The problems the Arciero team was having was not unique. The carnage at Sebring sidelined more than a few of the expected entries for Hilltop. In addition to Dan Gurney, a few more worthies of the American road racing scene did indeed show up. Jim Hall showed up with his trusty Lotus 18 in "Intercontinental Formula" (ICF) mode, sporting a 2.5-litre Climax FPF; Alan Connell with a Cooper ICF - 2.5-litre Climax FPF; Howard Cole was another Lotus - Climax FPF in the ICF "class" as well; Chuck Barns in a Cooper ICF - 2.5-litre Climax FPF; Lloyd Ruby was entered by J. Frank Harrison in the team's Lotus 18 - 2.5-litre Climax FPF; and, Roger Penske in his "Du Pont Telar Special" Cooper ICF - 2.5-litre Climax FPF.

In addition to these worthies were some other interesting entries, one of these being something running in the "ICF Class," but actually a concoction devised for something called "Formula Senior." Bob Schroeder was running the "FS" critter - a de Tomaso Isis chassis running with a 1.3-litre Alfa Romeo engine taken from an Alfa Veloce. As well as being the car's maiden voyage, it was Schroeder's first time in an open-wheeler in the pro ranks.

There were four Porsches in the field. Chuck Cassell and Harry Washburn were in RSK's, Bob Donner in an RS60, and - as is all too often the case - we know that Jack Ryan drove a Porsche, but there is no clear record as to the type. Bob Hurt was in a Ferrari 3.0-litre TR59, chassis '0766,' with Ed Lamb and Bob Hall also driving Ferraris. Lou Husson was in a Lotus of some sort and Russ Simmons drove a Bristol. Altogether, a very interesting entry. However, it was an entry list missing one item - there were no American-engined cars among the entries. This was in part due to the USAC folks, in theory, more or less running the series with an allowance for the ICF cars running under the new CSI regulations for the Intercontinental Formula. Or at least that was the idea. Everyone simply called it Formula Libre and let it go at that.

On Friday, little happened at the track. The skies were grey and rain - including some extremely heavy showers - kept most from getting too much done. That is, except Eisert and Lewis who were working away in the shop so generously made available by owner-promoter Robinson.

On Saturday, the weather improved only in that the rainstorms stayed away, the skies looking leaden and threatening the whole day. The original intent was to fill the grid with the fastest 24 cars as determined by qualifying, but since only 17 showed up, qualifying lost a bit of its drama. The qualifying procedure got a few eyebrows arching skyward when it was explained: a driver would raise his hand to the scores to indicate that the next lap was one that he wanted timed and which would count towards a grid position.

Prior to the "Pipeline 200," the track record had been set in an SCCA Regional event and did not last very long once the cars really hit the circuit and got going. At first it was broken by the Donner in his Porsche RSK with a 1 min 50.34 sec effort. Chuck Cassell was credited with a time of 1 min 48.84 sec - which was immediately looked upon with askance and no small amount of doubt. Since Cassell did not time himself, all he could do was shrug his shoulders, grin, and bear it. Others were quite vocal as to the accuracy of the timing crew and more than a few drivers and teams were howling at the poor timers.

Roger Penske, wearing an outfit similar to that of friendly rivals Hap Sharp and Jim Hall - blue jeans, blue button-down shirt, with a Texas flag over the pocket. The only thing was that instead on a star being in the blue field on the flag, there were the letters "GA." The "G" stood for "goat" and you can let your imagination wander a bit as to what the "A" stood for. In an immaculately prepared fire-engine red Cooper ICF, sporting Du Pont Telar sponsorship, Penske set a time of 1 min 42.23 sec without much apparent effort. When Penske then parked it saying that little excursion was sufficient and that there was more left where that came from, more than a few hero drivers were beginning to see the difference between being a racing car driver, a racing driver, and a racer.

Speaking of Jim Hall, he was having no end of difficulties with an oiling problem and ruined a ring and pinion set. He lost the ring and pinion set that the J. Frank Harrison team loaned Hall. There was much head scratching and mumbling as to why this was suddenly happening. Lloyd Ruby was another victim of mechanical gremlins and only got on the track to qualify with about 10 minutes left in the Saturday session. Ruby blasted around the tight circuit for a lap of 1 min 41.01 sec, which was enough to take the starch out of a lot of sails.

At least Ruby got on the track to qualify, something that Gurney never accomplished. So far, the only laps that Gurney had turned on the track had been at the wheel of his rental car simply so that he had an idea as to which way the track went. That evening, at least the Lotus now resembled a real racecar and would be ready for the final qualifying session to be held on Sunday morning.

