The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Re-Creation of 1913 Panama-Pacific Road Race

24 May 2000

A New Twist On an Old Race; Auto Club Sponsors Re-Creation of 1913 Panama-Pacific Road Race As Part of Its Centennial Celebration

    LOS ANGELES--May 24, 2000--Fifty-one rare, vintage racecars rolled away from the headquarters of the Automobile Club of Southern California (2601 S. Figueroa) and into history this morning as they re-created the famed 1913 Panama-Pacific Road Race.
    Cars and drivers from as far as New Zealand and England traced much of the original route through Los Angeles officially escorted by a police motorcade.
    The historic 444-mile race from Los Angeles to Sacramento was the longest and most grueling of its day. Fiats, Cadillacs, Fords, Pope-Hartfords, Mercers and Buicks were among the cars entered. Famed racecar driver Barney Oldfield was favored to win. The 51 drivers faced extreme conditions, including unpaved roads with deep ruts, mountain passes, 40 streams that had to be forded and night driving on a route lit only by crude searchlights. Many crashed or broke down along the way.
    Only 20 vehicles finished the race. The winner...Frank Verbeck in his 45-horsepower Fiat, who made the trek in 11:01:16. His prize...$5,000. Ed Waterman in a Buick was second at 11:21:25. Oldfield came in third at 11:22:53. The race was never repeated because the state of California passed a law prohibiting the use of public roads for racing in 1917.
    The 2000 Pan-Pacific Race, organized by the Visalia Motorsports Council and sponsored by the Auto Club, is shorter -- just 250 miles from Los Angeles to Visalia -- but the cars will follow the original racecourse for all but 30 miles. Frank Verbeck's son, Norbert, and daughter, Collette Verbeck Regan, waved the starting flag for the modern endurance run.
    As in 1913, today's racers will traverse winding mountain roads and flat stretches of the Central Valley. The difference is that all the roads are paved today and the grades less severe. The 2000 Pan-Pacific actually will be more of an endurance/exhibition run than a race. In 1913, thousands of spectators lined the route. Participants in the 2000 race will stop at several cities along the way. Santa Clarita and Bakersfield are hosting race-related festivals to commemorate the event.
    The race will end on Friday, May 26th in Visalia with a finish-line celebration and the start of the Visalia Motorsports Festival, also sponsored by the Auto Club in cooperation with the Visalia Motorsports Council. All proceeds from the race will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Tulare County.
    The Auto Club is sponsoring the Pan-Pacific Race as part of its year-long Centennial celebration and a salute to its own racing history. The Auto Club began sponsoring races in 1903 in Los Angeles. AAA National sanctioned the original Panama-Pacific Race.
    Today the Auto Club sponsors the Auto Club 300 at the California Speedway each spring, the Auto Club NHRA Finals and Funny Car driver Gary Densham. It is also a major sponsor of the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. As part of his Auto Club sponsorship, Densham presents a program called "Road to the Future" to junior high and high school students. The program encourages students to think about and plan for the future.
    The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by roadside assistance, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs and legislative advocacy. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.