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1958 United States Grand Prix for Sports Cars

Riverside International Raceway

The 1958 United States Grand Prix for Sports Cars was a sports car race held at Riverside International Raceway on October 12, 1958. It was the fourth and final round of the 1958 USAC Road Racing Championship season, the seventeenth round of the Sports Car Club of America's Pacific Coast Championship, the second running of the Riverside Grand Prix, and the first post-World War II running of the United States Grand Prix. The race was held over 62 laps of Riverside's 3.3 mi circuit, for a total of 203.1 mi. Chuck Daigh won the race overall, driving one of Lance Reventlow's Scarab-Chevrolets. The race is also noteworthy in the annals of international racing, as the strong second-place finish by a local driver named Dan Gurney earned him a test drive in a factory Ferrari Formula 1 car, effectively launching the Californian's legendary racing career.

The weather at this event was very warm, even for a desert climate that routinely saw daytime temperatures of 100F plus during the summer. On race day the temperature reached an extraordinary high for the era 95 F; with winds gusting up to 9.9 mph on race day. Even with the global warming that emerged decades after the late 1950s, the maximum temperature of Riverside, California never exceeded 79.2 F for the month of October 2013.

Entry

The race was open to cars meeting the Sports Car Club of America's B Modified through G Modified classes. Although named "modified", most of the cars in classes C through G were factory-built sports racing cars. The field was unusually large for an American sports car race, attracted in large part by a large purse consisting of $14,500 ($ in today's money).

Class	Displacement
B Modified	5000-8000cc
C Modified	3000-5000cc
D Modified	2000-3000cc
E Modified	1500-2000cc
F Modified	1100-1500cc
G Modified	750-1100cc

Qualifying

Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.

Pos	Class	Car	Driver
BM	#5 Scarab Mk II-Chevrolet	Chuck Daigh	02:04.0
CM	#2 Ferrari 412 S	Phil Hill	02:06.0
BM	#3 Scarab Mk II-Chevrolet	Lance Reventlow	02:08.1
CM	#59 Aston Martin DBR2	Bob Oker	02:09.7
CM	#69 Ferrari 375 Plus	Dan Gurney	02:10.2
CM	#11 Ferrari 335 S	John von Neumann	02:10.8
BM	#70 Ol' Yaller Mk.I-Buick	Max Balchowsky	02:11.1
DM	#159 Aston Martin DBR1	Roy Salvadori	02:11.6
DM	#211 Ferrari 250 TR	Richie Ginther	02:12.3
BM	#172 Kurtis 500X-Cadillac	Jerry Unser	02:12.4
CM	#27 Jaguar D-Type	Bill Krause	02:13.6
BM	#111 Devin-Chevrolet Special	Ak Miller	02:13.7
FM	#7 Porsche 718 RSK	Jean Behra	02:14.3
BM	#14 Lister-Corvette	Bill Pollack	02:15.5
CM	#88 Ferrari 410 S	Masten Gregory	02:15.6
CM	#78 Maserati 450S	Carroll Shelby	02:15.6
BM	#229 Chevrolet Special	Clem Proctor	02:17.6
BM	#264 Huffaker Special-Chrysler	Fred Knoop	02:17.7
EM	#50 Porsche 550 RS Spyder	Ken Miles	02:18.0
FM	#126 Lotus Eleven	Pat Pigott	02:18.6
EM	#155 Ferrari 500 TR	Sam Weiss	02:18.8
BM	#149 Zidar Special (Kurtis-Corvette)	Ray Crawford	02:19.8
GM	#125 Lotus Eleven	Pete Lovely	02:21.8
BM	#98 Maserati 450S-Pontiac	Jim Rathmann	02:22.9
GM	#127 Lotus Eleven-Climax	Skip Conklin	02:23.4
EM	#9 Meyer-Drake Special-Offenhauser	Bill Cantrell	02:24.0
FM	#49 Cooper-Climax	Bob Drake	02:24.3
FM	#117 Osca TN	Harry Hanford	02:24.4
FM	#4 Lotus Eleven	Lew Florence	02:24.6
EM	#135 Ferrari 500 TR	Alan Markelson	02:24.9
CM	#129 HWM-Chevrolet	Ralph Ormsbee	02:25.3
BM	#96 Kurtis-Ford	Marvin Porter	02:25.4
BM	#110 Caballo de Hiero Mk II-Oldsmobile	Bobby Unser	02:26.3
EM	#121 Ferrari 500 TRC	Frank Becker	02:26.3
BM	#93 Buick Special	Floyd Burt	02:27.6
FM	#122 Cooper-Porsche	Tom Meehan	02:28.2
FM	#124 Porsche 550 RS Spyder	George Keck	02:28.3
DM	#259 Aston Martin DB3S	William de Creeft	02:28.8
EM	#35 Osca 2000	Pearce Woods	02:29.0
BM	#140 Kurtis-Buick	Bill Cheesbourg	02:30.1
EM	#23 Lotus Mark X	John Timanus	02:30.4
DM	#118 Porsche 356 Carrera GT Coupe	Jean Pierre Kunstle	02:34.2
DM	#138 Duncan Special	Bill Love	02:35.3
EM	#26 Ferrari 500 TR	Gordon Glyer	02:36.5
BM	#6 Kurtis-Buick	Troy Ruttman	no time
BM	#181 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL-Corvette	Johnnie Parsons	no time
FM	#8 Maserati 150S	Dusty Miller	–
BM	#16 Scarab Mk I-Chevrolet	Lance Reventlow	–
BM	#52 Kurtis-Corvette	Bert Ruttman	–
CM	#77 Ferrari 735 LM	Rodger Ward	–
EM	#114 Sebring 2000SS	Hank Tubman	–

