It’s been 21 years since the last race was run at Riverside International Raceway in California, the historic venue succumbing soon thereafter to the urban sprawl that has blighted most of Southern California. In recent years, however, local resident Doug Magnon has opened the Riverside International Automotive Museum to celebrate his hometown circuit’s glorious past, and this year he teamed up with former racer Dave Wolin, organizer of two previous automotive film festivals in Oakhurst, near California’s Yosemite National Park, to create the first annual Legends of Riverside Film Festival.
The late-March event honored Riverside’s favorite son, Dan Gurney (right), and offered a number of rare racing films for the enjoyment of attendees—many of whom played their own legendary roles in the track’s history. Gurney, of course, put Riverside on the map of the racing world and, it turns out, was a high-school friend of Magnon’s father Ray.
The museum’s usual display of significant cars was embellished for the occasion with a handful of important machinery from Gurney’s career as a driver and constructor. Included in this group were: three cars from Gurney’s own All American Racers museum, the 1972 Olsonite Eagle and 1981 Pepsi Challenger Indycars, as well as a 1978 Eagle Formula Ford; the 1974 Jorgenson Steel F5000 Eagle and a 1992 Eagle-Toyota GTP from the Tom Malloy Collection; the 1969 McLeagle Can-Am car and one of AAR’s 1970 Trans-Am Barracudas, both now owned by Andy Boone; and the host’s own 1966 Eagle Indycar, the first ever constructed, as well as the Formula A Eagle that RIAM consultant Tony Adamowicz took to the 1969 Continental Championship (see page 50) and still drives these days.
Next year’s renewal has been scheduled for the weekend of March 26–28, with complete details available at www.legendsofriverside.com
