Forging Ahead video series: Chapter 5 features F1's tragic year of 1975 and the birth of the Long Beach Grand Prix

Happy New Year from our team at RACER. As we begin 2022, I’m introducing another chapter of my short film series that tells the pre-history and unlikely origin story of RACER to commence my 50th anniversary year in racing. This latest chapter is titled “FORMULA” and covers my first year working full-time in the racing media business for FORMULA magazine in 1975 out of a small office combined with an SCCA Formula 5000 and Formula Ford race shop in Santa Ana, California.

The staff of FORMULA magazine in 1975. Charles Loring Photo

This chapter also deals with the deaths of several of my heroes during that tragic and dangerous year in our sport. But there were happier days as well and I was inspired by one of Dan Gurney’s best days in racing along with his role in creating the inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix with Chris Pook.

Vern Schuppan driving Dan Gurney's Eagle becomes the first car to lap the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit during the inaugural SCCA F5000 race weekend in September 1975. Motorsport Images

I was 18 years old when I started as a freelance artist and graphic designer focused solely on motorsports in 1972 with a dream of going racing while working in the media & creative services business. I’m grateful that I have done both; however, the ratio of more than 1000 issues of magazines published that I’ve been involved with versus the 29 races I eventually participated in is a clear illustration of what was meant to be.

For additional perspective, the circulation for FORMULA was only 2563 by December of 1975 after being published since June 1973. Now as we begin to celebrate RACER’s 30th anniversary in 2022, our print and digital circulation for RACER topped 55,000 last year. Impressively, RACER.com attracted 882,602 users in December and a whopping 10,657,532 users in all of 2021, which was up 61.67% (+4,065,474 users) over 2020. Even more impressive is the fact that 2021’s annual user total topped pre-pandemic 2019 by a staggering 132.93% (+6,082,030 users). So clearly we are living in a remarkable period of growth and enthusiasm for racing in all of its diverse forms.

Thankfully, we are also living in a far safer time than when my long journey in racing began. Despite all the tragedies and the sometimes deliberate foolishness I’ve seen in racing since I started so long ago, I have never lost my passion for the sport nor my desire to share the stories of racers. They have inspired me to forge ahead regardless of the challenges I’ve faced since I started this journey as a 16-year-old with a hand-made forged credential on March 28, 1971. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way — especially our brilliant and dedicated RACER team. I also salute our loyal advertisers and our devoted readers for their passion and commitment to motorsports. Our team at RACER never forgets that we do what we do for them.

My FORMULA magazine colleague Mike Vannatter created a site that has free downloadable issues of this magazine from June 1973 (when it was origially known as Formula Ford Review) through May 1976: https://www.formulamagazine.net.

Watch the new episode of “Forging Ahead” below:

Catch up on previous chapters below:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Pfanner is the founder, President and Executive Publisher of RACER Media & Marketing, Inc that produces RACER magazine, RACER.com, SportsCar magazine, Vintage Motorsport magazine and VintageMotorsport.com. Paul is also the CEO of the Racer Studio creative services and branded content agency. Pfanner began his career in racing media as an art director for FORMULA magazine and later, SportsCar magazine before failing spectacularly as he attempted to become an editor. All of this was a transparent ploy to fund Pfanner’s desire to race but after he proved to be unemployable, he had no choice abandon his racing ambitions so he started his own publishing house and creative agency in 1979 which was the forerunner of Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Pfanner sold the majority of Racer Communications, Inc in January 2001 to Haymarket Media and re-acquired the company with his original partners Rob Dyson, Chris Dyson and Bill Sparks in March 2012 which now operates under the name Racer Media & Marketing, Inc.