Steve Earle did not create the Monterey Car Week in the last week in August. The Concours at Pebble Beach had already been in existence since the end of racing through the pines there by the time of his frist historic race gathering in 1974. But he was in no small part the gudiing force in its development into what quickly became, and largely remains, one of the premier sports car and automobile racing events in the world.
Steve developed the idea of a paid attendance vintage racing event as an outgrowth of his membership in the Ferrari Owners Club. Like a number of other members, Steve had a fair amount of inherited wealth and chose to spend some of it on old cars, many of them racers, and a number being old Ferrari race cars. Having spent some time in Europe (he even raced at least once at LeMans), and also doing some of the Concours with these (including Pebble Beach), he was bored by the latter and intrigued by the vintage race scene on the Continent, but wanted a more casual atmosphere where peoople could actually hae open access to the cars and their owners.
So he put up some of that inheritance, rented Laguna Seca on an open weekend in August, and invited some of his “car buddies” to come out and play. This included the Ferrari Owners Club members...the club had a tent set up on the top of the Corkscew Hill by the scoring trylon, and made it a club event. In fact, if not for the financial support of the FOC the whole thing might have never gotten off the ground.
You can read that history in almost any car publication...for example: https://www.supercars.net/blog/the-first-historics/2/. Note the exclusive “all Ferrari” front row with Stevve and my first driving instructor David Love's cars leading the pack. As you can, no doubt, notice from the photo, all but two of the cars were Ferraris.
Steve decided to honor a single marque for each MHAR..thus was born the tradition of every tenth year, ending in xxx4, honoring Ferrari. An easy choice as no other manufacturer was both born in competition and stayed true to participation throughout its entire history.
Steve's success was basd in no small part on him honoring the entire history of motorsports and not just the major players. Thus it was that except for one year when I took the Siata cross country to race, and on one other occasion, my entry was accepted for every year from my first restoration of the car in 1984(?) through my last entry, which was also the year the founder of the event was ucnerimoniously kicked to the curb after growing it into the premier event of its kind in the US.
As noted elsewhere in this blog, Ernie Mendicki was my mentor in many of my automotive skills and the source of much of my knowledge. With only a very modest income as a forms salesman he had managed to own and accumulate a stable of cars that most of us can only dream of. I don't recall exactly which models he owned while he partipated in the MHAR, but I'm sure it included the 250 Sport, the first 3 liter V12 and winner of the Mille Miglia in 1952 with Giovanni Bracco driving all but one of hour of the event, fortified by many sips of brandy.
You can read about the car here: https://www.supercars.net/blog/1952-ferrari-250-sport/
For a number of years I could only attend the MHAR as a spectator, though membership in tehe FOC did grant me VIP access. At one event the FOC was invited to bring their cars from the “corral” display area for an on track exhibition...which turned into the world's largest Ferrari parking lot, with something like 200 cars on the course. At the time it was believed to be the largest gathering of Ferraris in one place. That must have been 1984, because I bought the Siata shortly after and began my stint in vintage events. I do recall sitting in traffic trying to come up the hilll from the highway to the paddock...the only time the 2+2 overheated. Sherri asked me what I was going to drive at the next Monterey Historics and I replied “the Siata.”
So I am guessing it was 1994 when the Great Gold Chain Caper came off. But by then the qually great Hat Caper had been long established as a tradition at the after party, held in the intimacy of the old amphitheater up on the hill above the front straight. It was the perfect gaathering place for the warm afterglow of a successful race weekend for me...having driven and finished well and, as old friend Terry Matheny used to say, not having madde a fool out of myself infront of all those spectators. I even was once recognized by Steve for the best performance and presentation on my class...a small “trophy” I still display proudly in my shop.
The hat caper was actually set off by Al Moss, founder of Moss Motors, one of the earliest American sources of parts for British sports cars. Al was as untouched by fame and glory as was Ernie, most of the time driving a three wheeled Morgan which used to scare the hell out of me trying to pass. It was impossible to tell which way the damned thing was going to jump when it hit the tiniest imperfection in the track surface.
As Al was called up to the podium for an award, on impluse he grabbed Ernie's cowboy hat on the way up, then swapping it for the cap Steve was wearing. And from there we were “off to the races...” with the rul being you did NOT get your hat back at the end of the ceremony.
That caused problems at least twice. On one occasion I had a young nephew with me, and somehow his cap (Miami Dolphins as best I recall) wound up on Vic Edelbrock's head, and Vic's signed cap then wound up on my nephew's head. He was quite upset until we convinced him that Vic was famous and respected throughout the car universe.
The second time was when Carroll Shelby was the guest at the podium with Steve, helping to hand out awards. This was another tradition Earle started (and yes, I will eventually get to how that ties in with gold chains and Ferraris). I'm not going to say where exactly THAT hat, complete with British Racing Driver's Club patch on it, wound up...but I hope his heirs realized what it wwas and didn't just toss it.
Shel was NOT amused and tried to get it back and we had to get the recipient to keep his mouth shut by threatening to drown him if he tried to give it back. Shelby eventually was able to talk the BRDC into giving him another patch.
So the guest for the weekend in question was none other than the Chairman of Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, dressed as nattily and as well quaffed as in this photo:
At the time of the event, the California chapters of the FOC were the two biggest Ferrari clubs in America, and likely the world. Unlike the Ferrari Club of America (FCA), ownership of a Ferrari was a requirement for membership. There was always a recognizable difference between the two chapters. Sherri and I used to say we could walk into a cocktail party of the two chapters and immediately piock out the SoCal members by the hairy chests of shirts open to the waist to display heavy gold chains with large Prancing Horse medallions.
Thus it was that Ernie decided to poke fun at that kind of pretentiousness. In addition to his usual Chambrey shirt, overalls, and cowboy hat, he decided to adorn himself for the Awards Ceremnoy with an “appropriate” gold chain. I don't remember a horse medallion, but the one inch galvanized chain, painted with gold leaf paint, draped over his haat and down his shirt, was pretty glaring...,particularly when he was called up for some award or another.
Maybe Montezemolo didn't get the joke? I prefer to believe he was just too cool to allow Ernie and the crowd to see any evidence of shock.
Come to think of it, I don't recall any standout reaction from the crowd either. The thing I always loved about that world in those days, was that literally no one was there to show off anything other than their love of driving those wonderful old cars as they were meant to be shown and appreciated. It did not matter who you (or your daddy) was, what you did for a living or owned, who you had married, or anything else. To paraphrase a very successful political saying for a Presidential election...
“It's the cars, stupid!”
