Pebble Beach

Once a decision was made to hold a sports car race at Pebble Beach in 1950, efforts were made to select an appropriate course. A number of alternatives were reviewed and the first one actually selected was later rejected at the last moment due to complaints from the residents of 17-mile drive. This course would have run along the ocean front between Bird Rock at the South and Spanish Bay at the North, adjacent to the old Indian Village and Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore golf course. The road had a relatively flat blacktopped surface, and the circuit totaled 3.8 miles, with ten mostly left-handed or counter-clockwise turns.

A 1.8 mile track was used on the 5th November 1950 for the first meeting (see above map), but it was extended to 2.1 miles for the second meeting on 27th May 1951 (it took the left fork to the top left of the map to Stevenson Drive before turning right and rejoining the original track) when the course was improved by the Del Monte Properties Company, which removed several pine trees along the route and erected some fences for spectator control and safety precautions. It used for Sportscar races and other American series races in the 1950s. It had been originally conceived as a 3.8 mile course, but the proposed layout was considered to be too fast.