This site chronicles
the racing memories of a special couple who really lived the racing
life in the Pacific Northwest from 1964 until the early 1990's, Harry
and Karlene Swanson.
Racing in ICSCC, IRDC and
SCCA events, Harry drove a variety of cars during his career, ranging
from H Sports racers to Formula 5000, always working on his own car,
paying his way with his own money, and truly living for the next race!
Karlene was Harry's wife and full-time pit crew, tow car driver, cook,
lap timer and scorer, only taking a break from these chores to have
two children, Spencer in 1966 and Shaunna in 1968, and making it a
family affair after that.
As you read this diary,
you'll see that although Harry and Karlene didn't have the best equipment
all the time, and easily could have quit at any time with no regrets,
they persevered due to a love of the sport and the camraderie they
developed with other racers who, week in and week out, came back to
the track to see who had the speed.
Karlene was the one who
chronicled their racing experiences in this diary, logging their travels
around the tracks of Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia,
interspersed with keepsake momentos, photos of the people and cars
that came their way, and observations of what was an exciting time
to be a racer in America...
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Here is a partial listing
of the Cars that Harry drove...
H
Modified
Forsgrini Martini |
G
Modified
Forsgrini Martini |
H
Sports Racer
Forsgrini Martini |
C
Production
Lotus Elan |
Formula
5000
Forsgrini Formula A |
Formula
Vee
Viper |
G
Sports Racer
Forgrini (?) |
H Production
Alfa Voloce |
Sports
2000
Wheeler |
B
Sedan
Lotus Cortina |
D
Sports Racer
Forsgrini (?) |
D Sedan
Mercury Capri |
The site is laid out as
though you are looking through a photo album, which is exactly what
you are doing. All the "pages" are scanned straight out
of Harry and Karlene's album, with all blemishes intact, and nothing
omitted. You may find that the site looks best using 1024 x 768 screen
resolution as each picture is rather large (800 x 1100 on average).
Most are rather large downloads as well - in the 100k region - so
if you have a slow connection, you may have a bit of a wait ahead
of you, but if you are a fan of racing in the 60's in America, it
will most definitely be worth it!
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