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Lee Raskin was attracted to the excitement of motorsports when he attended his first sports car race in 1953. He never forgot the sights, sounds, and smell of Castrol R motor oil as Porsches, flat-rad Morgans, and Arnolt-Bristols raced around the tarmac at Offutt AFB near Omaha, Nebraska on those annual July 4th weekends. |
Lee Raskin and his 1957 Porsche Super Speedster |
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Over the past four decades, Lee has been actively involved as a spectator, a motorsports journalist and photographer, and crew member for National SCCA and IMSA Driving Champion Bruce "King Carrera" Jennings. Lee continues to compete as a vintage race driver. Lee is best known as an early Porsche historian and authority on James Dean’s brief but spectacular Porsche racing career. He often is asked to consult with authors and video producers regarding James Dean’s motorsports activities and the mysterious disappearance of his "Little Bastard" 550 Spyder following Dean’s death in 1955. Lee wrote his first James Dean article in 1977 for the 356 Registry magazine, and has since been credited with having documented many intrinsic James Dean and Porsche-related facts that have appeared in feature articles for the 356 Registry, Porsche Panorama, Excellence Magazine, Porsche Patter, der Vorganger, We Remember Dean International Fan Club, the Watkins Glen "Double Fifty" Porsche 50th Anniversary Race Program, and numerous Porsche Year publications. Lee has consulted for four major documentaries on James Dean:
Lee co-produced the acclaimed documentary James Dean at High Speed in 1997 for SPEEDTV. It was later syndicated in Britain, France. Australia, and Japan. In addition, he co-authored the acclaimed Porsche Speedster TYP 540: Quintessential Sports Car (2004), in which he wrote about various celebrities who owned or were fans of the Porsche Speedster, including James Dean, Steve McQueen, Richard Boone (Paladin...Have Gun Will Travel); renowned maestro Herbert von Karajan; and Paul Newman in his role as a private detective in the movie Harper. In addition to writing about James Dean, Lee has been an avid vintage sports car racer. Since 1985, he has raced his 356 Porsche Speedster, 356 Porsche Sebring replica coupe, Arnolt- Bristol Roadster, and a pre-war flat-rad Morgan on many of the most famous US road courses, including Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Bridgehampton, VIR, Road Atlanta, Roebling Road, Sebring, Daytona, Laguna Seca; as well as on the vintage street circuits at Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park, and at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Dean's death, Lee pays tribute to this great actor and promising sports car racer with his new and exciting photographic biography, James Dean: At Speed. Lee Raskin resides near Brooklandville, Maryland, just a stone's throw north of historic Baltimore. |
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