Sprint Cars, continued from page 3
After AAA dropped racing in 1955, USAC took over their sanctioning duties at the Fair. The small-block Chevy began to appear by the mid-sixties, and was to replace the Offy as the sprint car engine of choice, and it remains so today. Roll bars began to appear on sprint cars in the late fifties, and with good reason. In those days, sprint car racing was unbelievably lethal. Even so, some of the purists derided the use of roll bars, and were even more incensed when roll cages became mandatory. After a couple of tragic crashes at the State Fair in the early sixties, the track was paved. In my opinion, this took away much of the spectacle, even though the speeds increased, as well as the safety. In the first pavement race I attended at the Fair, Mario Andretti appeared, then a relative unknown. That was to change.
At the State Fair in 1972, who should show up on the sprint car entry list but many-time SCCA champion Jerry Hansen? He brought a Lola T-300 and covered its mirrors in response to heated complaints from the other entrants. It turns out he didn’t need the mirrors. In the 200-lap race featured that year, he lapped all the conventional sprint cars at least three times. The rest of the drivers were far from happy, feeling the formula car was a "ringer", and the crowd was bored to tears by the runaway finish.
The IMCA eventually disappeared, to be later reborn as a Midwest sanctioning body for stock car racing on local dirt tracks. Sadly, sprint car racing also began to vanish from most county fairs, replaced by modified stock car races and demolition derbies. And, where sprint cars did remain in action on a regular basis, such as at Jackson and Fairmont, they
grew ungainly wings, emulating the World of Outlaws series that flourishes today. Despite my passion for and involvement in road racing, I still think that sprint car racing offers the most breathtaking spectacle in all of motorsports. After nearly sixty years, I can still remember that first afternoon at the Fair, and the goggled heroes I watched.
Fubar, continued from page 2
car belts, and have only one year left on my Snell SA-90 helmet, but will give HANS serious consideration. In any event, the loss of the Intimidator is a sad event, but time will tell what effect it will have on NASCAR popularity. Early surveys show ratings of Fox-produced telecasts have exceeded those of years past.
As for local racing, a review of the proposed schedule for the Jack Pine Sprints National in May shows that, as expected, the SCCA’s only single- class FF race has been replaced by a 3 class FF/FV/F500 event. FF just can’t seem to muster more than a dozen cars at Brainerd these days. Other class groupings will possibly provoke consternation, but provide time for 35 minute qualifying sessions plus a continuation of our popular Enduro race. Time will tell if the change from Labor Day will bring in more paying competitors. At the February Comp Board meeting there was discussion whether the club should attempt to bring in spectators for our events. If you have strong feelings on the subject you should pass them on to the Board of Directors.
A Big thank you to Steve Thomson and Graphic Link Technical Services, Inc. for providing the halftones of last month's 16 pictures and this month's picture!
Editor's Note: We welcome letters to the editor and try to publish them in a timely manner. However, we will NOT publish anonymous letters.
Deadline for the May
Tonneau is April 10th.
Please submit your material at the LOL Board Meeting that night or send it to Lois Bjelke.
Tonneau On-Line April 2001
Page 5
Copyright 2001, Land O'Lakes Region Last revised: March 13, 2003
