7th Annual Brian Redman Jefferson 500
14 May 1998
Summit Point, WV-May 11, 1998 -- The 7th Annual Brian Redman Jefferson 500 presented by Jaguar Cars and Merrill Lynch kicks-off today with practice sessions scheduled for the entire day. The 10-turn two mile track located near historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and Winchester, Virginia will be the backdrop for this late spring affair. The Jefferson 500 is so named by the county that the track resides (Jefferson) and the 500 is made up of two 250Km races that are raced on Saturday and Sunday. In all the week-end showcases vintage cars of all makes from the 50's, 60's and 70's with an exhibition class of more current racing machinery. Over the years the event has been visited by notable sportscar drivers of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Vic Elford, Richard Attwood, Bill Adam, David Hobbs, Bob Akin, Joe Buzetta and of course the host of the event Brian Redman. One other driver of note, Bill Scott, is the owner of the Summit Point facility. The former Super Vee champion does not race anymore but has been known to bring out his collection of antique tractors. One of the preserved machines is a Porsche-powered tractor. Look for Bill Scott to be on the false grid perched on one of his favorite toys sometime during the week-end. The week-end of racing is divided into six races plus an exhibition race each day. Of special note this year is the Mike Hawthorne Trophy race. It will be an all Jaguar affair. The Hawthorne race will allow six classes. Pre-war to sports racing for C & D types. It should be a good turnout since Jaguar is a presenting sponsor for this year's event. In addition to the Hawthorne Trophy race there will be the John Weyer Cup for prototype and GT cars from 1964 and newer. The Weyer race is a 300 kilometer race. The field for that race is made up of cars that raced between January 1, 1966 and December 31, 1980. The Eifel Trophy race is an all- Porsche affair for Porsches made prior to December 31, 1980. The Phil Hill Cup is made up of open-wheel Formula cars constructed prior to 1972. In the Briggs Cunningham Cup the field is made up of cars that were raced prior to December 31, 1966. The Marlboro/Lola Cup race is a 1-hour enduro in two groups. Pre-1959 sports racing and pre-1967 production based racing cars under 1.3 liters for the Lola Cars. The Marlboro Cup is for production cars through 1972 with engine displacements between 1.3 liters to 2.0 liters for the Marlboro Cup. Within each race the field is broken down into displacement categories to create a race within a race. By the way, for those of you from the politically correct crowd. The Marlboro Cup is so named for the former race track in Marlboro, Maryland which is, ironically, a suburb of the palace of political correctness. One off track note that is always a favorite during this week-end is the Saturday Night Bull Roast. This year, instead of a bull-roast it will be a lobster feast. However, the bull will no doubt be slung after the dinner concludes. Each year drivers get their chance to re-live certain races from their perspective. The evening often turns into a riotous affair of story-telling. Tickets to this dinner go very,very quickly. So you say you have nothing to do this week-end. Well for a week-end of great racing, being able to get up close to great racing cars and the chance to meet some fantastic people then the Brian Redman Jefferson 500 is just the ticket. For more information call 304-725-8444. See you there! David Treffer -- The Auto Channel
