FICTION
Alligators have made their way on to the track at Sebring,
but not during the race.
Gene Hackman, James Brolin, Lorenzo Lamas,
Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, David
Carradine and James Garner are all actors
who have driven in the 12 Hours of Sebring.
FACT (except Gardner)
Yes, they all did except Garner, who was a car owner
in the 1960s and attended Sebring regularly but never
drove in the race.
A stolen rental car was once raced in the
Firehawk series at Sebring.
FICTION
After the race in 1989, a car entered in the Firehawk street
stock race was simply left behind by the team. They never
came back for it. The rumor was it was a stolen rental car,
but apparently it was mainly a fi nancial dispute between the
owners over various racing debts (imagine that in racing!).
All-time Sebring winner Tom Kristensen waved to
fans at a Turn 10 campsite during a caution
period while leading the 1999 Sebring 12 Hours.
FACT
Tom has offi cially acknowledged that he indeed did wave
to his friends in Turn 10 he had meet the day before in a
trip to Green Park with J.J. Lehto and photographer John
Brooks.
During the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours, Stirling Moss
slowed down at the Hairpin so someone could handle
him a cold bottle of Cocoa-Cola.
FACT
Legendary photo journalist Bernard Cahier handed Moss
the Coke at the Hairpin, and on the next lap Moss tossed
the empty bottle!
The race was once yellow-fl agged because the
track was running out of fuel for the teams.
FACT
In 1983, a yellow fl ag was needed to allow a fuel truck to
cross the track to bring more fuel. There were 83 cars in
the race that year!
Dale Earnhardt had a “secret” test in a factory
Corvette at Sebring shortly before he died.
FACT
Earnhardt and his son Dale Jr. tested with the Corvette
team in December 2000.
During the fi rst two Sebring 12-hour races,
armed patrols on horseback were hired to
shoot stray animals that could have wandered
on the circuit.
FACT
Wild boar and deer were a concern of the race organizers.
The famous B-17 called “Memphis Belle”
landed at Hendricks Field during Word War II.
FACT
The Memphis Belle landed at Hendricks Field as part of a
War Bond drive and moral booster for the crews training
in Sebring.
A Led Zeppelin concert scheduled at Sebring
Raceway was cancelled at the last minute.
FICTION
In 1975, Led Zeppelin, BTO and the J. Geils Band cancelled
a concert appearance at Palm Beach International Raceway,
not Sebring. However, a Joe Cocker concert scheduled
at the 1975 Sebring 12 Hours was cancelled only two
weeks before the race.
The Sebring race was scheduled to relocate to
West Palm Beach in 1967.
FACT
Yes, Alec Ulmann offi cially announced this but it obviously
never happened, in part due to heavy rains that fl ooded
the new track near West Palm Beach a few months before
the race. Ulmann considered moving the race to Fort Lauderdale
in 1957.
When preparing for the construction of the new
pits in 1999, construction workers found live
WWII era ammunition from Hendricks Field.
FICTION
Never happened. Nor did they fi nd Jimmy Hoffa.
Yes, this Penske entered Lola was stolen after the 1969 race.
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