A Mini History of Racing in Minnesota
Number 5 in a Series
By Harvey WestAutocrosses...There I was in 1960, proud owner of a ’59 Austin-Healey 100-6, predecessor of the 3000. But what to do with it, outside of polishing it and joyriding? Being a newlywed, I didn’t need it as a girl magnet. Fate stepped in, in the person of Laurie Burford, a co-worker who owned a Sprite, had done a little sports car racing on the East Coast and was knowledgeable about motorsports.
"They’re having a gymkhana at the Winona Airport...bring your Healey down!", he advised. "They’re having a what??", I replied. He went on to explain that gymkhana was an East Indian word for a precision horsemanship event. Bored British cavalry officers posted to India during the colonial days participated in these events to hone their skills, and the term migrated back to England. Sports car owners there applied it to low-speed precision driving events on serpentine courses. Today we call them autocrosses, a term which I feel is much more descriptive than "Solo".
In the early sixties, enthusiasts weren’t blessed with the plethora of autocross events available today. The Winona event, hosted by the old Twin City Sports Car Club, was an eagerly awaited annual happening that ran for several years. My first outing there in the Healey was humbling indeed, but I nevertheless had never had so much fun with my clothes on. In those days, they incorporated a "garaging" section into the gymkhana course, and you had to back your car quickly into a narrow space, hence the name. Quite Mickey
Mouse, really, and tough on clutches and gearboxes when done in haste. My appetite whetted, I next competed at a Memorial Day event in Arcadia, Wisconsin, held in conjunction with their "Broiler Days", chicken raising being a key industry there. This one was actually held on the city streets. Imagine pulling that off nowadays? My friend with the Sprite took top time overall at the event, impressive to say the least. I don’t know what club sponsored this one, but I think it was a one-shot deal. I certainly would have returned if they had repeated it.
Then came a weekend that few will ever forget. At the small Wisconsin town of Frederic, an autocross course that was really a road racing circuit in disguise was set up. I think that long-time LOL member Jim Grady had a major role in organizing this event. Many of the weekend’s participants competed in a time-speed-distance rally to Frederic from the Twin Cities. In addition to the autocross, a concours was organized. I think there were about 80 entrants in the autocross, ranging from a rare Cunningham to one of those weird little German bubble cars, and everything in between.
Running in fourth gear through the city streets and around sweeping corners, wannabe road racers like myself were hooked big time. "Someday I’m going to road race," I told myself. The hook was set. Even a blown radiator hose failed to spoil that day. I’ve never experienced a sports car weekend quite like Frederic. They also added a bizarre novelty event to the mix. Using the clutch and brake, you had to balance your car on a huge teeter-totter. I think I lasted about a second and a half. Unfortunately, I recall that this
event was factored into the autocross time to determine overall results. Parking lots and airports were the usual autocross venues during the sixties. With the cooperation of the late Don Skogmo, LOL organized an autocross on the Gamble-Skogmo warehouse parking lot off Highway 12 in 1961. This event was very well subscribed, and came off successfully. At this time, go-kart racing was in its heyday, and several well designed tracks were thriving in the Upper Midwest. LOL and other area clubs used the Hastings go-kart track as an autocross site for several years. Other karting facilities which saw autocross action included the Skyline track at Rochester, abandoned tracks in Albert Lea and Waseca and one in the Twin Cities whose location I can’t remember.
Starting in 1969 or 1970, Donnybrooke became an autocross site. I don’t think the events were LOL sanctioned, but they drew very well, giving many of us an itch for road racing that would eventually have to be scratched. To hold speeds down to a relatively sane level, chicanes defined by cones were spotted strategically. Even so, there was metal bent occasionally, and the insurance carrier would probably have had a stroke if he had witnessed some of these events. I particularly remember an ill-handling Sprite with a small block Chevy engine, which must have had a very brave driver.
Today, autocrossing remains an ideal starting point for those aspiring to a road racing effort, and many enthusiasts who don’t crave wheel-to-wheel action and expense can still compete at the championship level at the Solo II Nationals in Topeka, an event which far exceeds the Run-offs in entries.
Tonneau On-Line August 2001
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Copyright 2001, Land O'Lakes Region Last revised: March 13, 2003
