George Lucas made this as his USC film school senior project at Willow Springs, a race track outside of Rosamond, CA, and near Los Angeles. Filming of the Lotus 23 on-track was done with a specially modified Corvair camera vehicle. The film helped identify Lucas as a latent gear-head; he's also credited on IMDb as "additional camera operator" on the racing classic "Grand Prix" in the same year (1966). His "American Graffiti" ode to the '60s later confirmed his interest.
Pete Brock, designated driver for the Lotus, achieved significant status of his own in the automobile world. Among his credits: 1) designer of the world-champion Cobra Daytona Coupe that bested Ferrari's GTO in international sports car competition, 2) contributing designer to the original Chevrolet Stingray concept and other projects while at GM, 3) team owner/manager of Brock Racing Enterprises, which helped establish Datsun as a household word through numerous victories on U.S. tracks in the '60s and '70s.
Pete Brock, designated driver for the Lotus, achieved significant status of his own in the automobile world. Among his credits: 1) designer of the world-champion Cobra Daytona Coupe that bested Ferrari's GTO in international sports car competition, 2) contributing designer to the original Chevrolet Stingray concept and other projects while at GM, 3) team owner/manager of Brock Racing Enterprises, which helped establish Datsun as a household word through numerous victories on U.S. tracks in the '60s and '70s.