April 1969 Champ Car race program

The third annual "California 200" on April 13, 1969, was the last of four IndyCar races held at Hanford Motor Speedway -- as far as I can tell -- the last major race held at the track.

The 36-page program was the first of four Champ Car races that didn't  feature cartoon-like artwork, instead featuring 1968 USAC national champ Bobby Unser sitting in his checkerboard No. 1.

The chassis-engine mix had a new twist for 1969, as turbines were nowhere to be seen, although Art Pollard was driving one of the wedge-shaped chassis retrofitted with a turbo Offy.

Here's an index of the various chassis-engine combinations listed in the program:

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November 1968 Champ Car race program

Updated on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 9:35 PM by Logan Molen

The Champ Car race at Hanford Motor Speedway on Nov. 3, 1968, was memorable for:

• Its 250-mile race distance, which required Champ Car refueling for the first time at Hanford.
• The West Coast debut of the eerily quiet turbine-powered four-wheel drive Lotus that would later gain infamy at Indianapolis. Joe Leonard and Art Pollard drove turbines in this race, and Leonard shattered the qualifying record with at 163 mph.

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Printcast version of Marchbanks stories now available

The Printcast version of my Marchbanks Speedway storiesI've created a Printcast version of my Marchbanks stories for those readers who prefer to read things in a more traditional "magazine" format. I'll create new editions as I add updates to my Marchbanks section. You can also sign up for free email alerts of future editions on the Printcasting.com site.

For those who aren't familiar with Printcasting, it's a simple way for everyday people to become magazine publishers in minutes by creating web-based and PDF publications (DISCLAIMER: I work closely with Printcasting on behalf of The Bakersfield Californian, which is an investor in Printcasting and its offshoot, FeedBrewer).

What's missing in the Printcast version of my Marchbanks stories are all the photos and hotlinks contained in the original stories. But it's still a great way to dive into what is a lot of information.

Let me know what you think.

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RELATED STORIES: Read more about Marchbanks Speedway and Hanford Motor Speedway in my Marchbanks section, including this regularly updated "History of Marchbanks Speedway, aka Hanford Motor Speedway."