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PROUDFOOT: 25 For Ken
Ken Breslauer has seen it all from his perch in the Sebring media center, and now celebrates 25 years spent at the site of so much history and insanity.
Sylvia Proudfoot  |  Posted April 02, 2010  
Ken Breslauer, shown in 1982 with his Mazda at his favorite spot at Sebring to camp. (Ken Breslauer)
Hot laps in a hearse ... beer and bassett hounds ... cows and cowls ... green beads and Green Park.

Ken Breslauer has seen it all from his perch in the Sebring International Raceway media center, where he maintains order in the face of madness that sometimes rivals that of the nearby Green Park spectator area, known for its wild and crazy atmosphere. Breslauer is celebrating his 25th year as the track's communications director and historian; nothing escapes his watchful eyes.

He first visited Sebring in 1975, when the track was also an airplane salvage area. "I parked underneath the wing of an old Piedmont airliner, put up my little tent, climbed up on top of the airplane and watched the race," he recalled.

He knew he'd found a special place. 10 years later, he joined the track staff and started to document its history and traditions, a labour of love that has produced two books and countless stories. He knows the race stats by rote, but he also knows the fans – the reason, he says, the race continues.

"It's such an unlikely place; you're a hundred miles from civilization. You couldn't start this now," he acknowledged. "But it's the tradition that keeps it going. It's a great circuit, too."
Breslauer, right, and the 25th anniversary cake he was presented at last month's 12 Hour event. (Ken Breslauer)

Always good for a few stories, Breslauer recalled some favourites:

"Stan Durrance was a motorsport photographer. Big Stan had diabetes and his health started to go downhill and he eventually lost his eyesight, but we kept credentialing him. He passed away in 1999 and one of his last requests was that he be taken for a hot lap around the track in the back of a hearse after he passed away. Sure enough, there was the hearse, flying down the front stretch with Stan in the back.

"Another time, a couple of weeks after the race, a big van pulled up and two guys got out. They wanted to go into Green Park. We asked why and they said, 'We want to leave our buddy there.' They had a paper bag with ashes of their friend. 'We were at the race and he died last week, so we figured we'd leave him here until we see him again, at our campsite,' they said. That's how much this place means to people."

And there are many stories about Patrick Taylor, perennial first arrival for the 12 Hours of Sebring race.

"For many years, we allowed people to arrive early and camp in preparation for the race. We still do that, but now you can't come earlier than March first," Breslauer explained.

"Patrick Taylor was the first in line – he came mid-February, then the next year it was early February, then the next year it was mid-January, and finally he arrived the day before Christmas. He always arrived in an old beat-up Saab filled to the top with Foster's lager and his two bassett hounds. We'd look out in the field in early January and there was this Saab with a little tent and two bassett hounds sitting next to it, and a guy with a Foster's lager. Every year."

The familiar Sebring traditions all started spontaneously, just fans having fun. Green Park first opened in 1966 and quickly developed a raunchy reputation. Clubs like FTroop and the Turn 10 Club formed around the track as fans found their favourite spots to party and watch the race. Dress codes were established, as groups of costumed cows, monks and race cars roamed the site. An informal parade of fancified vehicles wound through the paddock for many years, green beads became the currency of record on St. Patrick's Day and numerous other traditions took hold. Sebring International Raceway became the Woodstock of auto racing.

The strangest thing Breslauer has seen? He's quick to answer: "The spectators certainly earn that title."
Fans in Sebring's Green Park are unlike any other in the world of motor racing, and Breslauer has witnessed just about every form of crazy behavior and ritual carried out. (Bob Chapman, AutosportImage.com)

But seriously, "Sebring is known for the unexpected, for the upsets. In '83 a GTO Porsche won overall – they were 12 laps behind and came back to win. There's always the unexpected at Sebring; something always happens that's a product of its tough nature."

Many drivers and crews will attest to that.

Breslauer is drawn to the history – both motorsport and aviation – that engulfs this challenging patch of Florida pavement. And he has immense respect for its traditions. One experience exemplifies both the history and tradition of Sebring – the cancellation of the 1974 race due to an energy crisis.

"There was no race and they still had 3000 people here," Breslauer said. "The people knew there wasn't going to be a race, but they said, 'Hey we're going to pay tribute to Sebring and we're going to party.' It says a lot – it meant so much to them and they didn't want to see the tradition die."

Rock on, Sebring!

Sylvia Proudfoot has seen motorsport from many vantage points. She's worked as a reporter, series media officer, entrant, driver manager, team strategist, event coordinator, logistics administrator and sponsor rep. With stints in open-wheel, stock-car and sports-car racing, she's equally at home at le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Daytona International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Nürburgring. Her life before racing spanned political and corporate work, automotive consulting and sports projects including golf, hockey, pro rodeo and the Olympic Games.

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The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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