It can be said that the Can-Am was the wildest, most wide-open road racing series that North America has ever known. About the only thing wilder we can think of are the old Group B rally cars, but even they couldn’t hold a candle to the mind-warping Can-Am race cars of the 1960s and early 1970s when the series was at its zenith. This video takes you into the thick of the action at long dead Stardust Raceway outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
In our continued effort to make you completely waste your workdays, here’s a three-part series replaying the coverage of the 1966 Can-Am race.
Aside from the wild cars that barely weighed 1,000 pounds and sported alky-injected big-blocks making huge power, the crop of drivers that got in on the action is unrivaled. Within the first five minutes of the first installment you’ll see a veritable racing hall of fame interviewed. Run to the snack machine, grab a soda, close your office door and click play!
Stardust Raceway had a road course and a drag strip most notably. The lifespan of the place was pretty short operating through the middle 1960s and right up into the very 1970 before being shut down for reasons explored in the upcoming book, “Stardust Raceway: When Motorsports Met the Mob in Las Vegas”. We think you will dig this look into racing’s past from Las Vegas…the old Las Vegas.
Press play on the videos below to see some true road racing dueling in the desert –