Race result

Class winners marked in bold.

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps	1	2
DNF	26
DNF	27
DNF	28
DNF	29
DNF	30
DNF	31
DNF	32
DNF	33
DNF	34
DNF	35
DNF	36
DNF	37
DNF	38
DNF	39
DNF	40
DNF	41
DNF	42
DNF	43
DNF	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
BM	5	Reventlow Automobile Incorporated	USA Chuck Daigh	Scarab Mk II	62
Chevrolet Corvette 5.5L V8
CM	69	Frank Arciero	USA Dan Gurney	Ferrari 375 Plus	62
Ferrari 5.0L V12
CM	27	Frank Millard	USA Bill Krause	Jaguar D-Type	62
Jaguar XK 3.9L I6
FM	7	Porsche AG	FRA Jean Behra	Porsche 718 RSK	61
Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
DM	211	Ferrari Representatives of California	USA Richie Ginther	Ferrari 250 TR	61
Ferrari Tipo 128 3.0L V12
DM	159	David Brown	GBR Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin DBR1	61
Aston Martin 2.9L I6
BM	70	Motor Trend Magazine	USA Max Balchowsky	Ol'Yaller Mk.1	60
Buick 5.3L V8
BM	14	Dean Van Lines	USA Bill Pollack	Lister	60
Chevrolet Corvette 5.8L V8
EM	50	Precision Motor Cars	GBR Ken Miles	Porsche 550 RS	60
Porsche 1.6L Flat-4
FM	49	Top Equipment Co.	USA Bob Drake	Cooper	58
Coventry Climax 1.5L I4
CM	88	John Edgar	USA Masten Gregory	Ferrari 410 S	57
Ferrari 5.0L V12
EM	26	Gordon Glyer	USA Gordon Glyer	Ferrari 500 TR	57
Ferrari Tipo 131 2.0L I4
CM	129	Team Empire	USA Ralph Ormsbee	HWM	57
Chevrolet 5.0L V8
FM	117	Tim Considine	USA Harry Hanford	Osca TN	57
Osca 1.5L I4
EM	135	Alan Markelson	USA Alan Markelson	Ferrari 500 TR	56
Ferrari Tipo 131 2.0L I4
EM	9	Mar-Chris Co.	USA Bill Cantrell	Meyer-Drake Special	56
Offenhauser 1.7L
EM	121	Team Empire	USA Frank Becker	Ferrari 500 TRC	55
Ferrari 2.0L I4
GM	127	Skip Conklin	USA Skip Conklin	Lotus Eleven	55
Climax 1.1L I4
FM	124	Team Empire	USA George Keck	Porsche 550 RS	54
Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
DM	118	Jean Pierre Kunstle	USA Jean Pierre Kunstle	Porsche 356 Carrera GT	54
Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
DM	259	William de Creeft	USA William de Creeft	Aston Martin DB3S	52
Aston Martin 2.9L I6
EM	35	C. Vernon	USA Pearce Woods	Osca 2000	47
Osca 2.0L
DM	138	West Coast Racing	USA Bill Love	Duncan Special	44
Triumph TR2 2.2L
EM	23	John Timanus	USA John Timanus	Lotus Mark X	39
1.4L (Supercharged) I4
CM	2	Ferrari Representatives of California	USA Phil Hill	Ferrari 412 S	55
Ferrari 4.0L V12 DOHC
GM	125	Team Empire	USA Pete Lovely	Lotus Eleven	54
Coventry Climax FWA 1.1L I4
FM	126	Team Empire	USA Pat Pigott	Lotus Eleven	46
Coventry Climax 1.5L I4
FM	4	Team Empire	USA Lew Florence	Lotus Eleven	25
Coventry Climax 1.5L I4
BM	93	Floyd Burt	USA Floyd Burt	Buick Special	23
Buick