When Sunday morning rolled around, the Arciero Lotus finally took the track. At about 30 minutes before the track was to close for the morning practice session, Gurney got in a lap to make sure things were properly connected and then returned to the pits. As the clock ticked towards Noon and the end of the session, the Lotus still sat in the pits with Eisert and Lewis fiddling with the various bits and pieces. Finally, Gurney roared out of the pits to "check the brakes," and within three laps he was in the low 1 min 40 sec region. Back into the pits for a few last minute adjustments and then back onto the track with scant minutes left before Noon. Gurney got in only two laps, but the last one was for a time of 1 min 39.27 sec, a new track record.

More than a few watching this display must have wondered why they were bothering to even try.

When the first heat was flagged off, the 17 starters dashed away from the grid. So did a chunk of the starter on the Arciero Lotus which smacked into Penske's Cooper - the other bits being littered on the track from the grid to the first turn. Gurney's engine sounded okay and after a lap or so he lowered the hammer and got on with the show. Penske did his best, but it was Gurney's heat from start to finish. Lloyd Ruby was an early challenger, slipping past Penske when Roger Racer wondered what in the world smote his Cooper. However, the heat gasket of the Climax FPF in the Ruby Lotus lifted a tad and he joined Jim Hall - those gears naturally - as one of the early retirees.

Bob's Hurt and Donner were keeping the crowd entertained as they went at it hammer and tongs. Inevitably they touched and Hurt spun the Testa Rosa. Managing to miss anything solid - to include any of those in his wake, he then came screaming into the pits at full-tilt and screeching to a stop, a performance which had the effect of virtually emptying the pits of the faint-hearted. Finding nothing but a big dent with a paint swatch which matched the color of the Donner Porsche interestingly enough, Hurt rejoined the fray to wind up eighth at the end of the heat, Donner in fourth.

Behind Gurney and Penske was a surprise and very unexpected third-placed car - the de Tomaso-Alfa Romeo of Bob Schroeder! Most were wondering just where he came from, but the truth was that he kept it on the track and persevered while the others had no end of misadventures or paid the price for what was certainly an excessive number of laps during practice by most of the others: some of the cars were just "tired" out after the strenuous practice sessions. One of these notably being the Alan Connell Cooper.

The second heat fielded only 14 starters, Ruby being back in the race after the engine was given emergency first aid in the pits. Despite being last on the grid, Ruby was in second place at the end of the first lap behind Gurney, something which had eyes popping among not only those in the spectator ranks - the attendance was reckoned at an honest 10,000 - but in the pits as well.

Then in came Gurney! Pointing at the rear of the car, Gurney told Eisert that there was a bad vibration from the right rear wheel. Eisert plucked off the wheel weight and Gurney was back in the race, but only to return to have the wheel changed since it obviously wasn't the wheel weight. Not having knock-offs, the tire change seemed to take forever. Having already lost over 30 seconds in the pits with the first pit stop, this pit stop added another 90 seconds to that. When he left the pits, Gurney was now 14th of the 14 cars in the race.

After a mere 22 laps, Gurney was back in first place. Maybe. There was some confusion among the timing crew as to exactly where Gurney was in relation to Penske. He was at least third and probably first. Maybe. At any rate, Penske helped make the picture a lot clearer when the gearshift lever deranged itself. Penske pitted and after seeing that repairs were not easily made to the mechanism, the crew picked a gear, locked it in that gear, and sent Penske out to see what he could salvage.

Penske was in fourth when he re-entered the race, but managed to move into fourth when the Hurt Ferrari gasped and joined those in the dead car park. Once again the Bobs Hurt and Donner got into during the second heat, the Porsche outlasting the Ferrari, but without any further bumper car antics.

When the heat ended, it was Gurney, Donner, Penske, and then the Cooper ICF of Charles Burns and the Lotus ICF of Howard Cole, the best of the walking wounded. Gurney departed Louisiana with $2,900 and 400 points towards the USAC Road Racing Championship, Penske collecting $900 and 300 points. Donner got a payoff of $585 and 260 points. It wasn't perhaps much of a race, but it certainly was an exhibition of the great driving skill of Dan Gurney.

The premier events in the universe of SCCA racing were the Nationals. These dated back to about 1952 or so and were those selected events which offered points for those desiring to win one of the championships in one of the eight production classes (A through H) or one of the six modified classes (C through H in 1962), or one of the other classes such as Formula Junior. These were the top of the heap in the world of SCCA club racing. The Nationals were spread from the Atlantic seaboard to the Midwest. They were events which cost more than a few dollars to run in, particularly if you wanted to be competitive. Being competitive meant, especially in the upper modified classes and in all the production classes, that you needed the latest and hottest machinery available and the drivers to wring the best from them. Although it was "amateur" racing, those who made the effort to capture a National title were anything but that.

