Racing Through Time
By Paul & Hanna Alderman
Over a 49-year competitive career, George Alderman was one of America’s most successful sports car drivers, racing in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) events.
In 1960, four years after receiving his national racing license, he was Sports Car Club of America Formula 3 National champion in a Cooper-Norton. In 1964 he won his second SCCA National title in a Formula Libre Cooper-Alfa. In 1966 he drove a Lotus 23 to the SCCA NE Divisional Championship. George raced a Lola T70 in the Can-Am series, including 11th at the inaugural race at Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.
In 1967 he won the Governor’s Cup at Upper Marlboro, MD in a McLaren Chevy, en route to another SCCA NE Divisional Championship. He was also voted into the prestigious Road Racing Drivers Club in 1967. He also competed in Trans-Am series races in a Ford Mustang. George also held many overall track lap records (Lime Rock, CT in 1963 & 1965; Marlboro, MD, and Virginia International Raceway in 1967).
Moving to the International Motor Sports Association, he won the IMSA Baby Grand championship in 1971 in a Datsun 510. In 1974, he again won the BFG Radial Challenge Series championship in an AMC Gremlin. In the 1980’s he drove Datsun Z cars in the Camel GT series. Out of 70 starts he had 50 top-tens, 27 top-fives, and 5 wins.
In 1992, at age 60, he finished third in the Dandelion Grand Prix behind his son Paul in an SCCA National race at Lime Rock, CT. Later in 1992, he led the winning team in the Nelson Ledges 24-hour race in a Caterham Super 7. He competed in his final race again at Lime Rock Park, in 2002, just 2 days before his 70th birthday.
A graduate of Newark High School, George also attended the University of Delaware before being called to service in the Korean War. However, upon his return, George decided racing was his passion. He had success in a variety of vehicles – from open-wheeled formula cars to specially-built factory sports racing cars, and even in production-based cars. An expert mechanic, he was involved in the development and tuning of each car, all while successfully running his Datsun/Nissan franchise with his [late] wife Marilyn.
