just one week ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Such a clash of dates prevented some big names who were speculated to attend the Long Island meeting from declining the invitation.

From the American names, great stars also emerged. Carroll Shelby, who at this point was a mix of European and North American celebrity, also accepted the challenge of racing in his home country. After a few years competing in every sort of race car, the driver began to 'slow down' after health problems began to affect his performance on the track.

But a challenge like the Vanderbilt Cup could not be refused. To this end, the driver prepared himself as best he could and by the start of the registration period, Shelby had already his hands on a Mitter-DKW. Another of the 'rare birds' of FJ, the Mitter was designed by German driver and engineer Gerhard Mitter as a direct answer to the dominance of Italian models in the category between the years 1958-60.

Unlike other FJ constructors who also used DKW engines in their machines, Gerhard Mitter knew the weaknesses and strengths of this powerplant very well, having worked for years as a specialist in this exact type of engine. Thus the German managed, through a process of careful tuning, to make the DKW reach its full potential without wearing out at an unviable rate. Due to this, the Mitters became very competitive vehicles, and one of the few FJ cars by early 1960s that could beat the armada of Italian-built machines.

Two of the main protagonists of the 1960 Indianapolis 500 also gave a positive nod to the holding of the Vanderbilt Cup. Rodger Ward and Jim Rathmann promised to make the second round of their personal duel take place on Long Island, after the long battle that had developed between the two in the mythical Indiana racecourse. Rathmann had emerged victorious in the duel, after a tyre problem forced Ward to just follow Rathmann in the final laps of the race.

In the Vanderbilt Cup, the context was completely different for both: the oval circuit would give way to a fast and winding track. The 2-speed manual gearboxes of the Indy roadsters were out of the game, with the 4-speed gearbox now the means of controlling the sleek Formula Juniors.

Rodger Ward would drive a Bandini of the Marty Biener team, a car built in small numbers in the city of Forlì, in Emilia-Romagna. The car, it was said, could reach 90bhp with the FIAT L4 engine at 6900rpm – and this would make the Bandini one of the most powerful front-engined cars ever built for Formula Junior. Obviously this number was minimally exaggerated, as it is known that the maximum recorded by a FIAT 103 L4 engine in a racing situation was roughly 80bhp.

While his rival drove a unique car, Rathmann drove one of the most abundant cars in FJ during the years of 1958-'60: the Stanguellini. Despite being produced en masse, this does not mean that the quality of Stanguellini was below that of its artisanal counterparts. On the contrary, these vehicles manufactured in Modena built a dynasty, which was only broken when the rear-engined Lotuses and Coopers began to dominate the game in early 1960.

Some other good American names, who had shone in recent years or would become famous in the next decade, also participated in the event on Long Island. Ed Hugus, who was another name of the American contingent that tried his luck on European tracks in the 50s, confirmed his name on the entry list, registering an ISIS-FIAT, a car designed by the Italo-Argentine designer and driver Alejandro de Tomaso.

Walt Hansgen, four-time champion of the SCCA National Championship, was another well-known figure within the American national scene who prepared a Junior for the Vanderbilt Cup. The driver would race for the Briggs Cunningham team, one of the most established American race squads at the time, with operations in GT cars, sportscars and Formula Junior itself. Walt was equipped with a brand-new Lotus 18-FJ, the state-of-the-art vehicle at the time.

Of the names that began to appear more commonly in SCCA magazines, Peter Revson and Jim Hall can be highlighted. The two would be pivotal figures in the development of motorsports in and outside the United States in the years following the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup. Revson would become a charismatic figure within F1 and USAC in the 1970s, until his fatal accident in South Africa in 1974. Hall, on the other hand, survived his racing days to see the legacy of Chaparral Cars, founded in partnership with his friend and fellow driver Hap Sharp, enter the annals of world motorsport.

Peter Revson would drive another Italian-made machine in the Vanderbilt Cup, a Taraschi. The Taraschi were almost identical copies of the most successful Stanguellinis, with only some aesthetic differences identifying one car or another. Hall had on his side an Elva model 100, one of the first FJ cars from outside Italy to be successful on the international market. Hall's model was equipped with a special DKW engine, personally tuned by Gerhard Mitter himself.

Building the starting grid: the qualifying heats

At the end of the registration period, 42 drivers had their requests granted to participate in the great return of the Vanderbilt Cup. In the days preceding the race, the first drivers were able to see first-hand the territory that should be dominated by the Formula Juniors. The track, approximately 2,400 metres long, was located in the 'foothills' of the place that hosted the 1936 and 1937 editions of the trophy: Roosevelt Raceway.

