Bridgehampton Racing: From the Streets to the Bridge book

"Bridgehampton"
Bridgehampton Racing: From the Streets to the Bridge, a book by Joel Finn

330 pages with hundreds of never-seen photographs, race results and Joel's meticulous research. From edition of 2000.

Long Island has a rich tradition of hosting road racing, beginning with the Vanderbilt Cup Races run between 1904 and 1910, the largest sporting events of the time. Sports minded and affluent, the region continued to attract motor racing enthusiasts in subsequent decades, stimulating the popular interest in sports car racing and in international automotive competitions.

RACING ON THE STREETS
The village of Bridgehampton became the site of one of the earliest road racing centers in the revival of the sport after World War II. Public spirited community leaders organized sports car races on the streets, attracting sporting gentlemen and keen competition. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the country roads that formed the course route, where the finest drivers and cars of the day pushed their limits. The events brought welcome visibility for stylish summer holidays in the little town, and generated funds that supported a variety of community projects.

CREATING A CLASSIC RACE COURSE
When racing on public roads was banned by the New York legislature, a group of local Long Island and New York City sports car enthusiasts banded together to finance and construct a masterpiece of a road racing course on land they purchased on a spectacular hilly site amidst the sand dunes in northern Bridgehampton overlooking Peconic Bay. The track, opened in 1957 during the golden age of American road racing, became one of the country's legendary race courses.

HEROES ON THE TRACK
Throughout the 1960s, Bridgehampton hosted all of the most important American road racing series and attracted the nation's leading race teams and drivers. These included gentlemen racers like Briggs Cunningham and the heroes of the USRRC and Can Am. Legendary drivers raced here, including Walt Hansgen, Mario Andretti, Phil Hill, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney and Roger Penske. Pedro Rodriguez, Mark Donohue and Jim Hall roared through "Echo Valley" in their Ferraris, Lolas and Chaparrals, with Bruce McLaren and Denis Hulme in their McLarens. The NASCAR stockers also raced at the track, with Richard Petty among those in the winner's circle at the Bridge. Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds and Javelins competed in the Trans Am championships at Bridgehampton, as the American automotive manufacturers fought for supremacy on the track.

Ferraris, Porsches, Corvettes, Alfas, Maseratis, Jaguars and Lotuses filled the Bridgehampton racing weekends with excitement. A venue much loved by drivers for the awesome challenge of the track, the Bridge continued to attract SCCA and club racing events through the 1970s and '80s.

A COLLECTOR'S BOOK
In this comprehensive account, the drama of the racing at Bridgehampton unfolds. Here for the first time are the behind-the-scenes stories about the struggles to establish the street races and the difficulties in creating the permanent circuit and then keeping it alive, Accounts of the lap-by-lap contests of daring driving and technical achievement bring the reader to the edge of the pit wall as the competitors roar by.

Illustrated with 540 rare historic photographs and more tha 50 charts of important race results, this 330 page book is the authoritative record of the Bridgehampton road racing experience. Automotive historian Joel Finn, a long time competitor at the track and associate of the racers and the organizers, recreates the racing excitement with a first hand knowledge imbued with the passion of the sport.

Published by Garnet Hill Publishing Company, Inc. 2004. ISBN 0-9647769-1-X