1950s Legends of Laguna Seca

In celebration of the 65th racing season at the now-famous WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the track has been issuing a series of legends and tales from the raceway’s history. The February edition of these legends focused on the 1950s. The stories included talk about the creation of the track, Pete Lovely’s inaugural win, and how turn four became known as “Leslie’s Leap”.

The decision to build a new circuit in Monterey came from the rising concern for driver safety amid the growing power and speed of the cars. Following Ernie McAfee’s death during a 1956 race during the Pebble Beach Roads Races, a group of businessmen decided to pool funds together to keep the racing going in Monterey by building a bigger, safer track. They formed the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) and set to work.

Ariel view of the original Laguna Seca Credit: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Newsroom

After the U.S. Army signed a lease on Fort Ord on 7 Aug. 1957, they got to work and built the nine turn track in just 60 days. Architect, Wallace Holm, drew a rough diagram in the dirt and then sent the bulldozers to work. The famous “Corkscrew” is said to be created by pure accident. As the story goes, a foreman told a bulldozer driver to “get down the hill any way you can”.

Pete Lovely would win the inaugural race at Laguna Seca against some big names such as Carroll Shelby, Jack McAfee, Richie Ginter, and Johnny Von Neumann. Lovely would pass Von Neumann into turn nine on the last lap after patiently planning his attack to take first place and the chequered flag at Laguna Seca. In the following years, Lovely would remark, “I’ll always remember that race because it was the first race run at Laguna Seca and because it attracted a who’s who of West Coast sports car racing.”

Ed Leslie (98) and Lew Spencer (145) in 1959 Credit: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Newsroom

Two years later in 1959, Ed Leslie would be leading the race in his Austin Healey 100 with double spoked wheels. What happened later can best be described through Leslie’s own words, “With the Healey wheels, when you went around a corner at speed you could hear the spokes letting go. At Laguna Seca, I went into Turn 4 flat out and the wheel buckled up under the front of my car and sent me off the end of the road. Fortunately, there was no barricade there and I went down into the oak trees without getting hurt. After that escapade, the turn became known as ‘Leslie’s Leap.’”