The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is a is a vintage motor sports car race and 10-day motorsport festival that takes place annually in mid-July in Schenley Park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The race originated in 1983, now, in the 40th year and is the longest-continually- running vintage road race in the nation. It’s one of the internationally recognized premier vintage motorsports events. The event continues for 10 days and the highlight being the vintage car race shows. Though the event runs for 10 days, only certain events are open for public and the rest are open only for the car racers.
The race started on July 2, 2017, and the event starts with Kick-Off Rallye. The Rallye starts from the start point – the Quaker Steak and Lube in Cranberry Township and again ends at the same restaurant. The competition consists of a combined Monte Carlo/Gimmick format requiring no prior experience. Multiple checkpoints are located early along the route and are shown in the route instructions with an approximate mileage and the time that the vehicle is due to cross the timing line. Stopping or slowing prior to the control is permitted as long as safely done. The race starts at 11:00 AM and takes 2-3 hours to complete the rally.
Black tie and Tailpipes Gala happens on July 7, 2017, and serves as the kick-off event for Race Week and there will be a car show featuring all of the fantastic cars that our attendees bring that evening. Dinner and the desserts will be served along with an auction.
PGVP Historics at Pitt Race happens at July 7-9, 2017 and has become the famous vintage car race over the days that happens in the Pittsburgh International Race Complex.
Walnut Street Car show is an invitation car show that happens on July 10, 2017. Pittsburgh Waterfront Car Cruise happens on July 11 and you can take a tour in the vintage car along the riverfront. More than 650 cars participate every year and it is one of the largest specialty cruises in Pittsburgh.
Downtown Parade and Plaza display happen on July 12, 2017, and the race cars parade from Station Square to PPG place and the market square. We visited the car display and was excited to see the cars displayed.
Tune Up @Atria happens on July 12 evening and is a display of vintage cars on the Clemente Bridge. There is an admission ticket for the event and it stretches from PNC Park to the bridge which includes dinner and a drink. It’s a must see highlighted event which displays historic and vintage cars in front of Atria’s. The historic cars will be enhanced by the beautiful skyline of Pittsburgh.
Country Tour is for the PVGP participants and the tour starts at the Ramada Inn, a lovely and historic town in Ligonier, PA. The tour follows a scenic, twisting and lightly traveled back roads through Pennsylvania’s beautiful Laurel Highlands.
Passport to Elegance Jet Center Party happens on July 13, 2017, and occurs at the Voyager Jet Center at the award winning Allegheny County airport which will feature historic cars and planes, international cuisine and live music.
Speed Race car parade and Car show in Squirrel Hill occurs on July, 14 where the speed race cars parade on the streets of Squirrel Hill and Forbes Avenue.
Schenley Park Race Weekend Car Show and Vintage races
The Vintage car race happens on the closing weekend of the Grand Prix at the Schenley Park, Pittsburgh. We couldn’t visit the car race on Saturday but then we visited Sunday. The event started by 11:00 AM and car races happened till noon. Meanwhile, there were American Car Show and European Car Shows throughout the day. There is no entry fee for the spectators and the parking was available in the Flagstaff Hill. Free shuttles were available to pick and drop the visitors at various points – Race Start and Finish Line, European Car Show, Mini Track Rides and Vintage Ride Experience.
This is one of the largest Vintage race event and the only one that runs on actual streets. This is considered as one of the most challenging races in the nation. The 2.33-mile circuit has 23 turns, hay bales, manhole covers, phone poles and stone walls. We boarded the shuttle and reached the finish line of the race. There were multiple numbers of races – some race had 30 cars and some had more 80 cars. We were thrilled to watch the speedy car racing on the roads and it was an exciting experience. You can pay the required fee and display your car at the international car show. There were more than 2,500 vintage cars and the latest model cars displayed in the car show.
We watched a race and a winner is a strong man who won in nearly 80 races and has been racing for more than 40 years. But what surprised me more is he dedicated his victory to the runner who is much younger than him and have been into racing recently to encourage and motivate him. Isn’t that a true sportsmanship?
We then visited the American and European car shows. There was a vintage village market selling various kind of food items and drinks. Our Sunday started at early morning 4:30 AM and reached the home back in the evening by 4:30 PM. That was such an exhausting day but then we enjoyed to the core.