As the site had been transformed in the early 1940s into a dedicated harness racing track, there were no longer conditions for hosting a vehicle racing event within the site's gates. The solution found was the creation of a temporary circuit in the parking lot and access roads to the former venue, which was defined by the limits of Meadowbrook Parkway, Stewart and Merrick Avenues and Old Country Road, which surrounded the original Roosevelt Raceway.

The venue was quickly recognised as fast and tricky, with the only corner of more than 45° being the last one, before the pit entrance. Another factor that began to worry the drivers was that the location did not seem the most suitable for holding a GP, due to the limited safety measures taken, in addition to the fact that the asphalt had proven to be extremely abrasive - so, a nightmare for mechanics and teams.

Sandwiched into a weekend that promised races of different categories, the Formula Junior race had become the great featured contest of the whole event. To this end, the organisers sought to make the most of the category, even promoting a different system for defining the starting positions for the final race of the Vanderbilt Cup.

The day before the race for the trophy, two elimination rounds would be held, being the ones that would define which drivers would have the chance to fight for the great objective of becoming the Vanderbilt Cup title holder. Each elimination heat would be five laps long, while Sunday's final would have 50.

Most of the drivers hadn't even done more than half a dozen reconnaissance laps on the track when Saturday finally arrived. Of the 42 drivers that had entered, 31 actually appeared on the circuit at the moment of truth. As the first group of 14 cars went down the main straight at full throttle, Walt Hansgen and Ricardo Rodriguez immediately stole the spotlights.

The American made the most of the characteristics of his 'fresh' Lotus, enjoying a good technological lead over Rodriguez's OSCA. This didn't bother the Mexican, who made up for his disadvantage in machinery with his own talent. The drivers were, for most of the time, less than one second apart, with Hansgen crossing the finish line just four tenths of a second ahead of the Mexican.

The rest of the field had already fallen well behind when the chequered flag was waved for the first time on the circuit on the banks of Roosevelt Raceway. Harry Carter, who was in the top-three of the race, was almost 18 seconds behind the leaders on the finish line. Of the other well-known names in this heat, Jim Rathmann finished fifth, while Revson settled in eighth.

The second heat, made up of 17 vehicles, was marked by competitor problems and an intense dispute for second place. Right at the start, Charlie Kolb (who was coming from a good streak of FJ victories in American national events) jumped into the lead, with Chuck Wallace and Jim Hall taking turns in second position. Carroll Shelby remained close to the front group, being a constant threat to the leaders.

In the following laps, Kolb consolidated his position as leader, with Wallace finally relegating Hall to third. Further back, Rodger Ward had problems adapting to the track, losing substantial time on the quick left and right handers. Pedro Rodríguez also had his own share of problems, with the Scorpion circulating very slowly around the track.

Italian Lorenzo Bandini was concerned about running a safe race, remaining between seventh and ninth. Returning to the front of the field, Kolb increasingly distanced himself in the lead, with the driver crossing the finish line with a total time of 6.27.200. Seven seconds separated him from Chuck Wallace, who had finished second, and then came young Jim Hall in third.

However, the last lap was marked by the accident of Shelby who, when trying to execute an overtake, made a mistake and collided with another car in contention. 1959 Le Mans winner Mitter was almost catapulted out due to a tyre-to-tyre collision. Luckily, the biggest injury for Shelby was a flat tyre and the loss of some positions, which led him to finish in seventh place.

The last task of the day was to calculate the final times, so that the definitive grid for the Vanderbilt Cup could be set up. Charlie Kolb, being the fastest of the two heats, would start in first position, in the inside part of the track. Completing the front row were in second and third spots Walt Hansgen and Ricardo Rodriguez, respectively.

Jim Hall was another one who had achieved a good starting position, having his time considered fifth best overall. On the other hand, the other big names on the grid would have to join the pool of less experienced SCCA drivers, having an arduous and difficult task to climb the necessary positions to fight for the victory.

The decisive race: time for the Cup

The teams took advantage of the brief break between Saturday and Sunday to make final adjustments to the Formula Juniors. In view of a race of attrition, most of the cars were meticulously prepared and cared for, to minimise possible problems and failures that could cost a driver the victory.

The second day opened with two support events, one for production cars and other to single-seaters up to 750cc. But as soon these races became things of the past, it was time for the big event on the weekend's racing calendar: the Vanderbilt Cup. The 31 cars that competed in the qualifying races were joined by another two, with a grand field of 33 entries for the trophy’s feature race.

