The Giants Despair Hillclimb is a hillclimb which was established in 1906 in Laurel Run,

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, just southeast of its border to Wilkes-Barre Township. The contest was first run in conjunction with

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

's centennial celebration. It is the oldest continuing motorsport event in

History and race features

Race drivers from across the nation gather annually on East Northampton Street, a road that winds its way through a section of Pennsylvania's steep mountains. Rising , the course reaches grades up to 20% and has six turns—including the 110 degree "Devil's Elbow"— on the way to the top. The initial race was won in 2 minutes 11.2 seconds. During its first years, the race was used as a proving ground by the biggest names in the automotive industry.

Louis Chevrolet Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (; December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss-American race car driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. Early life Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born on December 25, 18 ...

raced the hill in 1909 driving for Buick. He won Event No. 2, Gasoline stock cars, selling from $851 to $1,250 in a time of 2:34.4 sec, his car being the only entry in the class. He is chiefly remembered for an accident: "A Buick with Louis Chevrolet driving, turned turtle on the course and narrowly missed a group of people. Chevrolet was not badly injured." Bill Milliken drove the AJB/FWD Butterball Special, #111, in 1955 finishing third overall in a time of 63.771 sec.''Sports Car'', S.C.C.A. magazine, Sept-Oct 1955, Page 27.

Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified dur ...

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, ...

, and Oscar Koveleski are just a few of the famous drivers that set out to tackle the mile. The hill has been paved many times and the records have been shattered. The current record holder is John Burke, who ran the course in 38.024 seconds in 2014. Today, the Hillclimb is run on the second weekend of July and is organized by the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association (PHA).

Giants Despair events and past winners

{, class="wikitable" , - ! style="width:*;", Year ! style="width:*;", Driver ! style="width:*;", Vehicle ! style="width:*;", Time ! style="width:*;", Notes , - , 1906 , Hugh N. Harding , English Daimler 35 h.p. , 2:11.2 sec R , May 10. , - , rowspan=3, 1907 , William Wray , Simplex-Peugeot (Motorcycle) , 1:40.0 sec , rowspan=3, May 30. , - , Walter C. White ,

White Steamer The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the c ...

(Steam car) , 1:49.8 sec , - , J.B. Ryall , Matheson 60 h.p. (Gasoline car) , 1:59.2 sec R , - , 1908 , Willi Haupt , Great Chadwick 6-cylinder , 1:38.4 sec R , May 30. , - , 1909 , David Bruce-Brown , Benz 120 h.p. , 1:31.6 sec R , , - , 1910 ,

Ralph DePalma Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2, ...

, Fiat 200 h.p. , 1:28.4 sec R , June 14. , - , colspan=5, 1911-1915 No events. , - , 1916 , Fred Junk , Chalmers , 1:41.0 sec , Oct 7. , - , colspan=5, 1917-1950 No events. , - , 1951 , Dellevan Lee , Allard-Cadillac , 1:07.5 sec R , May 11/12. , - , 1952 , Phil Walters , Cunningham CR-4K , 1:02.3 sec R , July 24/26. , - , 1953 , Dellevan Lee , Allard J2 , 1:04.4 sec , July 24. , - , 1954 , A. Erwin Goldschmidt , Ferrari 4.5 , 1:01.26 R , July 24/25. , - , 1955 , Duncan Black , Ferrari 4.5 #44 , 1:02.4 sec , July 22. , - , 1956 ,

, GP Ferrari 4.5-liter , 58.768 sec R , July 20. , - , 1957 , Dr. Louis Winkler , Chevrolet Corvette , 58.35 sec R , July 19. , - , 1958 , J. Robert Bucher , Allard-Cadillac , 1:00.933 sec , July 18/19. , - , 1959 ,

, Porsche RSK , 59.1734 sec , July 30/Aug 1. , - , 1960 , John Meyer , Meyer Special , 57.5 sec R , July 29/31. , - , 1961 , John Meyer , Pontiac Spl. , 56.576 sec R , July 30. , - , 1962 , John Meyer , Meyer Special , 55.858 sec R , , - , 1963 , Charlie Kurtz , Porsche RS-61 , 56.3543 sec , July 27. , - , 1964 , Hal Keck , A.C. Shelby Cobra 4.7-litre , 55.6619 sec R , July 24/25. , - , 1965 , Harold Keck , A.C. Shelby Cobra 7-litre , 51.9152 sec R , July 24/25. , - , 1966 , Oscar Koveleski , Cooper-Chevy , 50.336 sec R , July 30. , - , 1967 , John Meyer , Cooper-Ford , 53.281 sec , July 29. , - , 1968 , John Meyer ,

Lola T70 The Lola T70 is a sports prototype developed by British manufacturer Lola Cars in 1965. Lola built the aluminium monocoque chassis, which were typically powered by large American V8s. The T70 was quite popular in the mid to late 1960s, wit ...

