A Mini History of Racing in Minnesota
No. 1 in a Series
by Harvey WestTrack Roadster Racing...Following World War II, track roadsters (also called hot rods in the Midwest) represented a popular form of dirt track racing. While most of these home-built roadsters were powered by flathead Ford and Mercury V-8 engines, Buick straight 8, Hudson, Ford Model B Riley overhead valve conversions and other power plants were also used. One very successful car used, surprisingly, a modified DeSoto flathead six. Another very competitive car was powered by a Nash Ambassador OHV 6 engine.
The body of many of the hot rods was comprised of a Model T roadster "bucket" and suspensions were generally Ford transverse spring units. Some of the earliest roadsters were converted street rods, and others had totally fabricated bodies. A variety of frames were used in construction of these hybrids. A few of the roadsters were later converted to sprint cars. Today, only a few track roadsters still exist, and appear at vintage race meets.
Some of the cars were quite attractive, others unbelievably crude. The roll bars of a few cars were made of plumber’s piping, and safety in general was not a high priority item. The lap-type seat belt was typically a
World War II surplus aircraft item, and helmets were marginal, compared to what we have today. Flame-resistant driver’s suits? Some of the drivers wore tee shirts. Today’s SCCA tech inspectors would be in shock. Surprisingly, very few area drivers met their fate in these primitive cars. These cars ran regularly at dirt half mile ovals including Farmington,
Crystal Speedway, Rex Speedway, Twin City Speedway north of New Brighton and several county fair tracks in the region. The hot rods made a Fall, 1947 appearance on the Minnesota State Fair racetrack, which then had a dirt surface. I often attended these races at Rex Speedway and Twin City Speedway, as well as the one-time, 50-lap roadster race at the State Fair racetrack, which was just a few blocks from my home in St. Paul. There were two associations in the state that sanctioned roadster racing in the Upper Midwest.
Some of the more successful roadster drivers included Tommy Adelmann, Harvey Porter, Howie Hoffman, Harold Burns, Speed Chamberlain and Art Bailey. The late Don Skogmo, who later became an LOL member and nationally known SCCA racer, competed in roadster racing in a 4-port Riley, a Ford Model B conversion. Carl Souvie and Glen
Anderson of Owatonna also competed successfully in many of these races. On the national scene, several ex-roadster drivers, especially from California, progressed to Indianapolis cars, including 1952 "500" winner Troy Ruttman. By the early 1950’s, modified stock car and jalopy racing had become increasingly popular, and would eventually replace roadster racing on Minnesota short tracks. Anyone interested in this type of racing needs a copy of Roaring Roadsters, available from Classic Motorbooks. It covers roadster racing all around the country, and is a fascinating, well researched overview of a bygone era of motorsports. An added volume, Roaring Roadsters #2, has just become available, and it is also required reading for serious racing historians, especially those old enough to have seen this unique form of racing first hand.
Tonneau On-Line March 2001
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Copyright 2001, Land O'Lakes Region Last revised: March 13, 2003