Authorisation to start was given and the cars set off along the main straight of the circuit. Although it was assumed that Walt Hansgen would have an easy start, due to the better weight-to-power distribution of the Lotus 18-FJ, it was Ricardo Rodriguez who jumped ahead, thanks to a well-timed start. Walt had to hold back in second, following closely the Mexican.

Charlie Kolb, who had started in the first spot, was not in sync with his car on Sunday, falling to eight position. On the other hand, Pedro Rodriguez looked like another person, after his miserable performance on Saturday: the driver began a furious charge through the grid, being within laps close to the top spots. Jim Hall also seemed comfortable on Sunday, following the pace promoted by the leaders.

At the beginning of the second lap, Hansgen managed to overtake Ricardo, thus promoting the first change of lead in the Vanderbilt Cup. But the American driver's joy did not last long, as Hansgen, a couple laps later, began to slow down on the track, being forced to make a pit stop. The car had suffered a puncture and Hansgen had not a single spare to replace it! The brand-new Lotus had arrived in the USA so close to the Vanderbilt Cup that the driver didn't even have time to order a spare set of tyres for the race.

This peculiar situation made the leadership return to Ricardo Rodriguez, who now had to defend himself from Jim Hall's attacks. He, in turn, was closely pursued by Harry Carter, another experienced FJ racing driver in the United States. Pedro Rodriguez and Chuck Wallace closed this first pack, which moved swiftly around the track.

The following laps were marked by a period of small changes within the pelotons, as the post-start movements cooled down. It was also at this time that the first problems began to affect some of the race's stars: before the 10-lap mark, Carroll Shelby, who was stuck in the intermediate group, had gearbox problems and was forced to abandon the contest. On the next lap, Jim Rathmann was involved in an accident with Norman Buerdsell. Both drivers were unharmed, but the 1960 Indy 500 winner's car suffered terminal damage as a result of the crash.

Rodger Ward's race didn't last long either, as, on lap 13, the American was involved in a skirmish with some slower drivers and came out worst, after a touch sent him directly into a collision course with one of spectators’ bridges in the track. Another driver who emerged from a crash in one piece, but with a vehicle damaged beyond repair.

While bad luck seemed to be present among the most popular American drivers, in the lead, it seemed that Mexico would have a glorious day. Ricardo continued to lead, with Pedro coming soon after. Hall had lost some positions, while other players were now beginning to approach the leaders. On lap 16, however, an unexpected change occurred at the front: Ricardo Rodriguez's OSCA began to experience engine problems, causing the driver to be forced to stop definitively in the pits.

Now it was the oldest of the Rodriguez brothers who was leading the race. It didn't take long for the Mexican to leave his mark on the field, as he began to set an impressive pace in the lead. The only driver who managed to follow Pedro at all was Phil Forno, who was driving a Momo-BMC. This special car was developed by engineer Alfred Momo, who had been one of the main engine specialists for the Briggs Cunningham team in the 1950s and 1960s.

Despite Forno's effort (which lasted up until around lap 30, when an oil leak forced the driver to retire from the race), nothing seemed like it would stop Mexican Pedro Rodriguez. By lap 41, he had already lapped all of his opponents at least once, having a comfortable advantage over the now second-placed Harry Carter.

But one last act was still reserved for the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup, as with a few laps to go, Pedro's engine began to cough and act erratically, and the driver, seeing the advantage he had, decided to make a stop in the pits to see which was the problem. However, the check took longer than expected and Pedro's car returned to the track with some delay.

This allowed not only Harry Carter, but also Chuck Wallace, Jerry Truitt and Newton Davis to get dangerously close to the driver, with all of them negating the lap delay they had on Rodriguez. The Mexican then returned to the race and the final laps took place at a blistering pace, with the drivers giving their all in the final moments of the event. The exception was Pedro, who thought that he still had a comfortable advantage in the race.

And so it went, until the chequered flag fell on the circuit. Pedro Rodriguez, who was certain of victory, was already on his way to collect his prize in the track's victory lane when he discovered that the race organisers had declared Harry Carter the winner of the event. This is how the saga to define who was the true champion of the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup unfolds.

The problem, in reality, began when no one knew exactly how many laps Carter and the small group following him had gained on Rodriguez when he made his pit stop. According to the Mexican team's calculations, Pedro Rodriguez had a two-lap advantage over Carter before the stop, losing one during his passage through the pits.

