Tag Archives: racing

Revs Institute: The Collier Collection

Naples, Florida

The Frozen Foursome swung by Naples to explore a private car collection at the Revs Institute. To say the collection is vast and impressive would be an understatement.
Upon entering the “museum”, we were told that the Porsche part of the collection alone, “rivaled Stuttgart”.

'53 Porsche
1953 Porsche 550 Coupe: Flat four, air cooled, pushrod engine. Won its Class in Carrera Panamericana IV

1961 Porsche RS-61L Spyder
1961 Porsche RS-61L Spyder: Flat eight, air cooled, twin overhead cam, 210 HP @8200 rpm.

1967 Porsche 911R
1967 Porsche 911R: Flat six air cooled, rear mounted, single OH cam, 210 HP @ 8000 rpm. The most successful 911R ever built with wins that include the 1969 Tour de France and the Tour of Corsica.

1935 Duesenberg SSJ
1935 Duesenberg SSJ: Straight eight, twin OH cams, 500 HP @ 5000 rpm. This car belonged to Gary Cooper.

1928 Stutz Black Hawk
1928 Stutz Black Hawk: Straight eight, single OH cam, 115 HP @ 3600 rpm. This car, driven by Dud C. Wilson, raced at Watkins Glen in 1948. Twenty years after it was built.

Stutz Black Hawk engine
298 cubic inch Black Hawk engine

1935 MG Type PA/PB
“Leonidis”;1935 MG Type PA/PB: 4 cylinder inline engine, single OH cam, Marshall Roots-type supercharger. A regular on the ARCA circuit with driver Miles Collier. Collier became the first driver in a decade to race at LeMans with “Leonidis” in 1939.

Leonidis
Leonidis

1950 Cadillac
1950 Cadillac Series 61: Eight cylinder, 331 cubic inches, 160 HP @ 3800 rpm. Dubbed “Petit Pataud” by the French, Miles and Sam Collier entered this ’50 Cadillac in the 1950 LeMans. This Cadillac Coupe finished 10th out of 60 racers, averaging 81.5mph for the 24 hours.

1963 Corvette
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport: 377 cu in V8. What’s in that damn, dinosaur? It went by me like I was stopped!”—AJ Foyt at Sebring on the Corvette.
In 1963 at Nassau Speed Week, these Corvettes were finally able to run head to head against the famed Cobras, finally getting out from under the GM ban on racing. With drivers: Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Dick Thompson, John Cannon, and Augie Pabst, the Corvettes simply demolished their Cobra rivals.

1967 Gurney Eagle
1967 All American Racers; Gurney Eagle F-1 race car: 12 cylinder, 60 degree vee engine, 183 cubic inches. Dan Gurney won the Belgian Grand Prix with this car in 1967. Gurney was only the second American to drive an American car to a Grand Prix victory.

1930 Duesenberg Sprint Car
1930 Duesenberg Sprint Car:eight cylinder in-line engine, twin OH cams, Centrifugal supercharger with intercooler manifold, 168.7 cubic inches, 200 + HP.

This is just a small example of the types and quality of the cars on display. If ever in Naples, it is well worth the time to visit.

All car stats provided by the fine folks at the Revs Institute.


Arundel Speedway

Arundel, Maine

Arundel Speedway - air
Arundel Speedway, as seen on google maps

While in Maine, the Frozen Foursome stopped by Bentley’s Saloon in Arundel last year. I really wanted to go out to the old speedway, but it is now located on private land. As luck would have it, we found a local who could take us over to the track.

Speedway "Grandstands"
The line where the grandstands once stood

Turn 1
Going into Turn One

Coming out of Turn 2
Coming out of Turn Two, the IH has taken the early lead

Turn 3
Hard into Turn Three

Home stretch
Home stretch

Refreshments
Refreshments

It was really cool to be able to walk around Arundel Speedway, and we all greatly appreciated the tour.

Arundel Poster
Arundel ’64 poster. Photo credit: wickedgoodracing

There is not a lot of information readily available on Arundel Speedway when it was in operation. The 1/3 oval, paved track opened in 1964 and closed by 1971, although some sites claim a few races were run up until 1974.

That lack of information is what caused the delay in posting, but as we come onto the year anniversary of our visit to the speedway, I figured I better get this post written.

OllieSilva_DonMcLaren_SuperAction_Arundel
Fans at Arundel Speedway were treated to some big names. HAMB photo.

