Mexico’s greatest race: The 1950 Carrera Panamericana

One of the awesome achievements of Miguel Alemán Valdés’ six-year word arsenic president of Mexico (1946-1952) was the gathering of important caller roads. The astir notable of these — astatine slightest symbolically — was the completion of Mexico’s information of the Pan-American Highway, the world’s longest road, which stretches implicit 30,600 kilometers (19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, crossing done 14 countries en route. 

All 14 nations progressive had agreed to cooperate backmost successful 1937, erstwhile they signed a pact (the Convention connected the Pan-American Highway) to implicit their sections arsenic expeditiously arsenic possible. Mexico was the archetypal of the Latin American countries to bash truthful successful 1950, erstwhile it enactment the finishing touches connected its 3,440 kilometers of road betwixt Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chiapas.

A representation of the way utilized for the Carrera Panamericana during its archetypal 5 years. Only the 1950 race, however, would beryllium tally from northbound to south. (La Carrera Panamericana)

It was an accomplishment worthy celebrating. Guillermo Ostos’ idea, which the enforcement successful the Secretariat of Communications and Public Works had arsenic acold backmost arsenic 1947, was for an open-road contention the magnitude of Mexico on the recently minted Pan-American Highway. President Alemán agreed, and the archetypal Carrera Panamericana was held May 5-10, 11 days earlier the president officially inaugurated the road connected May 21, 1950.

The longest contention successful the world

By the mediate of the 20th century, respective large open-road endurance races had been established successful Europe. However, nary of them — not the 1,080-kilometer Targa Florio successful Sicily, the 1,600-kilometer Mille Miglia successful Italy, oregon the 24 Hours of Le Mans successful France — would screen arsenic overmuch crushed arsenic the Carrera Panamericana contention contested successful Mexico successful 1950.

Indeed, the 2,135-mile border-to-border Carrera Panamericana from Ciudad Juárez to El Ocotal, Chiapas, was to beryllium the longest contention successful the world, a information that nary uncertainty contributed to the excitement that surrounded its archetypal moving — not conscionable successful Mexico, but besides successful the U.S. Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War I combatant ace and Medal of Honor recipient was enthusiastic, arsenic was Wilbur Shaw, the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and adjacent California politician Earl Warren. The latter, however, who aboriginal became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, contributed to a gaffe connected the trophy helium donated. The Mexican jeweler, instructed by Warren to inscribe “won by,” misinterpreted it arsenic “one buy,” and engraved una compra instead.

The competitors successful the archetypal Carrera Panamericana

The government-funded contention and its 334,000 peso prize pool (150,000 of which was earmarked for the winner) drew a veritable who’s who of acclaimed contention car drivers. Felice Bonetto, for example, won the 1952 Targa Florio successful Sicily for Lancia. Piero Taruffi was a victor of the 1957 Mille Miglia for Ferrari, and similar Bonetto, a noted Formula One driver. Herschel McGriff would aboriginal beryllium elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Johnny Mantz raced successful the 1948 and 1949 Indianapolis 500 races earlier heading to Mexico to effort his luck successful 1950. Afterward, helium would state the Indy 500 casual by comparison.

But galore of the 132 entrants successful the archetypal Carrera Panamericana were not professionals. Well … the Mexican taxi drivers who competed were professionals of a sort. Not truthful with the women drivers, who, according to Johnny Tipler successful his 2008 publication “La Carrera Panamericana: The World’s Greatest Road Race,” ranged from a movie actress, Jacqueline Evans, to a fewer adventurous grandmothers.

“Mrs. H.R. Lammons from Jacksonville, Texas, was 1 who made it to the last leg,” helium wrote. “Her 1948 Buick was sponsored by a section brassiere shaper and the car sported a good illustration of the company’s merchandise painted connected each side.”

Race cars lined up for the commencement of the 8th limb successful Oaxaca during the 1950 Carrera Panamericana. (La Carrera Panamericana)

The cars they drove

The automobiles they drove were, by contention regulation, banal cars sold to the nationalist with seating for astatine slightest 5 people. Sports cars were not allowed, astatine slightest successful 1950. The resulting tract of cars was overwhelmingly American-made and consisted chiefly of Cadillacs, Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Lincolns, with the unusual Nash, Packard oregon Studebaker. 

“President Alemán himself sponsored 2 cars,” Tipler noted. “A 1950 Cadillac known arsenic ‘Coche Mexico’ piloted by Rodolfo Castañeda, which rolled twice, injuring its co-driver, and a 1950 Studebaker, entered connected behalf of the nationalist assemblage (UNAM) from which the president had graduated with a instrumentality grade 20 years earlier.” 

The astir unsafe contention successful the world

The Carrera Panamericana successful its archetypal incarnation lasted for lone 5 years (1950-1954) and portion of the crushed was its undeniable danger, arsenic 31 drivers and spectators were killed, 4 successful 1950 alone. The aforesaid information dogged the Mille Miglia and Le Mans, and erstwhile the second contention suffered a calamity successful 1955, with a clang sidesplitting upwards of 80 people, astir of them spectators, it marked the extremity of immoderate governments’ enactment for these kinds of races nether their existing form. The Carrera Panamericana unopen down earlier its 1955 running, arsenic it lacked the enactment of Alemán’s successor, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. The Mille Miglia followed suit successful Italy successful 1961.

These contests, however, were challenging adjacent for those who survived them; the Carrera Panamericana, peculiarly so, owed to its precocious elevation, with mountainous roads featuring precipitous drops. The contention was mostly routed astatine implicit 4,000 feet earlier it reached Oaxaca, climbing to implicit 7,000 feet successful Mexico City, Toluca and Puebla, and topping 10,000 feet astatine 1 walk adjacent the Popocatepetl volcano. Herschel McGriff, who won the six-day, nine-leg contention successful 1950 successful his “City of Roses” Oldsmobile 88, was frightened to decease erstwhile helium drove backmost location afterward astatine a sedate gait and abruptly noticed each the sheer cliff drop-offs adjacent the broadside of the highway.

McGriff besides had to conflict different challenge; neither helium nor his co-driver, Ray Elliott, liked Mexican food. As a consequence, they would suffer a combined 43 pounds during the astir week-long race. 

The revival

Three decades aft the past of the Carrera Panamericana races was tally successful 1954, it was revived by contention operator Eduardo “Lalo” León successful 1988. León had attended 1 of the archetypal races with his begetter and inactive had a large nostalgia for its charms. However, the format would change, becoming overmuch safer arsenic it was transformed into a vintage rally race.

Hershel McGriff accepting the trophy for winning the 1950 Carrera Panamericana from Mexico’s President Miguel Alemán. (La Carrera Panamericana)

He wasn’t the lone 1 who loved it, arsenic it turns out. The contention is inactive being tally today, with the 2025 variation concluding successful October with a triumph by Mexicans Ricardo Cordero and Marco Hernández. It was the seventh triumph successful the reconstituted contention for Cordero, tying him with France’s Pierre de Thoisy for the astir ever by a driver. Hernández, meanwhile, present has the astir Carrera Panamericana titles by a navigator, with eight.

“People emotion the contention and we respect them,” Karen León, Eduardo’s girl and the race’s organizer, told Autoweek successful 2022. “The radical respect the contention and emotion being portion of it. You spot the hospitality of Mexico, that Mexico that we love, and that Mexico that we privation to radical to cognize and to enjoy.”

Chris Sands is simply a writer and exertion for Mexico News Daily, and the erstwhile Cabo San Lucas section adept for the USA Today question website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos question guidebook. He’s a contributor to galore websites and publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise and Travel, and Cabo Living.