A widespread discussion took over the paddock, involving members of the race organisation and timekeepers, the SCCA, Rodriguez's team and even Pedro Rodriguez Sr, the driver's father. Several revisions were made, until the verdict was given: the organisation's decision remained, with the duo formed by Harry Carter and his Stanguellini-FIAT being declared the champions of the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup. In second place, Chuck Wallace had finished with a Scorpion-DKW and, closing the podium, Jerry Truitt and his Stanguellini-FIAT. According to the final table, Pedro Rodriguez was declared only fifth on the standings, behind Newton Davis in another Stanguellini.

However, the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup affair would not end on that June 19th. Subsequently, the case was taken to the court of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), which began investigating the suspicion of falsification and adulteration of the race results. However, after pressure exerted by the American delegate in the institution at the time, George Rand, the investigation was considered closed, without giving a final verdict on the case.

Even so, there is room for speculation on both sides: from the perspective of Pedro Rodriguez and his team, how did the driver lose two laps when Rodriguez's Scorpion was overtaken only once while in the pits? What happened to the extra lap of advantage that Pedro theoretically still had? On the other hand, why was only Rodriguez's team contesting the result of the race, while all the other timekeepers considered Carter's victory correct? Shouldn't there be more witnesses if the given result really was erroneous?

Be as it may be, this in no way detracts from the Mexican's performance, who once again demonstrated that he was one of the top talents of North American motorsports. Nor should Harry Carter's victory in the Vanderbilt Cup be tarnished, which was only due to a solid and consistent performance from the driver that led the Stanguellini, once again, to a great victory. This also proved the quality of the American driver, who patiently waited till the final moments of the race to push his car to the limit, in a perfect and wise tactic – given that of the 33 cars that started, only 14 crossed the finish line.

The end of an era (and the beginning of another)

After the 1960 edition of the Vanderbilt Cup, some other attempts were made to re-establish the event on a more definitive basis, but none of them enjoyed the prestige generated by the original editions of the Cup.

What can be considered the 'fourth incarnation' of the trophy took place between the years of 1965/'67/'68, when legs of the United States Road Racing Championship held at the Bridgehampton circuit were conferred the title of Vanderbilt Cup. For the first time in decades, the cars that would compete in the race would not be single-seaters. This time, the responsibility of promoting a good spectacle in the Cup fell on the shoulders of sportscars.

Despite also being sanctioned by the SCCA, these events were marred by a mix of success and failure. With the exception of the victories of Jim Hall in the 1965 edition and Mark Donohue in 1967, little is said about these races in Bridgehampton, largely because they are very far from the principles originally proposed by the Vanderbilt Cup.

The last attempt to save the Vanderbilt Cup from oblivion was with the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), after its feud with the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1996. Initially, the Vanderbilt Cup trophy would be given to the winner of the U.S. 500, a race held at the Michigan Superspeedway and which (theoretically) would rival the Indianapolis 500. After the first and only edition of the U.S. 500, held in 1996, the trophy would be given to the winner of the Michigan 500, also contested at the same location.

This scheme lasted until 1999, when the Vanderbilt Cup became the official name of the title given to the winner of the CART season. When CART became the Champ Car World Series in 2003, the Vanderbilt Cup was perpetuated as the category's official trophy. This happened until its merger with the IRL in 2007. Since then, the Vanderbilt Cup has fallen into ostracism again, being just another name in the past of American motorsport.

Even so, through its long history and various successes and failures, the Vanderbilt Cup became synonymous with American pioneering in motorsports, being the stage that catapulted the great automotive power of the United States. The 1960 edition of the trophy was perhaps the last gasp of the original Vanderbilt Cup, with some minor similarities between 1960 and 1904. An event that attracted some names from outside the United States, but which aimed, mainly, to promote on a global scale the talents that existed in the land of Uncle Sam. Even the place where the contest was held was improvised (a parking lot!), something similar to what happened with the first edition, in 1904, which used public roads as its layout.

Ultimately, it can be argued that the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup was the result of the SCCA's search for a connection with the golden past of American motorsports, one that had certainly been glorious, but that already had given way to a new world that was emerging from race tracks all around the world.

Acknowledgements

• US Magazine Road & Track: edition of October 1960
• US Magazine Sports Car Club of America (official issue): edition of August 1960
• Website Champ Car Stats
• Website First Super Speedway
• Website Motor Sports in the 60’s/Britracing
• Website Vanderbilt Cup Races

Special thanks to Barcboys Club, which made part of its photographic collection available for the final composition of this project.