Northwest sprint car champs, 1937 to the war

1937 -- Jimmie Wilburn

1938 -- (from National Auto Racing News)

Adolph Dans
Swede Lindskog
Les Anderson
Tommy Legge
Bert Blomgren
Ernie Spalding
Chick Barbo
Art Scovell
Tony West
Claude Walling

1939 -- no champion? (according to National Auto racing news)

1940 -- unknown

1941 -- unknown

Northwest sprint car champs, 1936

1936 -- (final standings from Coast Auto Racing)

Frank Wearne
Jimmie Wilburn
Johnny McDowell
Woody Woodford
B. Denslow
Jimmy Wilkeson
Bayliss Levrett
Mel Kenealy
Swede Lindskog
Jackie Dinsmoor

Northwest sprint car champs, part two

Some more big car (sprint car) champions from the northwest:

1933 -- Art Scovell

1934 -- Woody Woodford (got this from Coast Auto Racing, so I think it's confirmed as being correct)

1935 -- (standings with one race to go, Wilburn had a big points lead, information from Coast Auto Racing)

Jimmie Wilburn
Mel Kenealy
Johnny McDowell
Roy Ernstrom
Dave Dippolito
Woody Woodford
??? Webb
Les Anderson
Dude Bailey
Swede Lindskog

1990 super modified dash

Marty White qualified 2nd quick for the day. He is introduced as being from Washington state but he's actually from Kamloops, BC, by way of Langley Speedway. He was in a car from Maple Valley, WA.

Northwest sprint car champs

I was asked for what I knew about the "big car" (sprint car) champions from the northwest over the years. Here's a little of what I know.

1929 -- George "Swede" Smith
1930 -- Howard Wills
1931 -- Mario Bianchi
1932 -- either Mario Bianchi or "Swede" Smith (points were very close)

It appears from an article from a 1970s issue of Racing Wheels that Mario Bianchi was the 1932 champ. Here's a story, I believe written by Pike Green, on Mario:

1960 misc., part four

Last bit of info I have for the 1960 season around the Greater Vancouver area.

1960 misc., part three

Another installment of 1960 motorsport from the Greater Vancouver area.

1960 misc., part two

Some more motorsport from 1960.

1960 misc., part one

Some other forms of racing that happened in 1960.

1960 oval results

We'll see how good this is:

Saturday, May 21 -- False Creek -- unknown

Monday, May 23 -- False Creek -- unknown

May 28 -- False Creek -- unknown

Saturday, June 4 -- False Creek -- unknown

June 11 -- False Creek -- A main, Ralph Monhay; B main, Doug Airth

June 18 -- False Creek -- afternoon: A main, Ken Klatt; B main, Bob Desormeaux; evening: A main, Les Diack; B main, Norm Dahl

June 25 -- False Creek -- unknown

June 26 -- Haney -- unknown

Saturday, July 2 -- False Creek -- A main, Ralph Monhay; B main, Reno Koelman

Sunday, July 3 -- Haney -- unknown

July 9 -- False Creek -- A main, Les Diack

July 10 -- Haney -- A main, Les Diack

July 16 -- False Creek -- A main, Ralph Monhay; B main, Wayne McKenzie

July 17 -- Haney -- unknown

July 23 -- False Creek -- unknown

July 24 -- Haney -- unknown

July 30 -- False Creek -- A main, Ralph Monhay

July 31 -- Haney -- A main, Ken Klatt (?)

Saturday, August 6 -- False Creek -- midget A main, Gordy Livingston (#12 Reelie)

Sunday, August 7 -- Haney -- unknown

August 13 -- False Creek -- A main, Ken Klatt; B main, Joe Kafer

August 14 -- Haney -- unknown

August 20 -- False Creek -- unknown

August 21 -- Haney -- unknown

August 27 -- False Creek -- A main, 50 lap Bardahl Trophy, Ralph Monhay; B main, Frank Markell

August 28 -- Haney -- unknown

Saturday, September 3 -- False Creek -- unknwon

Sunday, September 4 -- Haney -- unknown

September 10 -- False Creek -- unknown

September 11 -- Haney -- unknown

September 17 -- False Creek -- unknown

September 18 -- Haney -- unknown

September 24 -- False Creek -- hardtops, A main, Les Diack

September 25 -- Haney -- unknown

1947 Kurtis Kraft

A lap at the Milwaukee Mile with the City of Tacoma Special:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnqvS1HZTdw

Made an appearance at Langford Speedway, in Victoria, around 1948.

1960 oval racing, part four

Last of the oval clippings. (There's always more in the archive but I can't give it "all" away, now can I?)

1960 oval racing, part three

Third installment of the 1960 oval racing clippings. A pair of midget events occurred at False Creek in 1960. The Bob "Cregg" mentioned is actually Bob Gregg, who you can find more about by clicking his tag over on the left.

1960 oval racing, part two

Some more 1960 stuff, mainly False Creek Speedway. I have indications, and a tiny morsel of a result, that Haney Speedway was in operation, but it definitely wasn't making it into the newspapers more than once or twice.

1960 oval racing, part one

More clippings, a new year.

1959 oval, some results

A difficult year of rebuilding. The BC Track Racing Association had taken over as the main sanctioning body of stock car racing in the area. They were working with the BC Midget Auto Racing Association at False Creek Speedway and had a falling out momentarily.

