STILL THE ONE; This could be your best bang for the buck of the whole weekend.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Steve Earle was worried there for a little while. His marquee event, the Monterey Historic Automobile Races, was featuring Ferrari again for the first time since the 50th anniversary 10 years ago. Since then, a lot of the really good cars had gone to collectors, people who, while proud of their beautiful new cars, might not want to race them.

"I was concerned,'' is how Earle put it.

Turns out he need not have been. As of press time Earle had 80 Ferraris listed on the docket for the Historics and several more on the way.

"The response has been terrific,'' Earle said. "The guys who have been real enthusiasts through the years, they're here; newer guys who have come along in the last 10 years are here, and some guys from the last three or four years are coming. That was encouraging. The spirit is still there.''

And what spirit it will be when the 31st running of the Monterey Historic Automobile Races takes place Aug. 13-15. So it won't be just Ferrari.

"Oh gosh, there's great stuff in all the groups,'' said Earle, the day after he had begun winnowing down the lists of applicants and slotting them into racing classes.