BM	149	Ray Crawford	USA Ray Crawford	"Zidar Special" Kurtis	20
Chevrolet Corvette 5.5L V8
BM	181	Chuck Porter	USA Johnnie Parsons	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Special	16
Chevrolet Corvette (Supercharged) 5.0L V8
BM	264	Fred Knoop	USA Fred Knoop	Huffaker-Chrysler Special	13
Chrysler 5.2L V8
BM	3	Reventlow Automobile Incorporated	USA Lance Reventlow	Scarab Mk II-Chevrolet	9
Chevrolet Corvette 5.5L V8
BM	140	Alex Budurin	USA Bill Cheesbourg	Kurtis Kraft	8
Buick
BM	172	Mickey Thompson	USA Jerry Unser	Kurtis 500 X2	7
Cadillac 5.6L V8
BM	6	Bill Murphy's Buick	USA Troy Ruttman	Kurtis Kraft	7
Buick 5.1L V8
FM	122	Team Empire	USA Tom Meehan	Cooper	6
Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
CM	78	Temple Buell	USA Carroll Shelby	Maserati 450S	4
Maserati 4.7L V8 DOHC
BM	96		Marvin Porter	Kurtis Kraft	4
Ford
BM	110	Ak Miller	USA Bobby Unser	Caballo de Hiero Mk II	3
Oldsmobile 6.2L V8
EM	155	Sam Weiss	USA Sam Weiss	Ferrari 500 TR	1
Ferrari Tipo 131 2.0L I4
CM	11	Ferrari Representatives of California	USA John von Neumann	Ferrari 335 S	0
Ferrari 4.0L V12 DOHC
BM	111	Ak Miller	USA Ak Miller	Devin Special	0
Chevrolet 5.6L V8
CM	59	David Brown	USA Bob Oker	Aston Martin DBR2	–
Aston Martin 3.9L I6
BM	98	John Engar	USA Jim Rathmann	Maserati 450S	–
Pontiac 6.3L V8
BM	229	Clem Proctor	USA Clem Proctor	Chevrolet Special	–
Chevrolet (Supercharged) 4.6L V8
FM	8	Dusty Miller	USA Dusty Miller	Maserati 150S	–
Maserati 1.5L I4
BM	16	Reventlow Automobile Incorporated	USA Lance Reventlow	Scarab Mk I-Chevrolet	–
Chevrolet Corvette 5.5L V8
BM	52	Engine Masters	USA Bert Ruttman	Kurtis Kraft	–
Chevrolet Corvette V8
CM	77	Italia Motors	USA Rodger Ward	Ferrari 735 LM	–
Ferrari 4.4L I6
EM	114	Dean Van Lines	USA Hank Tubman	Sebring 2000 SS	–
2.0L

Time of race: 2 hours, 17 minutes, 15 seconds
Average speed: 88.87 mph

Support races

Two support races were held: a production car race won by Skip Hudson in a Chevrolet Corvette, and an under-1400cc race won by Jock Ross in a Cooper-Climax.

References

1958 season

References

"Weather information for the ''1958 United States Grand Prix for Sports Cars''". The Old Farmers' Almanac.
"Weather comparison – 2010s climate vs 1950s climate". The Old Farmers' Almanac.
Dredge, Bill. (10 October 1958). "Berha arrives to drive in $14,500 U.S. Grand Prix". [[Los Angeles Times]].
"Haybale: Official Sports Car Racing Program, New England Championship". Etceterini.
"Riverside (BP+CP+DP+EP+FP)". Racing Sports Cars.
"Riverside (GM+HM+GP+HP)". Racing Sports Cars.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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