See that above and below? That’s Al Unser giving his Johnny Lightning Special the what for at Sears Point during the 1970 Golden Gate 150 Indy Car race. The second race of the 1970 season, it was the only time that the Indy Cars ran at the place until the series returned there less than 10 years ago! The video here provides a great look at the cars, the drivers, and the coolness that was Indy Car at this time in history. USAC, the longtime and familiar sanctioning body overseeing the series was still the top dog and the best drivers in the country and from around the world were jumping in these cars. You’ll see Foyt, Andretti, etc in their prime all wound up and ready to go. Mark Donohue leads all comers to start the race. This is awesome stuff from the 1970 Golden Gate 150.
Spectators seemed to be in short supply at the track and that may explain the one visit and no return until more modern times. Promoters do not like to get whacked in the face twice financially, that’s for sure. We love the cars and we love the fact that these drivers were working really, really hard to make them fast around the course. When you hear the names of the drivers in their running order think about what the names of today will sound like on videos a few years or a couple decades down the road. Will people have the same reverence? We don’t think so.
You’ll love this video because it moves along, there’s great narration, and the in-car stuff is really super. The worst thing that happened to open wheel racing was the split but even by then, they had ventured far off the reservation from these bad ass roots that you’ll see in the window below.
Dan Gurney shows why he is considered one of the best race drivers in American history!
Always get a kick out of seeing a roll bar that’s lower than the drivers head.
Love stuff like this. Not sure if standing on the side of a cliff face with no guard rails was the best place for the corner workers.
Wish I had the brand new Lime Green 70 Duster at the pit entrance at the 3:35 mark. Wonder if that’s still around?