Years ago, this publication carried a tag line that read, “Everybody’s Automotive Magazine.” And we meant it, too. Those were the days when “niche” meant a corner of the living room for grandma’s china cabinet, not a segment of the automotive hobby with its own half-dozen magazines. HOT ROD’s editorial package embraced everything performance—cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, vans, dune buggies, you name it. Our competition coverage was likewise wide open. Sure, we went to the drags, the lakes, and Bonneville, but we also traveled the NASCAR circuit, hit Daytona for Speed Weeks, shot the Trans-Am races at Riverside, and journeyed to Colorado for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Sometimes we went as correspondents, sometimes as competitors, sometimes both.
It wasn’t just us. Racers would often compete in a number of…
