Special Feature

Glorious Can-Am Nights

Pete Lyons

One of the side benefits of the race reporter trade is getting to hobnob with motor racing’s glitterati at their glamorous soirees. Like the night I went to Stirling Moss’s birthday party, where I stuck my camera lens into his cake.

It was my first Can-Am at Bridgehampton in 1966. The recently retired driving legend was there for the series sponsor, Johnson Wax, and the Saturday before the race was his birthday. Racers don’t need excuses to party, but when they stumble onto a beaut like this they seize it. My press pass got me into a very crowded, very dimly lit ballroom. The crush of animated people backed me to a wall. I felt something smooshy. I glanced around. The Contax at my hip was slathered in creamy white frosting from a magnificent, multi-layered cake reposing in state on a side table. Mr. Moss’s cake.

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