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An original 5x7" vintage photo from the Marty Himes estate.
Provenance: This photograph comes directly from the Marty Himes Racing Museum Collection, assembled over decades by Marty Himes - racer, restorer, and lifelong archivist of American racing. Every piece he preserved tells part of the story of motorsport’s rise from dirt tracks to the spectacle of the Indy 500. We acquired the majority of his photo collection after his passing. Many of his photos are extremely rare or even one of a kind. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.
Photo Overview
Sportscar driver Jim Downing is shown in close-up on the victory podium, speaking into a microphone with a Champion Spark Plug medal hanging from his neck, wearing a BFG Goodrich TA driving suit and sponsor cap at a road racing event in the United States in the early 1980s, captured in a candid winner’s circle portrait from the Marty Himes Racing Museum collection.
Jim Downing is best known as a multiple IMSA Camel Lights champion and as the co-inventor, with Dr. Bob Hubbard, of the HANS head-and-neck restraint that revolutionized safety in professional auto racing and has been credited with saving countless drivers’ lives. Original images of Downing in his active driving years, especially in full sponsor gear on the podium, are much scarcer than modern digital prints and appeal to both vintage road-racing collectors and safety equipment historians; add this piece of authentic racing history to your collection before another enthusiast grabs it.
Print analysis:
Glossy fiber-based photographic paper with clean white reverse, handwritten ID, and no halftone dot pattern indicates a darkroom photographic print rather than a lithographic reproduction. The style of the racing suit, sponsor logos (BFGoodrich TA, Simpson, Champion), and digital wristwatch point to an early 1980s image date. Given typical museum and photographer practices, this appears to be a period print made from the original negative within a few years of exposure, so it is best classified as an original Type 1 photo, likely printed c1980s.
Condition: Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo. Many of the photos in this collection are very old and have age related wear, chips, creases, curling, etc. Others are remarkably well maintained.
