This is part of my "Santa Barbara and beyond."
The Paramount Ranch race course was situated in the hills between Malibu and the Ventura Highway # 101.
Many movies were filmed around here including the Gunsmoke series and everyone's favorite "Little House on the Prairie"
New owners of the ranch built a race course and Ken Miles helped with the design and layout.
Being close to LA they had good crowds and a lot of exciting racing.
In fact it was so exciting and dangerous the track was closed down after just 18 months due to the fatalities (3) and other injuries etc..
August 1956 to Dec. 1957.
One of the first races. August 15 1956.
" Thousands of Southern California spectators witnessed Harrison Evans, in his Ferrari Monza, battle it out with Eric Hauser, Morgansen Special, Sunday August 19, at the first sports car road race to be held at the Paramount Ranch in Agoura, California. Evans zoomed across the finish line just two seconds ahead of the home-build Special to chalk-up another victory for Ferrari banners. Richie Ginther, driving a Von Neumann Porsche, upset favorite Jack McAfee in Saturday’s go by a close half-second proving that the young driver belongs with the top ranking drivers on the West Coast. Ginther sailed to an easy victory in the Sunday under 1500cc race also when the closely anticipated race between him and McAfee failed to materialize after McAfee’s Porsche was forced out early in the race."
The same area as it looks today.
(Ken H)
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