-Chevrolet , 49.100 sec R , July 27. , - , 1969 , Oscar Koveleski , McLaren Mk6B , 47.636 sec R , July 27. , - , 1970 , John Meyer , Lola T70 , 52.524 sec , , - , 1971 , Jerry McKown , Caldwell Super VeeFor the story of Ray Caldwell, race car constructor, see: ''Competition Press and Auto Week'', Vol.21-No.33, Aug 28, 1971, Page 5; ''Competition Press and Auto Week'', Vol.21-No.34, Sep 4, 1971, Page 5. , 54.391 sec , , - , colspan=5, 1972 Cancelled. , - , 1973 , Craig Smith , Cooper-Chevy , 51.551 sec , , - , 1974 , Don Smith , McLaren Mk8B Chevy , 48.455 sec , , - , 1975 , Oscar Koveleski , McLaren Mk6B Chevy , 45.123 sec , , - , 1976 , Oscar Koveleski , McLaren Mk6B Chevy , 45.206 sec , July 17/18. , - , 1977 , Oscar Koveleski , McLaren Mk6B Chevy , 44.127 sec , , - , 1978 , Jim Willauer , LeGrand 5000 , 48.661 sec , , - , 1979 , Oscar Koveleski , McLaren Mk6B Chevy , 46.110 sec , , - , 1980 , Robert Oswald Sr. , VW-Kellison , 51.185 sec , , - , colspan=5, 1981-1985 No event run. , - , 1986 , Tommy Van Scoy ,

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex- Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s unde ...

RT1 Formula Continental , 49.666 sec , , - , 1987 , George Bowland , LeGrand Formula Continental , 49.110 sec , , - , 1988 , Jerry Coffee , March Formula Atlantic , 45.840 sec , , - , 1989 , Tommy Van Scoy , March Formula Atlantic , 45.368 sec , , - , 1990 , Carl Jones , Open Chevy Sports Racer , 49.786 sec , , - , 1991 , Jerry Coffee , March Formula Atlantic , 45.485 sec , , - , 1992 , John Halbing , Chevy Camaro GT-1 , 43.491 sec R , , - , 1993 , John Halbing , Chevy Camaro GT-1 , 43.919 sec , , - , 1994 , John Halbing , Chevy Camaro GT-1 , 42.632 sec R , , - , 1995 , Jerry Kieft , The Bandit S2 , 44.308 sec , , - , 1996 , John Halbing , Chevy Camaro GT-1 , 45.213 sec , , - , 1997 , Ron Moreck , Formula Reynard S3 , 43.320 sec , , - , 1998 , Ron Moreck , Formula Reynard S3 , 43.784 sec , , - , 1999 , Ron Moreck , Formula Reynard S3 , 43.259 sec , , - , 2000 , Ron Moreck , Formula Reynard S3 , 43.595 sec , , - , 2001 , Ron Moreck , Formula Reynard S3 , 39.914 sec R , , - , 2002 , Ron Moreck , Formula Reynard S3 , 40.865 sec , , - , 2003 , Barry Griffith , Swift Formula Continental , 44.743 sec , , - , 2004 , Mark Mashburn , Chevy Camaro GT-1 , 44.309 sec , , - , 2005 , Darryl Danko , Swift Formula Atlantic , 43.559 sec , , - , 2006 , Darryl Danko ,

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

TB900 Special 3 , 39.000 sec R , July 7–9. , - , 2007 , Darryl Danko , Lola TB900 Special 3 , 38.360 sec R , , - , 2008 , Darryl Danko , Lola TB900 Special 3 , 40.047 sec , , - , 2009 , Darryl Danko , Lola TB900 Special 3 , 41.157 sec , , - , 2010 , George Bowland , BBR Shark , 40.917 sec , July 11/12. , - , 2011 , Darryl Danko , Gurney Eagle , 42.187 , July 9/10 , , - , 2012 , Darrly Danko , Lola TB900 Special 3 , 40.100 , July 14/15 , - , 2013 , John Burke , 1997 Reynard Champ Car , 39.672 sec , July 13/14. , , - , 2014 , John Burke , 1997 Reynard Champ Car , 38.024 sec R , July 12/13. , , - , 2015 , John Burke , 1997 Reynard Champ Car , 38.277 sec , July 11/12. , , - , 2016 , John Burke , 1997 Reynard Champ Car , 38.583 sec , July 9/10. , Key: R = Course Record.

References

External links

Giant’s Despair

pahillclimb.org
'. Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association.
Course Map of the Giants Despair Hillclimb at Laurel Run, PA
from th
website of the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association
(PHA).
Giants Despair Hill Climb
Description archived from th
website
of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L).
Giant's Despair Records
(PDF). Archived fro
the original
on
hilltiming.com
' on 2015-05-28. * Gibbons, Geri
"No ‘Despair,’ only fun competition, on first day of Hill Climb"
8 July 2017.
Times Leader
'. Civitas Media.

2015 Stats. Archived fro

on
hilltiming.com
' on 2016-04-25. * Shurmaitis, Dawn

4 July 2008. Archived from '' ttp://timesleader.com/ The Times Leader'.
Laurel Run counts on hill climb
7/8/2013.
Times Leader
'. Civitas Media. * Lynott, Jerry
"Giants Despair Hill Climb draws enthusiastic crowd"
11 July 2015.
Times Leader
'. Civitas Media.
Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association Museum & Archives
Hillclimbs Auto races in the United States Motorsport in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 1906 establishments in Pennsylvania

History and race features

Giants Despair events and past winners

See also

References

External links