The Carrera Panamericana, commonly known as the Mexican Road Race, was created in 1950 by the Mexican government to celebrate the completion of the Pan American Highway, beginning in northern Mexico at Ciudad Juarez on the Rio Grande to Mexico City (1,288 miles), then on to El Ocotal on the Guatemalan frontier (another 847 miles, for a total of 2,135 miles). The racecourse winds through Mexican cane fields, deserts, and 10,000-foot mountain passes, and the race was broken up into six grueling days.
The First Race (1950)
Held in 1950, the first race attracted 132 entries, 59 of which were from the United States. Fifty-seven were from Mexico, and entries also came from Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Italy, Peru, France, the Republic of China, and El Salvador.
Only six cars were non-U.S. makes: two Alfa-Romeos, a Delahaye, a Jaguar, a Talbot Lago and a Hotchkiss. The remaining 125 cars were American: 22 Cadillacs, 17 Buicks, 13 Oldsmobiles, 4 Chevrolets, 16 Lincolns, 11 Mercurys, 8 Fords, 3 Chryslers, 2 De Sotos, 9 Hudsons, 8 Nashes, 7 Packards, 4 Studebakers and 1 Cord. Of the 131 beginners, only 55 crossed the finish line, 20 of which were Americans, and 27 of which were Mexicans.
In the first race, foreign and American cars raced against each other, as there were no classes. Entries were required to be stock cars, but cylinders could be rebored on 1949 and 1950 models to 30 thousandths, while earlier models could have cylinders bored to 60 thousandths.
Shock absorbers could be replaced, stronger horns could be substituted (but sirens were barred), and the rear seat could be removed to install an extra gas tank or carry spare parts or tools. Open exhaust was forbidden, and hubcaps and fender skirts could be removed.
One of the Lincolns entered was a 1949 owned by Bob Estes Ford of Englewood, California, with Johnny Mantz as driver and Bill Stroppe as “Assistant” (Entry No. 38). All three names later went on to fame in the racing world.
On May 5, 1950, the very first leg of the race was deadly, as car 112 wiped out at 105 mph, 19 miles from the starting line, rolling at least six times, resulting in fatal injuries to driver Enrique Hachmeister. On May 10, 1950, the last leg was completed, and the overall winner was car 52, a 1950 Oldsmobile driven by Herschel McGriff, with an average speed of 78.421 mph for the entire race. The Estes Lincoln finished 9th overall, 52 minutes from first place. Other Lincolns finished in 13th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 34th and 49th places.
The Second Race (1951)
The 1951 race reversed the course, running from the southern end at Tuxtla Gutierrez to Ciudad Juarez, near El Paso.
The rules were revised for 1951, and only required that a four-passenger closed vehicle be powered by its original engine type (unsupercharged) and a stock camshaft. Many entries were outfitted with multiple carburetors and high-compression cylinder heads, roll bars and seatbelts, along with strengthened chassis. Participants were required to wear helmets.
There were only 105 entries. Three Lincolns were entered.
Ray Crawford, a California supermarket owner, had entered a Lincoln in the first race, making it to the last leg before dropping out, and tried to convince Ford to prepare a car for him. He ended up buying his own. Walt Faulkner also entered a Lincoln, and the other was a Mexican entry. Crawford finished 8th. The race was won by car 12, a 1951 Ferrari driven by Piero Tariffi of Italy, with an average speed of 87.6 mph.
The Third Race (1952)
The race was run from south to north again.
Two classes were created in 1952: one for stock cars and one for sports and grand touring cars. The new 1952 Lincolns introduced the change from flathead engines to the overhead-valve engines, and the change to a new ball-joint front suspension.
The 317-cubic-inch V-8 had a two-barrel carburetor, developing 160 horsepower and was joined to a four-speed dual-range Hydramatic automatic transmission. (The early 1953 models underwent significant changes, including a four-barrel carburetor, which upped the horsepower to 205).
Bill Stroppe and Clay Smith, two California hot-rodders, approached Ford with the idea of mounting a factory team to win the race. Ford agreed, and officially returned to racing for the first time since 1935. They were able to secure a 1952 Lincoln with the 1953 mechanical setup and tested it at Bonneville, where it ran 118 mph. Ford built seven of the cars for the race.
Under the new rules, modifications to the cars had to be listed in the sales catalogs as options. Ford updated the catalogs to include necessary options. The cars were reworked to include heavy-duty shocks, scoops to direct air to the brakes, Ford truck cams with solid lifters, and matched manifolds and ports.
