The Auto Club: Celebrating More Than 100 Years of Motorsports
	
2004-11-12

Before the Auto Club offered roadside assistance, travel services, maps, and insurance, there was motor racing - dating back to 1903, when the Club began sponsoring events to demonstrate the safety, reliability, and technological advances of automobiles of that era. The races and rallies provided exciting sport for thousands of Southern Californians and attracted racing legends such as Barney Oldfield and Eddie Rickenbacker. 

In 1902, the Auto Club joined the American Automobile Association (AAA) to become the region's sanctioning body for auto races. It certified road races in Santa Monica, Calif., oval track events at Agricultural Park near downtown Los Angeles, and long-distance races to Phoenix. 

In this 1915 road race in San Diego, Eddie Rickenbacker, who received fame and the Medal of Honor for his role as a fighter pilot in World War I, drove a Peugeot emblazoned with the number 7. 

One race at Agricultural Park, now Exposition Park near the University of Southern California, was the 1904 Huntington Cup event. Los Angeles resident Frank Garbutt won in his homemade Stewart-Garbutt entry. Race judges included local luminaries H.E. Huntington, Milbank Johnson, and Walter Newhall. Agricultural Park was also the site of a speed record set by Oldfield. 

One of the more exciting campaigns of the era was the Los Angeles to Phoenix endurance race, held annually beginning in 1909. While watching Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars cover the Pomona Raceway quarter-mile in elapsed times under five seconds and at speeds in excess of 300 mph during the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, imagine the skill and endurance it took to pilot an early Franklin, Cadillac, or Hupmobile over dirt roads and desert landscape in an elapsed time of about 18 hours. 

Though the Auto Club reduced its motorsports involvement for many years, it continued to work closely with manufacturers, mechanics, and state agencies to improve vehicle safety and technology. 

In the 1990s, the Auto Club revitalized its storied heritage when it launched a comprehensive motor-sports program that showcases the Club at major events throughout the region. Highlights include presenting sponsorship of the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway, title sponsorship of the Auto Club 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup event at California Speedway, major associate sponsorship at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and support of the NASCAR Auto Club Late Model Series at Irwindale Speedway. 

The Auto Club's passion for motorsports may be most visible at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at historic Pomona Raceway, where John Force, Gary Densham, and Eric Medien will be behind the wheel of Auto Club-sponsored Ford Mustang Funny Cars. 

Medlen, Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas, and Pro Stock ace Jason Line are contending for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, which each season honors NHRA's Professional-category rookie of the year. 

To gain an appreciation for the history of drag racing and relive the exploits of many legends of the sport, race fans and competitors can visit The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Auto Club. During the NHRA Finals, a free shuttle will transport race-goers to the museum from Gate J. 

To aid Auto Club members and nonmembers throughout the race weekend, the Club will offer complimentary emergency road service if they encounter mechanical problems with their vehicles in the parking areas. 

Matthew Roth, historian 

Automobile Club of Southern California 

Copyright National Hot Rod Association Nov 12, 2004