Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!
The Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum is excited about featuring race week at the museum in celebration of the 100th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, scheduled for June 26. We have a lineup of events that are sure to finish the race.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, June 11, the center welcomes Pikes Peak Hill Climb racer Don Sanborn who will present a program titled “The 100th Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.”
The race, started by Spencer Penrose in 1916, is our nation’s second-oldest motor race, second only to the Indianapolis 500. Sanborn’s presentation will look at the history of the Hill Climb, its racers and how the race has changed over time.
Sanborn is the current president of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Historical Association (The Over the Hill Gang) and a member of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Committee. He is also a part of the broadcast team who will be calling the action on race day with KRDO NewsRadio.
Don earned Rookie of the Year honors in the 2000 race, and his father, Frank, along with Frank’s twin brother, Nick, both raced for years on the iconic mountain.
On Sunday, June 12, at 1p.m., the museum will welcome auto racer and author Chris Lennon for a talk and presentation of his book, “The Peak of Racing.” Lennon’s presentation and book are a “must” for racing fans everywhere. Chris is the 2015 Vintage Class winner with his 1973 Porsche 911 RSR.
Pulling in stories from legends like Mario Andretti, the Unser family, Dominic Dobson, Rick Mears, Romain Dumas, Ari Vatanen, Randy Pobst, Jeff Zwart and a host of others, the book puts you in the driver’s seat for one of the world’s most famous races.
Through the end of the year, the museum will also host its exhibit, “A Tribute to the Unser Family — Kings of the Hill,” featuring the photography of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Bob Jackson.
Jackson, who was a photojournalist with the Colorado Springs Gazette from 1980-1999, has captured the excitement of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for over 40 years. See the dangerous turns, the wheels turning and the dust flying in this exciting collection of Unser family photographs.
We invite you to visit the free museum at 517 Manitou Ave. For more information, call 719-685-1454, email ManitouHeritage@gmail.com, or visit www.manitouspringsheritage
center.org. The center/museum is open 12-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday or by appointment.
Michael Maio is with the Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum