In 1959, a group of local business owners and racing enthusiasts in the small Kansas town of Garnett eyed up the 2.85-mile road in the park on the north side of town and said to each other, "we could run a race here!"
In concert with the Kansas City Region of the SCCA, they did just that, putting on a massively popular -- and dangerous -- event for the next five consecutive years.
The event drew racers from near and far, bringing hardware varying from lightly-prepped MGs and Triumphs to track specials from Lotus, Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati to compete. It also drew spectators by the thousands. Midwesterners didn't often get a chance to see such exotic European race cars up close, much less at speed, and the sheer numbers that descended upon tiny Garnett to witness the action demonstrated how enthusiastic the Kansas public was for such a spectacle. Attendance peaked in 1963 at a claimed 60,000 -- dubious, since much more notable SCCA races on the east coast reported crowds closer to 10-20,000 in the same year, but contemporary aerial photos suggest the event was well-attended in any case.
In '63, though, the headline race of the weekend had a decidedly more domestic flair: on their way back to California from the USRRC race at Watkins Glen with their dominating 289 Cobra, the Shelby American team decided to take a detour to Garnett in order to support privateer Bob Johnson, against the Corvettes of Grady Davis, Don Yenko, and Dick Thompson. The result was a thorough thrashing of the Corvettes in both the Production and Modified categories, memorialized by the Shelby American team with a mock funeral in the infield for the Corvettes -- complete with a grave marker engraved with the epitaph "Here Lies the Sting Rays."
The heyday of the Lake Garnett GP, however, were short-lived. Despite numerous attempted safety improvements, the track was inherently treacherous -- with steep embankments along the road in many places, limited and tree-studded runoff, and a stone-walled run across the top of the dam -- and fatalities occurred almost every year during the event's first run. Probably worse for publicity, though, was a massive riot that happened the night before the 1963 race, which led to the death of a police officer. Organizers tried one more time in 1964 with a more thorough crowd control plan, and the track hosted regional and divisional events sporadically over the next decade, but ultimately the city of Garnett had lost its taste for racing.
With this mod I have tried to recreate the Lake Garnett Grand Prix at its height in 1963. Elevation data for the track is derived from present-day LiDAR data, combined with historic aerial photography and surviving amateur film archived by the Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival. The 2.85-mile course consists of nine corners, and is dominated by two high-speed sections -- the almost mile-long run between Flatiron Corner at the south end of the course and the turn on to the dam, and the fast downhill run from the "Corkscrew" on the east side of the lake down through the finish line. Tall gearing is highly recommended.
The track has been configured to make use of the functionality of x4fab's Custom Shaders Patch, and a recent version is highly recommended for the best experience. If you're looking for some period cars to race with, I highly recommend Pessio's Maserati Tipo 61 and Mini Cooper. aphidgod's Lola T70 is a bit ahistorical for this particular event, but still quite fun (if terrifying) and matches well with the Kunos Cobra 427 S/C.
The archival work and input of the Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival committee was tremendously helpful in making this recreation possible. If you happen to be in the US midwest and are looking for something to do next October, I highly recommend attending -- in addition to a car show and autocross, they offer (speed-limited) lapping sessions around the historic track, and the event is well attended by the local club and vintage racing community.
In concert with the Kansas City Region of the SCCA, they did just that, putting on a massively popular -- and dangerous -- event for the next five consecutive years.
The event drew racers from near and far, bringing hardware varying from lightly-prepped MGs and Triumphs to track specials from Lotus, Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati to compete. It also drew spectators by the thousands. Midwesterners didn't often get a chance to see such exotic European race cars up close, much less at speed, and the sheer numbers that descended upon tiny Garnett to witness the action demonstrated how enthusiastic the Kansas public was for such a spectacle. Attendance peaked in 1963 at a claimed 60,000 -- dubious, since much more notable SCCA races on the east coast reported crowds closer to 10-20,000 in the same year, but contemporary aerial photos suggest the event was well-attended in any case.
In '63, though, the headline race of the weekend had a decidedly more domestic flair: on their way back to California from the USRRC race at Watkins Glen with their dominating 289 Cobra, the Shelby American team decided to take a detour to Garnett in order to support privateer Bob Johnson, against the Corvettes of Grady Davis, Don Yenko, and Dick Thompson. The result was a thorough thrashing of the Corvettes in both the Production and Modified categories, memorialized by the Shelby American team with a mock funeral in the infield for the Corvettes -- complete with a grave marker engraved with the epitaph "Here Lies the Sting Rays."
The heyday of the Lake Garnett GP, however, were short-lived. Despite numerous attempted safety improvements, the track was inherently treacherous -- with steep embankments along the road in many places, limited and tree-studded runoff, and a stone-walled run across the top of the dam -- and fatalities occurred almost every year during the event's first run. Probably worse for publicity, though, was a massive riot that happened the night before the 1963 race, which led to the death of a police officer. Organizers tried one more time in 1964 with a more thorough crowd control plan, and the track hosted regional and divisional events sporadically over the next decade, but ultimately the city of Garnett had lost its taste for racing.
With this mod I have tried to recreate the Lake Garnett Grand Prix at its height in 1963. Elevation data for the track is derived from present-day LiDAR data, combined with historic aerial photography and surviving amateur film archived by the Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival. The 2.85-mile course consists of nine corners, and is dominated by two high-speed sections -- the almost mile-long run between Flatiron Corner at the south end of the course and the turn on to the dam, and the fast downhill run from the "Corkscrew" on the east side of the lake down through the finish line. Tall gearing is highly recommended.
The track has been configured to make use of the functionality of x4fab's Custom Shaders Patch, and a recent version is highly recommended for the best experience. If you're looking for some period cars to race with, I highly recommend Pessio's Maserati Tipo 61 and Mini Cooper. aphidgod's Lola T70 is a bit ahistorical for this particular event, but still quite fun (if terrifying) and matches well with the Kunos Cobra 427 S/C.
The archival work and input of the Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival committee was tremendously helpful in making this recreation possible. If you happen to be in the US midwest and are looking for something to do next October, I highly recommend attending -- in addition to a car show and autocross, they offer (speed-limited) lapping sessions around the historic track, and the event is well attended by the local club and vintage racing community.
