DARLINGTON — Bob McConnell has a passion for restoring cars and will go anywhere to showcase them.
That’s why O’Connell will be making a journey from Urbana, Ohio, down to South Carolina next weekend for the second annual Darlington Historic Racing Festival.
“I am definitely looking forward to it,” McConnell said this week. “We got a chance to come to last year’s event and were treated with great hospitality.”
O’Connell has been restoring cars for the last 30 years. He started with late models and gradually worked up to Open Wheel cars, which are his speciality.
“I’m an avid fan of the roadster era and have a great love of vintage cars,” McConnell said.
O’Connell and his friend Steve Miller restore about four cars a year, and he has “several” in his racing collection, including ones driven by Al Unser, A.J. Foyt and the 1960 Indianapolis 500 winning car driven by Jim Rathmann.
The only problem, O’Connell said, is trying to find the right parts to go along with the vehicles.
But once the cars are restored, O’Connell takes them to various racing festivals and out for laps on the track.
“It gives us a chance to exercise these cars,” O’Connell said.
O’Connell is bringing two Indy roadsters to the Darlington Historic Racing Festival on Saturday and Sunday.
One of the roadsters, which was originally owned by Frank Curtis, was supposed to be driven by former NASCAR champion Junior Johnson at Indianapolis in 1963. The car, which didn’t make the race, features a rare roll cage and independent suspension for that type of car.
O’Connell’s 1963 Watson Roadster was driven by Johnny Rutherford, who will be doing a Q & A session and autograph signing at the festival.
O’Connell’s entries are just two of the more than 120 cars from 22 different states scheduled to be at the festival, Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning said.
In addition to the vintage vehicles, the event will feature appearances from some of racing’s former superstars including Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Junior Johnson and former Lowe’s Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler.
“To see some of these cars and for fans to have a chance to see the former drivers and Q & A sessions is a pretty neat bargain,” Browning said. “There really isn’t another event like this in country focused on oval just oval racing, and we are excited about that.”
SCHEDULE
Saturday
Q & A sessions
11:00 am–noon —Cale Yarborough & Junior Johnson
2-3 p.m.—Johnny Rutherford & Bud Moore
Autograph Sessions
Noon-1 p.m. — Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson, Marvin Panch, Ray Fox
1-2 p.m. — Ned Jarrett, Charlie Glotzbach, Reb Wickersham
3-4 p.m. — Johnny Rutherford, Bud Moore, Waddell Wilson
Sunday
Q & A sessions
11-noon — David Pearson & Leonard Wood
2-3 p.m. — Humpy Wheeler & Jim Hunter
Autograph sessions
Noon-1 p.m. — David Pearson, Leonard Wood, Marvin Panch, Charlie Glotzbach
1-2 p.m. — Donnie Allison & Rex White
3-4 p.m. — Humpy Wheeler & Jim Hunter
* Schedule tentative and subject to change.
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