Arundel racers
Photo source: Unknown

Arundel_Reunion
Action returns to Arundel. Photographer: Unknown

Some racing has returned to Arundel Speedway in recent years, as restored, vintage racers from local clubs get on its asphalt.
Walking the old track, I was surprised at how good of condition the pavement was.

Dick Berggren
Motorsports announcer Dick Berggren began his career at Arundel Speedway.

If you can’t get out to see the old track, Bentley’s Saloon, is still, well worth the trip to Arundel.


Henry Ford Museum: Racing

1902 Ford 999

Henry Ford built the Ford ‘999’ in 1902, but he was afraid to drive it, so he hired famed bicycle racer Barney Oldfield to get behind the wheel. Oldfield won many races in the ‘999’ and went on to become one of the country’s first nationally recognized race drivers. The car’s success also established Henry Ford and helped to set up the formation of The Ford Motor Company. Engine: Ford, inline 4-cylinder, atmospheric overhead intake values and side exhaust valves, 1155 cu. in., 70 hp (est.)

1906 "Old 16"

The 1906 Locomobile “Old 16” was the first American car to win an international race, when it won the Vanderbilt Cup in 1908 with George Robertson behind the wheel. “Old 16” cost $20,000 to build. Engine: Locomobile inline 4-cylinder, overhead intake valves, side exhaust valves, 990 cu. in., 120 hp

1933 Willys "Gasser"

This 1933 Willys drag racer was (re)built in 1958 by “Ohio George” Montgomery. Between 1959 and 1966, Montgomery and his Willys “Gasser” won their class at the National Hot Rod Association national championships six times. Engine: Ford V-8, single-overhead cam V-8, 427 cu. in., 850 hp (est.)

1956 Ford F-100

Jerry Unser’s 1956 Ford F100 and Bobby Unser’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb racer. Bobby Unser had won the Pikes Peak Hill Climb twice before he drove this racer to victory in 1959. He would drive this car to victory 6 more times, winning the Pikes Peak Hill Climb nine times out of 13 years.

1956 Chrysler 300-B

Buck Baker drove this 1956 Chrysler 300-B during his NASCAR driving championship that same year. Team owner, Carl Kiekhaefer, won 22 out of 41 races that year, including 16 in a row. Kiekhaefer left racing after dominating the 1955-56 seasons. Engine: Chrysler V-8, overhead valves, 354 cu. in., 355 hp

Goldenrod

In 1965, brothers Bob & Bill Summers took Goldenrod to the Bonneville Salt Flats and shattered the land speed record for wheel driven cars hitting 409.277 MPH. Goldenrod’s record stood until 1991. Engines: Four Chrysler “Hemi” V-8s, overhead valves, 426 cu. in., 600hp each

1960 Meskowski Race Car

A.J. Foyt won 13 of the 26 races he entered driving this car, which was powered by the 4-cylinder Offenhauser engine. An “Offy” powered car took the victory lap in 27 Indianapolis 500’s between 1935-1976. Engine: Meyer and Drake “Offenhauser” inline 4-cylinder, double overhead camshaft, 255 cu. in., 400 hp


Knoxville Nationals

Knoxville Raceway in Iowa is in the middle of its Big Week right now. The 55th running of the Knoxville Nationals is going on, and the video above is from the finish of the Capitani Classic, which ran on Sunday night.

If you’re into racing at all, the Nationals is an experience worth throwing on the bucket list. It’s quite the sprint car spectacle.

Cheers to my friends in Knoxville, especially those on the Second Floor of the HoF.

Video courtesy of Knoxville Raceway


Last Coke

Arundel Coke Machine


Owl’s Head Transportation Museum

Owl's Head logo

On our second run up to Maine, we stopped by the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum, which was well worth the price of admission. Owl’s Head is a working museum, which means that besides the stuffed horse and the rather small bull moose, the collection is all in working order.

Faster: The Quest for Speed

One of the exhibits was Faster: The Quest for Speed. The exhibit will be on hand through 2016.

1915 Duesenberg “Benedict Special” Indy Team Car
The “Benedict Special”, a 1915 Indy team car and the second oldest Duesenberg.

1954 Fabulous Hudson Hornet
My 1954 Fabulous Hudson Hornet

Faster

'36 Bomber Coupe
Dick McCabe’s ’36 Chevy Coupe Bomber

1932 Harley Davidson 32-V
1932 Harley Davidson 32-V

1917 Fokker Triplane
1917 Fokker DR.I Triplane

1917 SPAD XIIIC.I
A 1917 SPAD XIIIC.I The SPAD is forever linked with American WWI Ace Eddie Rickenbacker. The SPAD was also the plane that Hobey Baker was flying when he crashed and lost his life.

