"The Mitty", as the Americans simply call it, is one of the biggest US events of the year, which also celebrates historic motorsport. The "Classic Motorsports Mitty" took place this year from April 28-29, 2018. As every year, one brand is invited and celebrated, this year it was Datsun and Nissan.
The Japanese manufacturer has been competing in a wide variety of motorsport disciplines for over 50 years and has also been able to build up a considerable fan base in the USA to this day. The appearance at the 41st Mitty was therefore a unique moment for many fans, which can otherwise only be seen in Japan, for example at the Nismo Festival.
John Morton as Grand Marshal
John Morton is a well-known racing driver in the USA. His career began with Carrol Shelby, where he tackled racing classics such as Sebring in 1964. He then drove for Peter Brock and his team Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE for short) in 1971 and 1972 in a Datsun 510 with starting number #46. Those racing cars were then often referred to as BRE-Datsun.
The car became a legend, winning 11 of the 18 races! Fans could now secure signatures and experience the racing driver of the time up close.
After his successes with the Datsun 510, he drove for Brad Frisselle (Datsun 240Z in 1974 and Chevrolet DeKon Monza in 1977), among others. In the 1980s, he drove countless prototypes, including the Porsche 956 and 962 for Busby Racing, BF Goodrich and Joest Racing.
In 1988 he drove again for Nissan (GTP ZX-T) in the IMSA endurance races. From 1989 to 1994 he was employed as a driver by Cunningham Racing and contested the IMSA races in the GTO class in a Nissan 300ZX Turbo. In the same car he won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1994 together with Steve Millen and Johnny O'Connell and the class victory at Le Mans in 1994.
Looking back, you could say that John Morton was to Nissan what Hurley Haywood was to Porsche in the USA. The brand was strengthened and popularized by continuous successes in the USA.
He rarely raced on European soil, but was at the start of the 24-hour classic Le Mans nine times.
Winner Skyline GT-R
It is fair to say that to this day the sportiest racing car from Nissan is still called the GT-R. It therefore comes as no surprise that the Nissan race on Saturday was won by Alex McDowell in a Skyline GT-R.
Also on the podium was second-placed Grayson Upchurch in a rarely seen Datsun SRL-311
Scott Kissinger took bronze in the fast Datsun 240Z.
John Morton also drove a 240Z and secured fourth place.
The fastest race lap of 1:36.934 was achieved by David Stone in his Datsun 510.
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Bob Sharp Racing
Comedian, actor and filmmaker Adam Carolla drove the well-known Bob Sharp Racing Datsun 610 in the traditional red/blue/white livery:
Adam Carolla's racing car collection consists of some rarities from Nissan/Datsun, for example a Datsun 2000 Roadster 1969 next to a Trans-Am Datsun 510, both from Bob Sharp Racing.
The extremely revised Datsun 280 ZX Turbo, driven by Paul Newman and Sam Posey in 1979, is visually very striking.
Under the hood is of course not the normal in-line six-cylinder engine but a 4.5-liter V8 turbo engine. With 933 hp, it was announced that it would do battle with the Porsche 935s of the time. However, the 935s were a lot lighter and so the highlight of the Bob Sharp IMSA Datsun was only 6th place in Portland in 1981. To ensure that all the beautiful Datsun racing cars are not forgotten, Adam Carolla captured them all on screen, immortalized in a 2015 documentary called Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman
The 240Z by Brad Frisselle
Another highlight of the 50-car field was certainly the Brad Frisselle Datsun 240z driven by David Martin, which competed in the IMSA Camel GTU Championship in the 1970s.
Brad Frisselle won the championship title in 1978.
1.4-liter displacement in the Datsun 210
While the various Z and 510s made up the majority at the "Mitty", a single, rare B210 was discovered in between, which at that time competed in the SCCA Sedan National Championship races with a small 1.4-liter displacement. Dick Davenport's B210 won this championship three years in a row (1977-1979)! Son Rob restored his father's B210 and showed it at the 2018 Mitty this year.
Exot 200SX
The "Mitty" seems to be an event that Europeans should keep in mind, because you can certainly enjoy some vehicles here that you don't get to see in this country. When was the last time you saw a Datsun 200SX in race trim?
The Mitty 2019
The date for 2019 has not yet been set, but it will certainly take place in April again. In the meantime, Nissan fans can watch the whole race again:
