If your car affliction leans heavily on motorsport, a trip to most car museums can be hit or miss. Sure, you can always count on Indy pace cars at the National Corvette Museum. And yes, sprinkled among the 900+ motorcycles on display at the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum are some notable race cars. But outside of Indianapolis or Daytona, few museums focus exclusively on historic race cars like the Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia.

I know, when you hear Philly, your mind probably jumps to visions of rowdy sports fans, not motorsport history. After all, the city itself isn’t even notable as a racing destination. But it is where Dr. Fred Simeone – an avid racing enthusiast with a passion for the sport’s history – lived and practiced his profession until he passed away in June of 2022 at the age of 86.

Research was a large part of the doctor’s daily work, and in his off hours he loved digging into the histories of great race cars. At the time he started growing his collection in the early ‘70s, old race cars often had little value. It wasn’t uncommon for a former championship winner to be relegated to a dark corner of a workshop. Or maybe even be left outside behind the shop entirely. Doc Simeone hunted down and snared many of these old racers to add to his cache.

Over the course of five decades, the renowned neurosurgeon acquired more than 75 race cars of historical significance. He established the Simeone Foundation for the purpose of sharing them with the public. After donating his entire collection, formerly housed in a non-descript downtown garage, the foundation opened a proper museum in 2008.

The museum resides in an equally non-descript location – a former manufacturing plant in an industrial park near Philadelphia International Airport. In fact, many first-time visitors drive past it on first arriving. Though it lacks any architectural distinction of its own, the 78,000-square-foot facility provides ample space for exhibits and visitors, as well as a central auditorium to host special events. Importantly, it also has a large, paved lot out back where the staff routinely “exercises” the collection.

The good doctor’s motorsport interests were firmly rooted in endurance and road racing, and the museum’s displays reflect that. Arranged in diorama-like vignettes focused on different eras and locales, each one adds to the overall story of racing’s contribution to the motor industry and to the culture surrounding it. And the cars on display are all genuine participants in the events they represent; there are no “tribute” vehicles here. Simeone was also a believer in preservation over restoration. As a result, many of the vehicles are in “as last raced” condition, scrapes and dents all part of their story.

Notable exhibits chronicle historical European races like Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Nürburgring, and Le Mans. America’s contributions to road racing are also highlighted, with displays dedicated to Watkins Glen and to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The “America at Le Mans” presentation bridges the two continents with car ranging from a 1927 Stutz Bearcat to a 1967 Ford Mk. IV.

Beyond the high-profile races, the collection also tells the story of earlier forms of racing, including time trials, hill climbs, match races, and English banked-oval racing at Brooklands. The highlight for many historic racing buffs may well be the Winner’s Circle exhibit, a collection of cars that not only participated but took home the grand prize. This impressive set includes the 1958 Aston Martin DBR1driven to victory by Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham, Briggs Cunningham’s Le Mans class-winning 1952 C-4R, and the last surviving Bugatti 57G “Tank” that took Le Mans in 1937, among others.

The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays throughout the year. However, on every other Saturday during warm-weather months the museum operates its famous Demo Days. Here you can watch and listen as a selection of the actual exhibit cars are started up and driven. That back lot that we mentioned comes alive with the sights, sounds, and smells of classic racers doing what they were meant to do. All for the price of general admission.

The Simeone Foundation Museum is truly a one-of-a-kind experience for car lovers of any stripe. But for those who prefer racing stripes, it’s an experience not to me missed.