Anyway, the best that I can come up with for the moment:

Saturday, June 20 -- False Creek Speedway: A main, Jim Marchant; B main, Doug Airth.

June 27 -- False Creek Speedway: karts, A main, Dallas Anderton.

Saturday, July 4 -- False Creek Speedway: A main, Brent Anderton.

July 11 -- False Creek Speedway: A main, Ted Deacon.

July 18 -- False Creek Speedway: A main, Jim Marchant; B main, Jack Taylor.

July 25 -- False Creek Speedway: A main, Jim Marchant; B main, Len Foster.

Saturday, August 1 -- False Creek Speedway: sprint cars, A main, Smokey Blake.

Sunday, August 2 (or maybe July 26th) -- Haney Speedway: A main, Jim Raper.

Sunday, August 2 (?) -- Haney Speedway: A main, Jim Marchant; B main, Len Barcello.

Sunday, August 9 (?) -- Haney Speedway: A main, Ted Deacon; B main, Brian Mutch.

Sunday, August 16 (?) -- Haney Speedway: A main, Doug Airth; B main, Brian Mutch.

Sunday, August 30 (?) -- Haney Speedway: A main, Ralph Monhay; B main, Ted Deacon.

Sunday, September 6 (?) -- Haney Speedway: A main, Doug Airth; B main, Gordie Green.

IMCA at the Lakehead, 1954

When in doubt continue to link. Here's some information about the IMCA big car races at the Lakehead Exhibition in what is now called Thunder Bay, Ontario.

http://hotrodsandjalopies.blogspot.com/2010/11/speedway-champions-come-cle-in-1954.html

Saturday morning cartoon

Been a while since I've done one of these. A "new" series to me. We must not have got that channel when I was eleven.

You probably either need to be four or a 34 year old nerd to like this. But it is Saturday morning.

And Motormouse does say "boy howdy!".

1959 oval, part two

Some more. Sprint cars at False Creek Speedway and Jim Raper, best known from Skagit Speedway, winning the opening race at Haney Speedway.

1959 oval, part one

Just because I started looking at what I had, here's a couple clippings from the 1959 oval season in the Greater Vancouver area. Two tracks: False Creek Speedway and Haney (Maple Ridge) Speedway. Both of these are from False Creek.

photo link to GVMPS ceremony

Here's a link, and a way, of accessing photos taken at the October 17th Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society induction ceremony.

If you would like to see the photos that Gerry F. took of our event go to www.dotphoto.com click on "Guest" in the orange box at top right. Enter gerryf under User Name. Enter rainbow under Password. Then click on "Log in". Pick the GVMPS gallery to wiew by clicking on it's name.

1958 Digney Speedway results

Marginally better than the previous year, but still lacking.

One of the few 1958 articles does mention that Les Diack won the 1957 points championship as well as the 100-lap championship race.

So, the results as I have them:

Saturday, May 17: A main, Ted Deacon; B main, Adrian Lavigne

June 21: Les Diack

July 1: Hell Drivers

Wednesday, July 9: A main, Les Diack; B main, Hank Renpel (Rempel?)

Friday, August 1: Canadian Auto Dare Devils

Saturday, August 2: Canadian Auto Dare Devils

August 9: B.C. Centennial Team Championships, A main, Les Diack

September 27: Championship races (rain date for September 20?)

three flags

Came across an old Floyd Clymer Historical Motor Scrapbook. This page caught my attention. A list of records for covering the west coast roads, such as they were, from the Canadian boundary to Mexico. Hence, three flags.

1958 Digney Speedway, part three

Third, and final, installment of the 1958 Digney Speedway season. And with that the track was no more.

1958 Digney Speedway, part two

Second installment from the 1958 Digney Speedway season.

1958 Digney Speedway, part one

Some clipping from the 1958 Digney Speedway season.

1957 Digney Speedway season results

Back to Digney Speedway. Sorry for the delay.

And this is a pretty dismal season for results.

Best to get what I know out of the way first:

Saturday, Jun 1: Mel Keen; jalopies, Jack Norgard; consolation, Don Smith.

Wednesday, June 22: Mel Keen

Monday, July 1: thrill show

Saturday, September 21: championship race.

What I don't know:

May 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, and 29

June 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 26, 29

July 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 31

August 3, 7, 10, 14, not sure about dates until 24 and not sure after that

until September 21. And I have nothing on that.

So I plead for assistance!

1949 midgets in Spokane

Here's a bit of history unearthed from the web. The information I have from the Washington Midget Racing Association indicates that there might have been separate points kept for the Inland Empire Auto Racing Association for races held at the Division and Francis Streets track. So here are some articles pulled from the Spokesman Review of Spokane.

So the article at the bottom says Stan Muir won the points out in Spokane. There is still some question whether these points applied to the WMRA totals. And during the season the Offie powered midgets got banned in favour of the Ford V8-60s.

A lively season to be sure.

I know, it's been a while....

I'm alive. And getting responses about various things. Just proves if you leave something up on the web long enough a google (or some other search engine) search will bring them to me.

Not quite as poetic as "if you build it they will come" as W.P. Kinsella wrote, but it still applies.

And a photo or two to get me to tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. Top one is Art Pollard circa 1963 and the bottom one Ralph Monhay, probably at Grandview Bowl, Nanaimo, BC, circa 1965. Thanks to Ralph for both photos.