1923 Fokker C.IVa
1923 Fokker C.IVa Biplane. This particular Fokker attempted a Trans-Pacific flight via Alaska and the Aleutian Chain. It made it to Vancouver. The Fokker Bi-plane in general had a rich history in Alaska’s pre-statehood days.


Balto

With the Iditarod Sled Dog Race past the halfway mark, and Two Rivers musher Aliy Zirkle already through the Nulato checkpoint, I thought we’d look back at the Grand Doggy of them all: Balto.

Balto
Balto, sometime after the serum run in 1925

Balto, originally from Nome, Alaska, became famous as the final lead dog, bringing the serum into Nome during the diphtheria epidemic of 1925.
There were several dog teams that made the relay run from Nenana to Nome, but Gunnar Kaasen and his team, which was led by Balto, were the ones who came into Nome with the serum. Balto proved invaluable on the Iditarod Trail, keeping his team on the trail in the dark and in whiteout conditions.

Gunnar Kaasen with Balto
Gunnar Kassen with Balto.

In Nome, Kassen told the press to give credit to Balto, and America fell in love with the photogenic Husky. Kassen and his dog team made the rounds to satisfy the adoring public, and it’s safe to say that Balto’s popularity was second only to Rin Tin Tin at that time.

When Kassen wanted to return home, the tour group sold Balto and his team to the highest bidder. They ended up chained and mistreated in a freak show & novelty museum in Los Angeles. A businessman from Cleveland, George Kimbell, was dismayed to find the famous dog team there, so he worked with a Cleveland newspaper to collect donations to bring Balto & team to Ohio. Eventually, the dog team was brought back to Cleveland to a hero’s welcome. They spent their remaining days at the Brookside Zoo.

Balto died on this day, March 14, in 1933. His remains were mounted by a taxidermist and can be found on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

His statue, sculpted by artist Frederick Roth, can be found in New York’s Central Park. Another is near the Ceremonial Starting Point of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in downtown Anchorage.

Balto and his likeness
Balto & Kassen at the dedication of the Roth sculpture. NYC Central Park. 10 months after the Nome serum run.

Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925.
Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence


Off & Running

March Madness: Alaska Style…

2015 Iditarod Start
The 2015 Iditarod start

For the second time in the history of “The Last Great Race”, the Iditarod had it’s start take place in Fairbanks this morning. 78 mushers and their 1000 sled dogs were off in their attempt to traverse the approximately 1000 miles to Nome.

DeeDee Jonrowe 2015 Iditarod
Race veteran, DeeDee Jonrowe and her team as they take off for Nome

A great crowd turned out for the start, and organizers learned from the 2003 event, by having shuttles take people to and from the race start. The west end of town really only has one way in and one way out, which caused a bit of a bottleneck the last time Fairbanks held the Iditarod start.

View from the air

Above is a good shot of the Iditarod start from the air. Notice the open water on the Chena River behind the Princess Lodge.

Photos courtesy of the Daily News-Miner


Slushy Start

Ceremonial Iditarod start
Photo credit: Erik Hill/ADN

The ceremonial start to the Iditarod Sled Dog Race took place in an extremely slushy and very brown Anchorage today. Snow had to be trucked into town and a slim trail formed on Fourth Avenue for the 78 mushers and their teams, who attempted to get to Wasilla. The temperature was above freezing for the start, and quickly rose to 40 debs. One Canadian musher, Brian Wilmshurst, decided to head out in shorts. That’s the right attitude!

2015 Iditarod start - Anch
Photo credit: Bob Hallinen/ADN

Mushers will now load up into their trucks and drive the 360 miles to Fairbanks for the official restart on Monday. We do have more snow, and we received a welcomed snowfall this weekend, but even the Fairbanks start has it’s warm-weather related challenges. In 2003, the last time Fairbanks held the start for The Last Great Race, the teams left for Nome from the Chena River just downstream from downtown. The thin river ice in 2015 will have the mushers take off from the road system heading overland.

The total purse for this year’s Iditarod is $725,100 with the winner of the race getting $70,000, before dog food.


Tired Iron Weekend

Tired Iron Weekend returns to the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks. “Hot” Times and the famed Jurassic Classic race takes place on Saturday, with the other three races: The Tired Iron Classic, Wet Iron and Fun Run taking place on Sunday.

The main rule: All sleds must be from model year 1979 or earlier. The older the machine, the better.

With temps once again forecast to be near freezing on Saturday, there’s no excuse to stay inside.