The cars, when completed, put out close to 300 horsepower. The cars weighed 4,165 pounds. The other Lincolns were private entries. A total of eight Lincolns were entered, 4 of them were 1952s and the remainder were 1953s. There were a total of 64 entries in the large stock class, and 29 finished.
After the first six sports cars crossed the finish line, the next four cars were Lincolns, running in the stock class. First place in stock was car 129, the 1953 Lincoln driven by Chuck Stevenson; second place was car 122, the 1953 Lincoln driven by Johnny Mantz; third place in stock was car 130, the 1953 Lincoln driven by Walt Faulkner; fourth place in stock was car 149, the 1953 Lincoln driven by Bob Korf, which was a private entry. Stevenson had averaged 90.78 mph over a total of 21:15:38 hours.
The Fourth Race (1953)
In 1953, the sports car class was divided into large and small sports cars, each with its own class. The stocks also had two classes. The race was run from south to north again. There were a total of 49 entries in the large stock class, and 23 finished.
Ford again cooperated and sponsored a factory team.
Ray Crawford, who had driven private Lincolns in every race to date, was successful in obtaining a Lincoln prepared by Bill Stroppe, and crashed it en route to the race, going off the road at 80 mph and ending in a grove of trees, suspended in a tree 12 feet off the ground.
Amazingly, he only broke a front wheel, had the car repaired, and went on to the race. A total of 22 Lincolns were entered, all 1953s. The rules had been changed for this year to provide that only current-year models could be entered, apparently aimed at Lincolns, since the 1952 race was won by early 1953 models. All of the factory cars had cartoon characters painted on the hoods.
At the end of the race, Lincoln again took the first four places! Car 52, driven by Chuck Stevenson, was first; car 53, driven by Walt Faulkner, was second; car 95, driven by Jack McGrath, was third; and car 51, driven by Johnny Mantz, was fourth. Other Lincolns placed 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th and 22nd. Seven Lincolns were in the top nine finishers! The winning Lincoln averaged 93.15 mph over 20:31:32 hours.
The Fifth Race (1954)
In 1954, the new 1954 Lincoln engines were blueprinted, dual shock absorbers were used at the front with airlifts at the rear, and the rear ends were raised four inches for better control. Six-ply tubeless tires were new for 1954, inflated with nitrogen to maintain constant pressure despite temperature changes. Twelve-inch ribbed brake drums replaced the stock 11-inch plain drums.
The Lincolns were equipped with power brakes this year. Seven factory Lincolns were entered, out of a total of 13 Lincolns. By the end of the first day, the Lincolns operated by Mantz, Murphy and defending champion Chuck Stevenson were out due to burned pistons from bad fuel.
McGrath drove his Lincoln over a cliff and buried it in the jungle. Lincoln again took the stock car class, with Ray Crawford placing 1st in car 149, a private entry, and Walt Faulkner placing 2nd in car 103, a team car. Lincolns also placed 10th and 11th. There were a total of 26 starters and 13 finishers in the large stock class. The winning Lincoln averaged 92.3 mph over 20:40:19 hours.
The End of the Race
The race ended in 1954. A total of 26 lives had been lost in the five years of the race, most of them bystanders, who would simply line the sides of the road with two-ton vehicles hurtling by them at speeds of up to 130 mph! Lincoln and Ferrari had been the most successful makes. Lincoln had three consecutive one-two finishes, two third places and two fourth places in the stock car class. Ferrari had two wins, two seconds and two thirds.
The Race Rises Again
The race was revived in 1988 by a group of Mexican and North American auto enthusiasts. The modern race is run much the same as a road rally, in that each car is given a route book with detailed instructions to follow for the entire seven days.
Each day is divided into “transit” and “special” stages, out of respect for the current traffic load on the highway. The transit stages are run from town to town on regular highways, in regular traffic. Several times a day, the racecars are lined up for the special stages, or speed sections.
After the Mexican Federal Highway Patrol clears the road, the racecars are started in thirty-second intervals. There are no speed limits, only open roads slicing through the mountains.
There are currently three unofficial levels of participation in the race. You can run it as a “tourist,” with an old car (1965 or older), adding some required safety features, and simply cruise the route.
You may invest more in your car, and participate to run it hard. The third level is full competition, where participants may spend large amounts of money on a thoroughly prepared car in an attempt to finish first in class.
You can check the official website of the race at http://www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx for further details on the modern races.