Vintage Racing
American Beauties
The Race of Gentlemen brings together the owners of lovingly-restored hot rods and classic motorbikes to do battle on a beach in New Jersey.
The vintage race celebrates American cultural heritage and creative fashions — as well as the contestants’ passion for detail.
There’s something that Mel Stultz says which sums up his passion for very old cars and very old motorbikes rather nicely. But it also says a lot about Mel Stultz himself. “When a 90-year-old Harley comes round a corner somewhere today,” he tells us, “people stop and stare as if they’ve seen a ghost.” In this sense, Stultz, a friendly American who has a big, bushy beard and tattoos on his neck, is a professional necromancer. The 50-year-old’s life revolves around these vehicles that are so unique they can jolt people out of their everyday realities.
Stultz is the founder of The Race of Gentlemen, which is held every year on the beach at Wildwood in the American state of New Jersey. The line-up consists of hot rods (all built by 1935) and classic motorbikes manufactured no later than 1947.
There’s something uniquely American about hot rods. They are an important part of the country’s cultural heritage. Returning soldiers from the Second World War were strapped for cash and so souped up old cars from the 1920s and 1930s — both on the exterior and under the bonnet — thus turning them into hot rods. Today the cars are rare jewels that you’re only likely to get to admire in museums or carefully guarded garages. But the special thing about The Race of Gentlemen is that the vintage cars actually race against one another.
Here are two Ford Model A cars on the front row of the grid
© Johannes Huwe
Mel Stultz grew up on Long Beach Island off the coast of New Jersey and tried his hand at being a rock ’n’ roll drummer and a surfer before finding his purpose at 25. “I wanted to know how beautiful old cars worked,” he says. “So I took them apart and put them back together again many times, until I understood.”
There is a second thing that Stultz says which also reveals an important part of his philosophy. “The quality of workmanship used to be higher,” he says of the vintage vehicles. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about cars or clothes. Now we make stuff that breaks so that we buy new stuff.”
He organised the first Race of Gentlemen in 2012 in homage to the drag races of the 1940s. “Back then people tested hot rods on the beach. That way, drivers could let their cars come to a stop in the sand if the brakes failed. And if a car caught fire, it was simply steered into the sea.”
Sara Francello gives the starting signal for the racing drivers
© Johannes Huwe
Drivers at The Race of Gentlemen go one-against-one over a distance of an eighth of a mile (about 200m). But that’s just one part of the attraction. The other is that the drivers and spectators are dressed in the style of a bygone era: men and women in racing goggles and leather boots. “Pictures of our drivers end up in fashion magazines,” says Stultz. “But it isn’t a fancy-dress party. The drivers’ clothes are functional. The racing fashions of the day combined form with function.”
Pete Flaven in the Ford Model A Coupe against a green 1926 Ford Model T
© Johannes Huwe
The Race of Gentlemen is due to be held from October 1 to 3 in 2021 after missing a year because of COVID-19. Stultz already has a third saying ready for the comeback: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It all goes to make The Race of Gentlemen a parade of good style too. The race celebrates the individuality of its participants as well as a love of detail. “We get lots of women and families coming,” says Stultz. “And people who’ve never had an interest in vintage cars before.”
Find out more at theraceofgentlemen.com
Form follows function: driver “Woody” in the “Race of Gentlemen” outfit
© Johannes Huwe
Woody the racer in his Race of Gentlemen outfit. The helmet, goggles and gloves might look insanely cool but they are actually more about being practical.
'Go' Takamine, a racer from Japan
© Johannes Huwe
“Go” Takamine, a competitor from Japan. As was typical in racing at the time, his jersey simply shows a starter number, with no sponsors.
Only hand-picked vintage bikes and cars are allowed to compete here
© Johannes Huwe
Unlike most car shows, the jewels in the crown of the American hot-rod scene are in action on the beach in New Jersey, including this Ford Model A, hand-restored by racer Steve Pugner.
The participants and spectators are famous for their epochal style
© Johannes Huwe
Stylish spectators at the 2019 Race of Gentlemen. The public, the drivers and the hot-rod lovers all come together on the beach at Wildwood for an event that bills itself as being suitable for the whole family. “We want to get away from the hyper-masculine image that car shows and bike weekends have,” says race organiser Mel Stultz.
Indian vs. Harley: two US cult brands in a duel
© Johannes Huwe
A duel between two riders from Philadelphia’s Bad Luxury racing team pits two cult US brands against one another: Indian and Harley-Davidson.
Race start assistants 'Uncle Bob' (left) and 'Big Rich' in conversation
© Johannes Huwe
Uncle Bob (on left) and Big Rich, officials at The Race of Gentlemen. As per drag-race traditions, the contest is run over an eighth of a mile (about 200m).
Rock and roll culture comes to life again at the Race of Gentlemen
© Johannes Huwe
No lucky charm, no race: rock ’n’ roll symbols, such as dice and representations of death, dominate at The Race of Gentlemen. Here they adorn an old Harley.
Photographer Johannes Huwe turned the race into a coffee table book
© Johannes Huwe
The Race of Gentlemen, photographer Johannes Huwe’s limited-edition book on the event, is available at johanneshuwe.com