"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more."

This month we're going to visit some tracks other than Ponca City and Hutchinson. Maybe we'll even go outside the Mid Div and Texas.  And maybe we'll still run into Okies.  

Green Valley Raceway: Our first stop pictures two Lotus 7s at a neat track that was near Dallas/Ft. Worth. Though it was short and one of those drag strip/road courses, it hosted some memorable events. This photo by my husband, taken on February 14, 1965, shows Allan Girlder (#78), my husband's racing mentor, on the back section of the track which ran parallel to the drag strip.

Allan, then of Tulsa and later southern California, is shown driving the car that was originally Anatoly Arutunoff's of Tulsa. Before Allan owned it, it had been wrecked in a loose trailer accident on Labor Day of 1962 and then rebuilt. Allan was nearly killed in this car months after this event when hit by a pickup truck while test driving it on public streets . The only thing that saved his life was his having put on his helmet because the weather was cool. Allan often drove this car to work at the Tulsa World. Later, Allan became editor of Car Life magazine, then Road & Track and later Cycle World. Allan has written 12 books (type in <Allan Girdler> to see a listing of books he has authored) on cars, motorcycles and more. Lone Star Webs has a web site featuring some of Allan's writings. Check it out.

 

 
Riverside International Raceway: Since we've brought up Toly Arutunoff, let me show him driving his neat little yellow Lancia Stratos at the famous California track in 1978 (or maybe early 1979) during an IMSA event. We had just moved out to Santa Monica and went to our first Riverside event and saw Toly running. In the background you can see the grandstands along the famous "S" curves. Many times during that period we would watch Toly, up into the 80s, run in the "background" on ESPN in IMSA events around the country in this car.
 

Hallett Motor Racing Circuit: Since we're talking about Toly Arutunoff we might as well show his track in Hallett, Oklahoma, near Tulsa. This is James Lee driving my husband's former TR-4, circa 1980, in turn 9, "The Bitch". In the backround is turn 4. They had several big events in the mid 70s, including an IMSA race where we saw the likes of Peter Greg. Jim, who was living in Ada at the time, even ran in a race with Paul Newman here. Hallett, unlike many of the tracks featured this month, is still going. Check it out. Photo by Jeri Lee.

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Last Updated 8/25/98