Vintage road racing is having a moment. It's probably an overstatement to call it a groundswell, but here and there, coast-to-coast, vintage road racing organizations are expanding schedules and classes to meet demand, adding venues, and seeing steadily growing car counts.

Veterans of the sport can attest that conditions weren't always so rosy for racecars of a certain age.

"I'm a former IndyCar mechanic going back over 50 years ago with two 500-winning teams, both Parnelli Jones and Patrick Racing," said Michael Lashmett of Vintage Indy, Indianapolis, Indiana. "There wasn't a lot of interest in those old cars then. There was really no collector market for them. They just got pushed aside. Maybe some lower-budget team would buy them and continue to try to campaign them, or maybe they just get parked or turned into a supermodified or something. But there was no collector market for them. That's totally changed now."

Vintage Indy is a member of the Vintage Motorsports Council, and the organization is "dedicated to the history and preservation of Indianapolis cars." The Indy cars have to be at least 20 years old to qualify, and Vintage Indy has added venues to satisfy demand and keep members engaged. "For 2026, we added two new tracks," Lashmett said. "We're going to the Milwaukee Mile with INDYCAR, which we're really excited about because the Milwaukee Mile is steeped in history. It's also the oldest racetrack in the United States, possibly the world, that's been in continuous use since its inception. Plus, we're also going to Laguna Seca with INDYCAR for the season finale. And the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is going to have a special run group for vintage Indy cars."

The Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN) in Lakebay, Washington, keeps the vintage racing flame alive on Pacific Northwest road racing circuits. While traditionally holding at about 200 members, "we did pick up 22 people last year who never raced with us before. So that's over 10% of potentially new racers who, because we got the word out, decided to come race with us," said Craig Larsen of SOVREN.

In Southern California, the Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA) in Chino Hills, California, has witnessed a surge of interest in small-bore, entry-level sports cars, such as Triumph Spitfires and Mazda Miatas, said Benjamin Kuhl. "We're seeing a lot of growth in people who are getting into it for the first time or getting a new car for the first time."

Vintage Appeal

The reasons for the uptick of interest in vintage road racing vary, but one factor is a relatively laid-back atmosphere. "I think there are a lot of people who want to go racing but don't want to have an 'every weekend' sort of race schedule," Larsen said. "Also, vintage racing for the most part is no-contact racing, right? We're racing hammer and tong and pushing it as hard as we can, but there are significant penalties for crashing into other cars, having incidents, and causing safety problems. So you can go racing, have a lot of fun, but protect your investment in your racecar."

Another factor is the steady supply of perfectly good older racecars that hit the secondary market every year. "There are a lot of racecars that age out of being at the pointy edge of the pack in whatever racing they're doing with SCCA or whatever else. But they're still completely legit racecars, and people are looking for a place to race them," Larsen explained. "The more professional version of racing churns out a lot of used but real decent racecars that just are no longer competitive in their class. But, depending on the race organization, you can go into vintage racing with the same car and have a ton of fun. So the threshold is really low to get into it. And there's a ton of enjoyment. I love it."

Enthusiasm for vintage racing comes from both ends of the financial spectrum. It is increasingly a grassroots entry point into racing. But it also attracts big-money heavy-hitters.

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