Close your eyes. Can you hear it? The roar of the engines? The screams of nearly 15,000 exhilarated and delighted fans? The deafening rumble of 200 cars surging by at speeds of 120 miles an hour? The twelfth race in the 1955 SCCA National Sports Car Championship season, the Fairchild National Sports Car Races took place at the Hagerstown Regional Airport on Sunday, October 16, 1955. The Fairchild National Sports Car Races consisted of seven separate races, all of which were run on a makeshift, 2.4 mile closed circuit track built on the runway. The first major event of its kind to take place in Hagerstown, the Fairchild National Sports Car Races was sponsored by the Fairchild Aircraft Employee Recreation Association.  Although it wasn’t technically a “pro” race (the drivers were considered amateur racers, and they weren’t competing for purses, but for trophies, plaques, and silver serving trays), the Fairchild National Sports Car Races drew more than 200 participants nationwide! Most notable among the participants was Jim Kimberly, William C. (Big Bill) Spear, World Champion Phil Hill, Briggs Cunningham, Paul O’Shea, and the Boston, Massachusetts speed ace Sherwood Johnston. In addition to the racers, the event garnered a crowd of […]

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