In 1962, the events out West which might be otherwise included in the ranks of the SCCA Nationals were not. As the SCCA absorbed the California Sports Car Club into its ranks, the former CSCC stomping grounds of the West Coast were given their own version of the Nationals - the Pacific Coast Championships in the various classes. The same level of commitment needed for the East Coast and Midwest Nationals was necessary for the Pacific Coast Championship series.

The first round of the Pac Coast series was held at the 2.3-mile road course laid out using streets in the Port of Stockton area, not the airport circuit from previous years - the added runway space needed for the new Boeing, Convair, and Douglas jets crowding out the racers. The competitors had to contend with fire hydrants, stop signs, utility poles, big hay bales piled here and there in the corners, plus more than a few buildings, sidewalks, and lots of curbs. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Sponsored by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Widows and Orphans Association, the turn-out for the event was enough to make a healthy contribution to the cause.

Chuck Sargent won the main for the modified cars in his Maserati Birdcage. Bob Harris in a rear-engined special, the Campbell-Chevrolet, was a possible threat to Sargent after starting from the rear of the grid and roaring into third place on the first lap and was gaining before getting pushed off the course by another driver. This did the front suspension no good and the Campbell was out of the race. Another American-engined hybrid was the Lotus VI of Frank Crane with an aluminium-block Buick sitting where the little Climax engine usually resided. The car made a good showing until the rear-end gears failed. Also in the field was the Ferrari Testa Rosa of Rod Carveth, which whacked a solid part of the environment and dislodged its rear deck cover, which dangled behind the car before being removed. Chasing Sargent home was the Porsche of one Bat Masterson.

Meanwhile, back East, Roger Penske was back in his Cooper Monaco and at the Marlboro track, located on US 301 just outside Washington, DC in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Facing Penske was Bob Holbert in his new Porsche RS62. Using the same 2.5-litre Climax FPF in the Monaco that he had used at the USAC Hilltop event, Penske was the driver to beat. Penske and Holbert fought it out in the opening laps around the very tight 1.7-mile circuit. Penske began to draw away when the E/Modified Porsche began to lose oil from its 1,700 cc engine and was forced to pit. Or was it a split fuel line? Accounts differ on the cause, but the Porsche was able to continue after some hasty repairs, but lost too much time in the pits to get back into contention in the 40-lap event.

The first lap of the race saw the Elva Mark VI of Curt Gonstead collide with the Lister of Howard Keck, with Charles Beckley piling on in his Elva Mark III for good measure. With Penske tooling around at the front unchallenged after Holbert pitted, the attention turned to the dicing and slicing of the trio of Charlie Kolb (Maserati 300S), Ed Lowther (Lister-Chevrolet), and Bob Bucher (Porsche RSK). These three had a fierce battle between themselves until the Lowther Lister fell back with gremlins at work on the clutch. At the end, Bucher just managed to squeak across in front of Kolb. In fourth was the Porsche RSK of Joe Buzzetta. The attendance was estimated at 12,000 hardy souls to watch Penske collect the Governor's Cup.

Meanwhile, back West, the next Pacific Coast Championship event was at Tucson, Arizona, run on a 1.8-mile course laid out at the Tucson Municipal Airport. This was run as a "club" event, no spectators, for the simple reason that the Arizona Border Region of the SCCA simply faced the reality that it couldn't draw a crowd to the event.

The main event for the modifieds had Hap Sharp appear in his white Cooper Monaco, sporting a Maserati four-cylinder from a 200SI under the rear deck. At the start of the 25-lap event, Jack Nethercutt in his Lotus 19 took the lead from Sharp, who sat on the pole. Sitting behind Nethercutt was the surprising rapid Jay Hills in a Porsche RSK, followed by Sharp and the Birdcage of Jack Hinkle. Expecting to pass Hills on the straight, Sharp was more than a bit surprised to see Hills actually pulling away from him!

