A Mini History of Racing in Minnesota
No. 4 in a Series
by Harvey WestWhat might have been...Jim Coleman’s letter to the editor in the May issue caught my eye. Jim cites a track which was built on the present location of the MSP airport many, many years ago. Jim thought it was a board track, like those which were prominent in the teens and twenties.
Coincidentally, I recall the father of one of my childhood buddies telling us about pedalling his bicycle all the way from West St. Paul to the site of that track, near Fort Snelling, to watch the race. I think he either sneaked in or watched from over the fence. A search of my musty archive of racing magazines reveals the story.
The track was actually constructed of concrete, and reportedly two and a half miles in length, the same as Indy. A 342 acre site was purchased by an architect named P.H. Wheeler in September of 1914. There were grandiose plans. The track was to become "The Indianapolis of the North." To build it, 50,000 barrels of cement were laid on top of a trap rock foundation, and a retaining wall was built to protect the spectators. Publicity of the era stated that the track represented a million dollar investment, which was very serious money in those days. Since the facility included judges and press stands, a track hospital, mechanic’s facilities and large grandstands, the figure may not have been strictly promoter’s hyperbole.
The track ran its inaugural event, a 500-mile race, on September 4, 1915 on a steamy 84 degree day. Prize money totaled $50,000, and attracted the top cars and stars of the day. Reportedly, 27,000 paid their way into
the facility. Hotel space was at a premium. This was long before the days of motels. The mob swarmed all over the infield, and the drivers posted guards after a fence was knocked down. Obviously, the beer was flowing. Sounds like Elkhart Lake in the sixties. All the Indy regulars were there. Earl Cooper and Gil Anderson represented the Stutz team, and Ralph DePalma drove a Mercedes. Additional luminaries entered included the legendary Barney Oldfield, Eddie O’Donnel in a Duesenberg, Frenchman Dario Resta, Ralph Mulford, Bob Burman and other notables. Setting fast time in trials was no less of a personage than Eddie Rickenbacker, who lapped at 114 m.p.h. Mind you, this was on skinny, hard tires and there were no aerodynamic aids.
Oldfield was the first driver into the pits with a blown tire, which was changed in only 25 seconds, remarkable for the day. While leading, Gil Anderson was also a victim of tire problems, and had to surrender the lead. After a grind of five hours and 47 minutes, Stutz driver Earl Cooper took the checkered flag and a check for $20,000. The new track proved so rough it almost shook the fillings out of the drivers’ teeth, and curtailed the speed somewhat.
Additional races were staged in 1916 and 1917, billed as the American Red Cross Auto Derby. This probably referred to a charity effort on behalf of World War I, which was then raging in Europe. Unfortunately, there was no future for the track, as huge financial losses were sustained. Faulty construction was blamed ,and the investors began bickering. The "Indianapolis of the North" was doomed, and Indy cars and drivers didn’t return to Minnesota until a one-time appearance at Donnybrooke. At least
as late as the early 1950’s, a few traces of the old concrete saucer still remained on the airport property, a monument to a dream that wasn’t to last.
Fubar, continued from page 2
Diemen. Tom Christ started from the back, and is alleged to have set a new FF track record in his Swift, as track conditions remained dry for the entire race weekend.
In FV, Bruce Livermore qualified well but was taken out in a first lap multi-car crash as some 20 Vees had a single class race. Dave Bowman avoided the spinning cars and was running in the top ten, until a spin put him to the back of the pack and he finished well down the order. These were the only races for which I received results. I now will put this article in the E-mail and head for the garage for a last minute flog for the CBIR National.
As for Richmond, our driver didn’t have any better luck than Livermore. John Andretti was caught up in an early race fender bender which screwed up the handling for the balance of the race. I spent the entire race in the pits, standing just behind the crews as they did their thing with multiple rapid stops and hasty repairs. Jeremy Mayfield pulled back to the garage for a tranny change that went as quick as a Funny Car engine rebuild, and he seemed to miss only about 20 very fast laps on the short Richmond tri-oval. It took the Bill Elliott crew a bit longer to swap out radiator and a front clip after a crash just after the start/finish line, but he was out again to keep running to the finish. I missed the Gordon/Wallace cool down lap bumper car action, but neither driver seemed very happy in post race interviews. All in all it was a most interesting vantage point from which to watch a NASCAR event.
Tonneau On-Line June 2001
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Copyright 2001, Land O'Lakes Region Last revised: March 13, 2003
