Carmel Magazine

Peter Brock, who at the age of 19, was GM's youngest designer ever. He also designed the Cobra Daytona Coupe that won America its only Manufacturers World Championship back in 1965. It also represents many firsts, such as the first year they were called Stingrays and the first year Corvette built a coupe…It was also the first year for retractable headlights...and most importantly, the first and only year of the cars' trademark rear split window…I love it!" McCall's fascination with all things on wheels stems back to being a small child rolling cars across the carpet. Once he got his first bicycle, there was no stopping him. "We weren't allowed to play inside the house unless it was raining," he recalls. "It gave me, at a very young age, a big sense of adventure and imagination. I grew up in Carmel Meadows building forts down at the beach, and building coaster carts." McCall reflects that most of his fellow "car guys" got their interest from their dads; how- ever, his father passed away when he was just 8 in 1965. The following year, in 1966, McCall's mother started dropping him off on Highway 68 near Laguna Seca Raceway and he was allowed to walk in and visit the track all day, as long as he was back by the road by 5pm. During his first visit to the Can-Am races, leg- endary racer Phil Hill won the event. Many years later, Hill became a friend. "It's almost eerie," McCall says. "My whole life in the car world has been like that." As he grew up, McCall transitioned from a bicycle to a motorcycle, which was expressly forbidden by his mother. He hid the Honda 90, which he still has, at his friend's house. "I was always taller than people my age, and I wore a dark shield on my helmet. I didn't even have a permit and was riding it to Carmel High School," he remembers. "There's a sense of sat- isfaction directly related to what risks you are willing to take. That Honda 90 taught me every- thing—more than any parent or mentor. If I got in trouble, it was over." McCall articulated that passion and adrena- line-seeking in a recent motorcycle documen- tary he participated in, "Why We Ride." 156 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 5 Gordon and Molly McCall (left) run McCall Events, Inc., a marketing and public relations company that produces unique automotive and aircraft events. Photo: Barnaby Draper Photography Photo: Tip Weiss AirCam Photography

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