When discussing this book, the most relevant issues is that it proves how deep and strong the bench was when it came to American road racing during the period it covers — way beyond today’s, subjectively. A lesser matter is that the photographer was a woman, still at least something of a curiosity in the paddock during those years. It was even more unusual for any racing shooter to have instinctive skill for bringing humanity to the sport.

Linda Weldon was uncommonly good at doing that. She was an art student from a car-oriented Los Angeles family when she picked up a camera and headed over to Riverside International Raceway in 1966. She retrieved a paddock pass and was then escorted in by none other than Stirling Moss, who was working as an announcer and local TV analyst. What an entrance.

Weldon used her access with impressive results, collected here in 100 hardcover pages with her black-and-white imagery. It’s heavily oriented toward candid photography. Unquestionably, that’s what gives this book its individuality: its depiction of drivers in elements where you wouldn’t expect to find them. Early on, Derek Bell is nestled in a Formula 5000 car, rather than in an endurance Porsche.

Any number of other frames are unexpected, mainly because they don’t always make the cut in these studies. Lothar Motschenbacher commiserates with Bruce McLaren’s U.S.-born consigliere, Teddy Mayer. Chuck Parson’s lined Appalachian features show the weariness of struggling with a Can-Am car. Ignazio Giunti smiles cheerily from the pit wall months before dying in Argentina. Evocative material.

Today’s professional motorsports scene can be such a sterile environment. “Road Racing-Drivers of the 60′s and 70′s” captures time when things weren’t quite so polished; dirty Nomex, shirtless Formula 1 stars and occasional cigarette breaks. The result is an honest, behind-the-fence look at one of the greatest periods in motorsports. Sure, we’ve all seen photos of these guys before, but the fresh perspective makes the book worthy of a spot on your coffee table.

The photos, all in black and white, are not just another hodgepodge of racing action shots. Rather, these are insightful close-up portraits of the drivers of that period, taken in the pits before or between races. In many photos of the period the driver is almost an afterthought, bundled up in helmet and goggles or looking seriously down at his mount trying to determine where the Problem is. Not in Linda’s shots. Somehow she got the drivers to look right at her, almost posing, probably because Linda was a welcome sight during a long day. The result is a series of casual portraits unlike anything else from the time.

Linda was clearly more interested in capturing the personalities and expressions of the drivers out of their cars and it makes a welcome change. Dare I say it, but you immediately notice that in many of the shots, the drivers are looking straight down the lens with cheeky smiles and smoldering eyes. These looks are no doubt something that only a female photographer could capture and it gives the book a different edge and a unique insight into the drivers personalities. In addition to candid photos of the drivers, the book features many action racing shots from the great road racing series of the time.

Boy, did your book bring back some happy memories. I must say I hadn’t realized what a super photographer you were. If I had known at the time, I would have asked you to take some pictures for my CV!

We’ve all seen the great cars, but Linda has shared her wonderful unseen archive of the era’s greatest drivers….simply brilliant!!! A wonderful new book…a must for race fans of the 60′s and 70′s.

Thanks for providing some great memories of racing past. This is a fantastic collection of photos in one great book.