About 30 years ago I was fortunate to be able to spend a couple of days at the Goodwood Festival of Speed - actually a hill climb competition - at the end of a week of business meetings in 'Jolly Old'.
I believe 95% of the famous drivers from around the world from the '50's through the 80's were in attendance, and many of them driving the exact cars that served them so well on the tracks (including quite a few NASCAR'sI). I'm sure I could count at least 20 men that I stood within 3-4 feet of and listened to their conversations with other driver's or constructors (e.g. Jim Hall setting on the fender of his Chapparal while Phil Hill told him why it wasn't functioning properly, Sir Stirling Moss chatting with Bob Bondurant shortly after he'd finished the hill climb in the MM winning 300SL, etc.!). There is no car event I've ever attended in the US that came anywhere close to the gravitas that was present there. It was just a couple of years later that the Goodwood Speed Week was re-instituted. Lord March has a pretty nice estate there in Southern England (if I recall correctly, it was ~12K acres).
IF one of these events is on your bucket list, don't let your bucket tip over before you've checked off that mark on the list. You'll never forget the trip.
Gary
PS: I should have mentioned one other attendee I recognized - Juan Manual Fangio. Every other 'famous' driver with whom he came in contact treated him like ROYALTY. I believe he died about 3 years after his presence at that Festival of Speed.
