From the late 50's and through the 60's, The Hershey Hillclimb was the crown jewel of Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association events. The Appalachian Sports Car Club had staged it on "the old back road" up to the picturesque Hotel Hershey, with the last race meeting held October 25, 1970...and then it was left to quietly disappear from the ASCC and PHA calendars.

Fast forward to 2002, and after a 31 year hiatus, The Susquehanna Valley Vintage Sports Car Club(SVVSCC) and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts(HERCO) agreed that the excitement of the old hillclimb needed to return to the Hershey hillside. There was alot to do in a very short four month's time. People came forward with memories, memorabilia and the same willingness to help, just like they had 30-something years before. The Hill was inspected for any affects left by its long slumber. Thankfully, not much work was required to get this reprise launched. So move forward we did with a little road surface repair and brush cutting using a full-throttle team of volunteers.

Flags that hadn't been unfurled on The Hill since 1970 were pulled out of the box. April 20 & 21,2002 found a gathering of 59 cars taking time on a ribbon of asphalt long forgotten by many and left to ruin by all. We welcomed back about a dozen drivers who took part in the old days; some with the same cars, some mothballed for nearly an entire generation since their last trip to Hershey. Many folks huddled together, remembering and reflecting on fellow combatants who were no longer with them in this flashback. How fortunate we were to have Dave Latsha with us as our inaugural Grand Marshall, the original Hill record-holder in 1958. Alongside Dave stood the all-time FTD record-holder, Tim Musser, albeit not so patiently watching. He, making his record pass during the very last event in 1970, had tried valiantly to find a ride for this retro-weekend, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, new memories would be created on The Hill that day. One witness said that if you overlooked the modern cars in the parking lot, you could easily be transported back to 1970 by the sights, sounds and smells coming from the starting line. That feeling was prevalent throughout that first weekend by folks up and down The Hill. It may have taken a Sunday noontime cloudburst to halt the 2002 proceedings, but the talk of that weekend has lasted to the drop of the green flag today.

From the very beginning...

The Hershey Hillclimb began almost unceremoniously in November of 1958 with no idea of what it would become. That Fastest Time of Day by Dave Latsha in his Renault Alpine carries the distinction of holding the initial hill record of 70.6178 seconds. Dave relates how the Alpine was fairly stock at the time. He would return in following years with it in modified form and later still at the wheel of a SAAB. Fast lady for that first day was Ruth Meiss in a Morgan that timed at 79.5917.

Only one year later, Frank Schroeder powered his AC Bristol to the top and cut just over nine seconds from Dave's original record time despite a rainy weekend. Not bad considering the field included a 'works' Ferrari amongst the combatants. Those first years also included a "stop & go" after Turn 3 to prevent unwanted agricultural experiences out through the Turn 4 trees. Not to be outdone by the factory machinery, Ray Gross would claim his fourth title by lowering the The Hill to 56.8216 in his homemade Devin-Porsche in April 1961. Six months later, a BSA motorcycle-engined Cooper F3 took Tom Robinson through the timing in 56.0743 seconds.

Rule Changes allowing additional modifications in 1963 led the way for even further taming of "The Hill". By this time, well over 100 participants were lining up to give The Hill their best shot. Al Loquasto, heading for stardom in midgets and Indy cars, began his personal Sting Ray crusade by taking both 1963 meet wins. He would claim the FTD a third time, lowering the existing record on two of those occasions. "A cloud of anticipation" hung over the Spring '64 Hillclimb at the impending Corvette/AC Cobra shoot-out, but the Corvettes basically ruled the roost from Fall 1962 until the very end in 1970. Only Bill Rutan's Porsche Special would interrupt a 7-win Corvette streak with his Fall '64 run of 53.0812 that stood until Oscar Koveleski came along two years later. Jack Strouse would drive to the only outright AC Cobra win in Spring '69.

The Hill didn't just passively sit by through this onslaught, though she maintained her original configuration and temperament from Day One. November of '62 she threw snow at them and brought the day to an early end. She was repaved once...for Fall 1966...causing her to give up eighteen new class records, keeping the leader board quite busy that weekend. As if in revenge she dished up rain, high winds and snow for Fall 1967 followed by a "sea of mud" in Fall 1968.

Oscar showed up with his Super Cooper in the Fall of 1966, perhaps further inspired by the repaving and prize money, now being offered for the first time. He demolished The Hill at a record time of 50.886 seconds only to come back the next spring at do the same with his beautiful Cooper. He came back again in April 1968 to crush the 50 second barrier with a 49.634 pass that stood until the very last meeting.

Harrisburg's Tim Musser closed out the competitive days of The Hershey Hillclimb on October 25, 1970 with a 49.425 second clocking in his Merlyn Formula Ford. Knowing it was the last Hershey Hillclimb prompted Tim and Lebanon's Ron Light to stage a hotly contested bid for The Hill Record. Tim claimed his goal on his very last attempt on The Hill, derailing Ron's previous .01 second advantage. His achievement went into the books as the all-time Hill Record Holder as the glory days of the Hershey Hillclimb came to an abrupt end. The ending of his Merlyn came in a much different way - it was stolen out of his garage several months later and was never seen again.

So, as you can see, this Hershey hill provided many thrills during its 25 event life. The last meeting also produced one of the most remarkable achievements. With well over 250 entrants, it went on record as staging the largest competitive hillclimb in the world, to solidfy its place in motorsports history.