Schenley Park Driver’s Page
This is a one-of-a-kind event, racing like it was done in the 40s and 50s when sports car racing was born. Haybales in the corners and fans peering over the snow fences. We work very hard to keep it authentic, safe and fun! and we hope you will join us for our 41st in 2023.
Vintage Racers,
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is one of the premier vintage racing and charity events in the country. I am honored to be the Competition Director for Schenley Park. I have participated in various roles in the Grand Prix since its inception: as a spectator, a car show participant, a photographer, a rallye driver, a racer, a drivers committee member and now Competition Director.
Pertinent links can be found below. If you have any questions at all please give me a call.
Joe Teplitz
PVGP Competition Director – Schenley Park
(646) 258-4000
#13 1969 Datsun 510
Schenley Park Races
July 22/23, 2023
Entry fees:
– Regular: $580
– Late (after June 18): $630
– 2nd or 3rd Car/Same Driver or Same Car/Same Driver in 2 Groups: $225
– Optional Saturday Night Dinner and Helltown Beer at start/finish: $20 per person
MotorsportReg
All race registration will be done through MotorsportReg Entry lists will be visible for racers to see through the MSR site too.
Tow Once – Race Twice
We encourage our racers to compete with us on both race weekends and we provide a $120 discount for participants of both events. Accommodations will be made to store cars for free at PIRC during the week between races if you are participating in both events. With a week of events scheduled between race weekends, the Grand Prix is hoping that participants will choose to stay in town for the whole 10 days. The field at Schenley Park will be limited to 150 cars.
Charity Mission
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix’s mission remains the same as when it was established back in 1983 “To host a world-class vintage race event that celebrates our automotive heritage and raises money for charity.” Since 1983 the PVGP has donated over $6.4 million to our autism and intellectual disability charities. Read more on our Charities.
Safety
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand has been one of the leading vintage race organizations in the country when it comes to establishing drivers and track safety for road courses. With the assistance of the Steel Cities Region of the SCCA, we have set the standard, nationwide, for safety set-up and procedures. As a valuable member of the Vintage Motorsports Council, the PVGP has consulted with numerous vintage race venues to help them establish safety regulations and procedures based on our more than 40 years of experience and expertise. See our Racers Policy.
We will continue to uphold these standards for the safety of our racers, volunteers and fans. The races at Schenley Park constitute the most challenging circuit in vintage racing. With stone walls, curbs, phone poles and 23 off-camber turns – there is little room for error. New drivers will be required to attend a special meeting to review the track and its unique requirements.
Car Preparation
Applicants must have a competition license and be a member in good standing with a race organization. Cars that qualify within our Race Groups will be scrutineered by the PVGPA based upon the vehicle preparation and safety equipment rules of their respective vintage race organizations. Visit our Eligible Car Page. There will be a few local rules, the most important restriction that applies for all racers is that slick tires are not permitted.
Medical Requirements
The PVGP will accept your vintage race organization’s medical credentials. It is now required that drivers have passed a physical within the last two years. If you need a form: PVGP Medical FormPVGP-Medical-Form
FAQ and General Info
Schenley Park Race Circuit
For most of the year, Schenley Park could be described as green and serene. Walkers and joggers pass on the trails; family’s picnic; golfers drive and putt; bicyclists pedal their way around the roads and paths. But then, something strange happens here one weekend each July. The rolling hills and winding roads are transformed into a roaring racing circuit.
No racing venue in the country presents its competitors with as daunting a lap. The course is lined with curbs, ready to flatten tires or damage a suspension. Its stone walls are notorious threats to the fragile vintage bodywork. The pavement is a public road the rest of the year, and public roads are crowned – higher in the middle – to allow rain runoff. But those crowns tend to throw a speeding car wide off the outside of a turn. Veteran racer Manley Ford says that, because of those crowns, “. . . for the most part, the track is only half as wide as it looks.” Run off the road here, and you might meet one of the park’s mature and beautiful trees, along with the aforementioned curbs and walls.
On entering the park or the adjacent golf course, you may hear the race cars in the background, revving their engines in warm-up or tuning, or you may hear the passing of a group of cars on the track. These are sounds that excite your soul and alert you to the seriousness of the endeavor. Many a newcomer has remarked, “You mean to tell me that they are actually racing?” Yes! And with 22 turns and 17 elevation changes, the 2.33-mile circuit is quite challenging and unforgiving to novice and experienced drivers with more than a few accidental smashups or spinouts over the years. If you know anything about racing history these sights and sounds evoke a mental picture of what it must have been like at Watkins Glen, Monte Carlo or the Italian Mille Miglia where crowds stand beside the road as the cars roar past.
Yet, around the golf course are thousands of specialty automobiles, brought here by loving owners to the delight of aficionados and casual spectators alike. There is paint and chrome and wood and upholstery fashioned into vehicles that were once new and now perhaps museum quality.
But the real excitement is in the racing, it is the heart of this event. You are encouraged to find a spot to watch the cars speed past, root for an underdog, or applaud a leader, it is racing not seen anywhere else and it belongs to Pittsburgh.
You are encouraged to venture around the park, cheer on the racers, talk to owners and enthusiasts who have a love of all things automotive and enjoy one of the nation’s best and unique automotive experiences…knowing that it is as unique as we say it is. And if you happen to see a driver, a show car owner, or a volunteer, please thank them because, without them, this one-of-a-kind event would never happen.
