Legends car racing
The race car bodyshells are 5/8-scale replicas of American automobiles from the 1930s and 1940s, powered by Yamaha XJ1250, FJ1200 (both air-cooled) or, starting in 2018, FZ-09 (water-cooled) engines.
As the coupé concept was not exactly in line in what they were looking for, and deeming steel replacement bodywork too costly, they adapted the dwarf car concept to fit their needs, creating cars resembling those of the 1930s and 1940s which competed in the early NASCAR modified tour races.
The first legends car was unveiled in April 1992 by track president and general manager Humpy Wheeler and road racer Elliott Forbes-Robinson.
Historically, legends racers from the UK have performed well at the world finals, winning Semi-pro (Glenn Burtenshaw), Pro (John Jon Higgins) and Masters divisions (Peter Morton).
In 2010 Seinäjoen Vauhtiajot street racing event saw the record breaking 54 legends cars in the entry list.
In 2007 Rory Penttinen won the legends car world finals at Infineon Raceway in the pro class.
[8] In Italy more than 80 legends cars have been sold, and the official Italian championship counts up to 30 drivers per event.
[11] Since 2020, there has been a Legends Car Ice Challenge which is held in various Italian famous ski resorts during the winter season[12] A legends racing series has been announced in Mexico for 2009, consolidating a true ladder system for the NASCAR Corona Series.
In 2012, a legends national championship started in the Republic of Georgia at the rebuilt Rustavi International Motorpark, 10 km from the country's capital of Tbilisi.
The classic legends style bodyshape of old Fords and early Holdens have been gradually supplanted by imitations of modern road cars for commercial purposes.
While high grid numbers have long been a feature of the class, calendars have fluctuated wildly as category management has clashed with event promoters.
[14] On January 22, 2010, it was announced that US Legend Cars International would host a million dollar purse race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, from July 15–17, 2010.
The event was televised live on Speed Channel with Daniel Hemric of Kannapolis, North Carolina, taking the top prize of $250,000.
The event was hosted again at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the name of the "Legends Big Money 100" from 1st-2nd August 2011.
He held off NASCAR driver David Ragan, a past legends car and bandolero champion, to win the 100-lap race at Charlotte.
