If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Most people remember this site from the PRO Nationals event held in Winona in the 70's.
Yup, I remember that event & location pretty well, specially the part of a certain close friend & I sneaking into the Olympia Beer Garden Tent one night and tried/drank our very first beers together (we were 12 or 13 at the time)!! Its an odd coincidence how after that point in time (I believe Winona was 75'), David Eldredge & I somehow mutually developed a knack/talent of sneeking into Beer Gardens, concession stands and Trebor Billiters cooler @ races in the nighttime...
Oh, I recall the racing & location WAS pretty good too!!
Funny we still have some of the old rusted beer buckets OLYMPIA gave out at the beer tent. In fact we still have the silver dollars they gave out in prize money! I too remember stealing beer out of coolers since all the grownups were in the beer tent that week! I also remember crawling in the airplane at the park through the exhaust intake and hangin out. It was a great site and I cannot wait to go back.
Kristi
Kristi Z-22
PRO Commissioner
APBA BOD
"Ask not what your racing organization can do for you...Ask what you can do for your racing organization"Tomtall 06
The name Grain Belt really brings back some memories, both good and bad. That year I had a smoking 500 Hydro with a Konig with all ZAK's magic touches and a brand new R&D Hydro that would go thru the turns almost as fast as it would go down the straighaway's. I was to go out in an elimination heat and we cranked and cranked and cranked after the 5 minute gun and never did get it started. Wouldn't even fire and had been running fine in testing that morning. Found out after the heat started without me, and I didn't get out that the two way connector that connected the battery and the kill switch had a wire broken inside where you could't see it and so ruined any chance I had to get into the finals. I was really bummed because as I said, it was really running and I was positive I had a good chance. Rex Hall did get in the finals with a good finish in his elimination heat but my rig was running much better as I had been finishing in front of him most all summer at the previous local races. Because I really wanted to see the boat on the water. I told him he could use my equipment if he wanted. He did, and finished 2nd in the Nationals that year. I believe Charley Bailey driving Baldy Baldwin's equipment was the winner, although that was a long time ago and my memory is a little dim these days. That was both a low and a high, Rex doing so well in my equipment, although I was disappointed it wasn't me driving. The really funny thing at that race site took place about halfway through the program on Sunday afternoon. The PA announcer made an announcement that Grain Belt, who had a a beer tent on the race premises, had stocked too much beer and from then on would be giving it away at no charge the rest of the day. This beer was SO BAD, that even though it was being given away free, the boat racers would not drink it. Now when a boat racer turns down free beer, thats funny and unusual. I must agree with the other posters that this is a beautiful site and I remember some very good places to eat also.
Comment