Meanwhile, Tracy Bird was tooling around in his Lister-Jaguar and lubricating the track. On Saturday, the Jaguar engine had dumped six quarts of oil in the first dozen laps. Now, in the Sunday main, it was duplicating that feat. Diving hard into the corners, Hills began to find that the Porsche was slipping and sliding on Bird's oil. Taking a narrow, inside line through one of the corners, Hills found a particularly big oil slick and spun, Sharp and Hinkle getting by as Hills struggled to get pointed in the right direction. Hills and Sharp had been gaining on Nethercutt and Sharp was in position to nip under Nethercutt when the Lotus ran wide after apparently slipping on more of Bird's oil. Sharp was then gone and was never challenged for the remainder of the race. Hinkle then passed Nethercutt, the latter pitting and complaining that the brakes were gone, the real reason he swung wide when Sharp nipped by for the lead. Hills followed Hinkle home for third and the Devin-Corvette of John Brophy was fourth.

Earlier in the same day as the Tucson event, The President's Cup race was held at the Virginia International Raceway just outside Danville. The main event for the modifieds was a 55-lap race around the always challenging 3.2-mile circuit. The start saw 20-plus cars take the flag and its was more akin to the beginning of the Gold Cup for unlimited hydroplanes. As the cars sat on the grid, rain started coming down and plenty of it. As they moved around the circuit, parts of the track were completely covered by water. For the first half hour of the race the deluge drenched the track, the drivers, the pit crew, and the few miserable spectators who remained.

Penske had led the parade for the first two laps, but stopped at his pits to have air taken from his tires. This put Bob Holbert and his Porsche RS61 into the lead with Walt Hansgen in his Briggs Cunningham/ Alfred Momo-entered Cooper-Maserati into second. Meanwhile, Penske was fighting to pass the G/Modified Lola of Art Tweedle! The little Lola was giving no quarter to the red Cooper and Penske was only able to get past by nipping past Tweedle in a true Dick Tracy move. However, more drama as Hansgen's Cooper began to make gasping noises and run like a brick was posing as a cylinder. It turned out to be that the electrics were soaked and required a pitstop of over six minutes to correct by replacing all the engine wires.

Penske had the bit between his teeth, he was well into his Roger Racer mode, and had closed to only a few seconds of Holbert's Porsche and was threatening for the lead. The two roared around the track as though it were not wet one bit - the entire track seemed at one point after the start to be covered in a film of flowing water - and soon Penske was in the lead. Holbert stayed with Penske, but the real excitement was Hansgen's charge through the pack.

Once he was back in the race, Hansgen simply drove like a man truly possessed. He was clipping six, seven, and eight seconds a lap off the lead of Penske. Pulling on the track just in front of Penske, Hansgen worked his way back around and regained one of his two lost laps before the end of the event and wound up third and still gaining on Penske and Holbert when the race ended.

Although Penske did a masterful job in winning the event, the talk was about the incredible job that Hansgen had done in clawing his way back through the pack and finishing third - but second in D/Modified to Penske. It was remarkable performance and one which took some of the sting out of the Cunningham/ Momo team's weekend: on Saturday, the Cooper-Maserati left the track while being driven by Dick Thompson and had to be repaired. Then the Buick in the other Cooper Monaco got sick. Built by the Reventlow team, the Buick was producing about 300 horses and was very fast. Unfortunately, particles of some sort were found in the oil pan and the decision was made to scratch the entry. The team found space in nearby Danville and rebuilt a Cooper with the Maserati using parts from the other Monaco. It was finished at five o'clock in the morning and Hansgen had all of one lap to see if there were any leaks and if the suspension worked properly. This made his remarkable performance even more so.

Our last stop will be at the Del Mar Fairgrounds where a rather bland 1.5-mile track was laid out for the third round of the Pacific Coast Championship series. Few of the drivers had much good say about it. The main event for the modified cars turned out a field of only 13 cars. Bob Harris was on the pole in the Campbell-Chevrolet Special, with local hotshoe and Corvette demon driver Dave MacDonald along side in something that kinda, sorta looked like a Corvette but not really. It was really Our Friend Max Balchowsky back with another creation from his fertile brain, Ol' Yaller V. Although it had first been fielded in 1961, only now was it really beginning to run well. Also on the grid were Jack Nethercutt in his Lotus 19 and Jay Hills in his Porsche RSK.

MacDonald and Ol' Yaller V lasted all of one lap before the suspension failed and sidelined the car. On the second lap Harris spun the Campbell Special when trying to outbrake Hills, who promptly and cleanly shut the door. Unfortunately, not only did Harris spin, he did so parallel to the pits (and the fuel trucks sitting there), whereupon he then smote a big cement block a mighty blow and that was that - the front suspension of the car being seriously deranged. This left Nethercutt and Hills to slug it out for the lead, the others in the race being out of it. At the finish, it was Hills followed by Nethercutt. In third was the Porsche RS of Mary McGee, two laps down, but well ahead of the survivors.