PITTSBURGH, PA – February 27, 2024 – The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is thrilled to announce that Ragtime Racers will make their first visit to our Race Weekend in Schenley Park, August 3-4.
Ragtime Racers is a race exhibition group for 1920 and earlier race cars that provides a traveling show at various events across the U.S. showcasing these fantastic machines in a historical setting. There are dozens of significant race cars from this era sitting in museums and collections all across North America that deserve to be seen at speed, as they were meant to be. Until now, a suitable venue to bring these cars out as a group hasn’t existed. This group allows spectators to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of these cars at race tracks, tours and shows, giving them a taste of what it was like during the “Heroic Age” of auto racing.
Ragtime Racers’ Brian Blain (pictured below) exclaimed, “We are excited about participating in the PVGP. We have been following the success of your event for years but have never been able to fit it into our schedule. The beautiful circuit around Schenley Park will be the perfect place to run our 100-year-old race cars. It seems only fitting that the oldest group of race cars in the US will have the opportunity to run at one of the oldest vintage races in the country. We have cars from coast to coast preparing for this prestigious event.”
Ragtime Racers has appeared at the most well-known tracks throughout the country: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Laguna Seca at Monterey, Sonoma Raceway, Road America and the Chatanooga Motorcar Festival.
PVGP Executive Director Dan DelBianco first experienced the Ragtime Racers at last year’s Chatanooga Motorcar Festival and was enthralled with the exhibition of 100-year-old race cars. Dan said, “I immediately sought out Brian Blain and Corky Coker to tell them about our event and asked how we could get together in 2024. As it turns out, our shift to a later schedule was the perfect opportunity to combine our two organizations. Ragtime Racers was anxious to come to Pittsburgh as it is the perfect race circuit to run these historic cars!”
Ragtime Racers is set to run through the nation’s longest-running street race each morning and afternoon on the August 3-4 Race Weekend in Schenley Park. Most of these cars require a co-pilot, and the PVGP plans to auction seats for charity for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The paddock for Ragtime Racers is a sight to behold, with historic cars and racers outfitted in racing overalls, leather helmets and goggles. Racers will be paddocked on Schenley Drive by Phipps Conservatory. Vintage Indy will join them as both groups enter and exit the track at turn 7 just after crossing the Panther Hollow Bridge. This area served at the PVGP paddock for the first five years of the PVGP, beginning in 1983. Spectators who park on Flagstaff Hill can walk over to see this incredible display, see the cars and meet the drivers.
Don’t be fooled by the appearance of these cars – they are fast – reaching speeds over 80 MPH on long straightaways! These are actual race cars that are meticulously maintained and ready to race!
One of Ragtime Racers’ most unique and entertaining activities is when they take apart and reassemble an actual race car in 10 minutes! You have to see it to believe it!
About the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Founded in 1983, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Motorsport Festival features two weekends of racing action. The first weekend is the PVGP Historics at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The second weekend is racing through a 2.33-mile road course set on the streets of Schenley Park. Between our race weekends, we stage car shows, parties, road rallies, and a black tie formal. The PVGP is driven by 1,200 volunteers dedicated to staging the country’s largest and longest-running vintage race event. It is also a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization with a mission to provide residential care, treatment and support for people with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities – donating $6.7 million to date.
Contact
Dan DelBianco PVGP
Brian Blain Ragtime Racers
