26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 14-20, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Car Week 2025 injury to their drivers or crossing sponsorship lines. Perhaps that is why the nostalgic tug of the series remains strong. “IROC, in its time, when racing was growing—nothing against drivers today, but those guys were larger than life,” Evernham says. Can Am driver Mark Donohue earned the 1974 IROC championship, besting the likes of Bobby Unser, Richard Petty and Emerson Fittipaldi in Porsche Carrera RSRs. The next year, running at two ovals and two road courses, the IROC field included AJ Foyt, Bobby Allison and Graham Hill, among other now legendary drivers, all in Camaros. “When I was a kid I thought it was so cool,” says Al Unser Jr. of IROC’s heyday. “Dad and Uncle Bobby were in it. When I was invited, every time it was ‘heck yeah.’” The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner known as “Little Al” serves as grand marshall for the class at the Rolex Reunion. While Unser says his racing days are done, he enjoyed his time battling NASCAR’s best. “My thinking was the more cars I could drive, the better I’d be at Indianapolis,” he explains. “Mainly I was learning from them.” Unser recalls probing the likes of Dale Earnhardt for tricks of the stock car trade. He says the seven-time NASCAR champion was forthcoming and friendly—off the track. “When we were competing, I used to say that Dale Earnhardt in front of me and the world was beautiful, Dale Earnhardt behind me and the world was messed up,” he adds. But Unser’s ability to take on unfamiliar tracks in a heavy Chevy Camaro or Dodge Daytona impressed Martin. The IndyCar star, in his opinion, was one of the few who could jump into what was essentially a stock car and outpace the NASCAR drivers. “He could slip into that stock car and kick our ass,” Martin observes. There were essentially three stages in IROC’s lifespan. From its beginning to 1980, the series lived up to its billing, with both oval tracks and road courses represented (apart from the first season, which was contested solely on road courses). In 1980 at Atlanta, Mario Andretti spun and set off a chain reaction that took out eight of the 12 cars. IMSA driver Don Whittington wrecked several laps later, leaving just four cars to finish. The chaotic race proved costly. With no sponsor, series organizers were forced to take a break. When the series returned in 1984, it ushered in a new era. IROC traveled to three ovals—Michigan twice and Talladega Superspeedway—and the curious street layout at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. The field now consisted of five drivers from the Indy series and five from NASCAR, with just Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx representing the international sport. After 1991, road courses disappeared from the schedule. IROC became essentially a NASCAR support race. Although top IndyCar and sports car drivers continued to take part, stock car regulars often made up half of the field or more. IROC’s legacy remains in that essential question. “They had a decent balance for a while,” Evernham says. “That challenge—the best of the best, head to head. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Lewis Hamilton against Kyle Larson? Holy crap.” In resurrecting the series as vintage racing, Evernham has given fans and drivers a reminder of that brief era when there was the possibility of an answer. He says IROC will return to the Rolex Reunion next year, as well. And two other events are planned for 2026. “I get to drive with people I raced with and people I watched,” Martin says of his trip to Laguna Seca this year. “The seat still fits, the uniform still fits—those are good things.” The IROC Unser Family Cup is part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The cars are on track 3:30-3:55pm Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 13-14; 9:25-9:50am Friday, Aug. 15; 10:55-11:20am Saturday, Aug. 16. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. $67-$160; multi-day packages/$217-$253. 2428201, weathertechraceway.com. McLaren racing boss Zak Brown will drive this 1978 Camaro at Laguna Seca. The likes of Gene Hackman, Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood have also been behind its wheel. through rate of 52 percent, compared to 73 percent for more recent models. Mecum Auctions, the house known for muscle cars elsewhere, brought a lineup loaded with Porsches, Ferraris, Auburns and Cords to Monterey. This year Mecum not only offers Dirty Martini at an estimate of up to $550,000, but also a modified 1967 Pontiac GTO known as “Twisted,” in part for its asphalt-ripping 1,000-horsepower engine. “They are always going to be kind of separate,” Twisted’s owner, Steve Aguilar, says of the different collecting camps. “But I tried to make the car so that anyone with a vintage Bugatti would say, ‘Wow!’” Like Dirty Martini, Twisted has come away with multiple awards. And it is the result of heavy modification—right down to the custom ignition key and fob. Yet it has the look of a GTO, only with more power, better braking and a modern interior. “We didn’t want to destroy the look of the car,” Aguilar says. “We just made improvements.” Writing in Hagerty Insider, a magazine devoted to collector cars, Dave Kinney noted that the avocation has changed in the past. “In the early days of car collecting…even top-tier collectors cared relatively little about originality,” he observed, adding that restoration shops thought nothing of replacing parts to make the vehicle better. In the 1990s and 2000s, however, the high-end market became much more particular. The preservation class was born from the ethic of sticking to originality. Even faded color became more important than a gleaming new paint job. Car owners like Duffy and Aguilar want past and present in one package. “To me, when you’re modifying a car, nothing should stick out,” Posey agrees. “You give it a modern flair without taking away the history.” To his point, if designers in 1961 had access to the same technology, would they have produced something similar to Dirty Martini? The “resto-mod” segment of the collector world prefers to restore and modify. Even pre-war models can be given reliable powertrains and brakes, as well as be converted for fuel efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint. “They are uncomfortable,” Aguilar says of 1960s muscle cars like the GTO, citing vinyl seats with little cushion and soft springs. “The GTO dashboard in ’66-’67—whoever designed it must have done so on a Monday morning after a bender.” Aguilar draws inspiration from European exotics. Where Posey imagines designers of the past styling with modern sensibilities, Aguilar ponders the implications if the GTO had been a product of Stuttgart or Maranello. “To get into this game, it’s just as much as the European exotics,” he points out. “Those projects are $700,000 to $1 million or more.” But he agrees with Burkard. “I don’t want it sitting in a garage. You have to enjoy it.” Another indication of the convergence of changing tastes and current technology is the number of manufacturers adopting the modified ethic, at least on a small scale. Aston Martin, for example, produced modern versions of the DB4GT and the DB4GT Zagato, a pair of rare sports cars. Meanwhile, the spirit is taking hold with even veteran collectors. Once Twisted sells, Aguilar has his eye on a 1970 Buick Gran Sport, another custom project. “As long as you are passionate about it, it doesn’t matter what type of car it is—custom, hot rod,” Burkard says. “It’s fun.” Designer Will Posey used 3D printing technology for many parts of Dirty Martini and brought in a specialist for the leather interior. COURTESY OF MECUM AUCTIONS, INC. COURTESY OF IROC change continued from page 23 roll continued from page 24
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==