From Bob:  "I have some photos of the Palm Springs races from the years and 1957 and 1958. I've tried to recall when I took each photo and may not have each correct, so maybe your web visitors can help with some of the details about dates and cars.  I attended three races at Palm Springs, the first in April of 1957, then one in November, and then another in April of 1958.  My photos come from all three events."

"The one race I remember best was the April '57 "Under 1500cc" event.  Bob Drake in an 1100cc Cooper Climax beat Ken Miles in a Von Neumann Porsche 550. That  was perhaps the most thrilling event I witnessed. Drake was hanging the tail out of the Cooper rounding turns 2 and 3 and apparently was trashing the car pretty badly, finishing with no brakes and a spent transmission. It was a good weekend for him as he also almost beat Carroll Shelby, losing out by only a 1/2 second in Saturday's Main. I think both drivers were in Ferraris."
 
 

Palm Springs Photos -- 1 Shelby's Maserati & Ferrari, Richie Ginther	Palm Springs Photos -- 2 Lotus Cars, Pigott, Chamberlain, Leon MillerPalm Springs
Photos -- 3 Drake, Miles, Conklin, Abarth 207A	Palm Springs Photos -- 4 Pigott's Lotus, Veritas, John Timanus Lotus VIII

"There was another race in November of 1957. My brother Chuck had just bought the ex-Lew Spencer MG TC that Spencer had raced around Southern California, including at Torrey Pines, for two or three years. Most remember Spencer's many successes driving the Morgan that he campaigned after selling the MG. Chuck drove and I rode along to Palm Springs, taking the "Palms to Pines" highway that dives down into the desert from Idylwild. Wearing only a t-shirt and light jacket , I was absolutely freezing, but of course it was all "pour le sport" and neither one of us complained. 

What remains most vivid of all memories from that weekend, besides the cars, was the trip home up the "Pine to Palms." It began to rain and the temp dipped to probably the low 40s, and finally Chuck stopped and put up the canvas top, hopefully to keep some if not all of the wind and rain off of  us. Back on the road about five minutes later we were passed by a TC with its top down!  How humiliating."