Autoblog

The track action at Laguna Seca can be so overwhelming that we figured we'd break up the galleries a bit. This post will feature nothing but on-track competition and a couple of ambiance shots from Saturday's sessions. Seven classes ran then and another seven will be heading out on Sunday. There are completely different cars in each set, so we'll try to get somebody out there for Sunday's racing as well. Rather than trying to cover every car in every group at every corner, we picked about 60 favorite shots from about 4 or 5 groups. Click away.

This was the 34th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, and Toyota was back as title sponsor. We missed most of their demonstration runs but can honestly say they are great hosts. Lexus pace cars and free survival packs for everybody that wanted them were a nice touch. As we told you before, Indy cars from 1957's Roadster era were highlighted because Laguna Seca is also celebrating its 50th anniversary of operations. The Race of Legends was also run Saturday and after some fender-banging close action, it came down to the wire and Derek Bell eked it out over a hard-charging Bobby Rahal. Emerson Fittipaldi was third. The most notable thing about the race besides the fact that Vic Elford got punted into the kitty litter at turn 11, is that $25,000 will go to a charity in Bell's name as the champion. Unfortunately, we didn't get any good pics of that because the media center decided to serve lunch at that time. But it looked thrilling on the monitors.

Monterey is fast approaching and we're getting geared up to cover all of the excitement for you. The combination of classic cars and legendary drivers at such a scenic venue makes the Monterey Historics like nothing else in the world. Visitors to this year's 34th installment of the (deep breath here) Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races will get to take in an all-new attraction. The inaugural Race of Legends will take place on Saturday, August 18 at Laguna Seca Raceway. The race will be presented by Toyota, and will feature nine legendary drivers in an eight-lap charity competition. While we'd love to see the drivers using something a little older, in the interest of fairness, the supercharged Scion tCs will probably do.

Something like the Pro/Celebrity race at Long Beach each year, this race has a twist. Rather than using celebrities plucked from the entertainment field, the Race of Legends will feature some of racing's greatest names. The drivers are former winners from Formula One, CART, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Take a look at this roster: Bobby Unser, Al Unser Sr., Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Rahal, Parnelli Jones, Emerson Fittipaldi, Vic Elford, Derek Bell and Ove Andersson. While we know this is a charity event, most of these guys are still quite competitive and should make it interesting. A top prize of $25,000 for the winner's favorite charity is being put up by Toyota, which is celebrating 50 years of motorsports heritage this year. We'll try to get some photos to you as soon as the checkered flag falls.

Full press release with driver bios after the jump.

[Source: Monterey Historic]