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ice race locations in the past
Topic Started: Oct 13 2009, 09:55 AM (780 Views)
cliff61
Advanced Member
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Got up this morning at 4ish; couldn't sleep. Popped in an old ice race tape of ......WINONA, MINNESOTA from 1986. Luke Fox and young Ronnenberg were in the junior class. There was a pro and novice motocross class. You could see the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Gerry Thrune was announcing/riding. Of course Larry Strangfelt was flagging....
Other places that we raced at back, back, way back.....
SNYDER PARK BY NEILLSVILLE. First place that I can remember. Bikes only. No ice race screws yet. Sheet metal screws; with or without slots ground into them......1/2 '' or 5/8'' long; still had flat tires; even without the longer screws and inner liners. Think this was even before Strangfelt; organized by Forey Larson and Andy Rueth. Little oval. Ran it the regular way; turn left a couple of races. Then they said go around the opposite way.....not everyone had screws on the right side of their tires.....ice was hard back then too!!
PICKLE POND IN NEILLSVILLE. Little creek next to Kwik Trip downtown. This too was before atvs. Rubber and studded cycles. Jack Potters dad was running an IT175 Yamaha then and doing pretty good with it. Ed Crothers had a MX250 Harley that quit on him out on the track......Ed picked it up and FLUNG IT!!! (Figured it out right then and there; don't mess with Ed!!) Used to race buddy class in both rubber and studded. No protective fenders down by the tires. Rubbing was racing....and removal of boot and pant material with just a touch.
TRUCK STOP IN BLACK RIVER FALLS. Walk bikes down to ice. Run on little pond round and round. Tire choice was between trials universals and Carlisle knobbies; tire that the present Kenda ice tires was patterned off of. Rubber racers on bikes were cutting trials tires so they would fold over as they turned; Strangfelt on Yamaha DT125 was the fast rubber guy at that time.
ADAMS FRIENDSHIP. Believe this was put on by Lions Club. One of our first Saturday ice races......went there on Sunday......I was the fastest/slowest/only rider there....
Cloris Lowe ran a 125 Yamaha in a Cheney frame studded; went real good for a 125. Again no fenders. Was coming out of turn four when his feet slipped off the pegs and HE SAT ON THE REAR TIRE......Let go of handlebars and slid off the track. Tire studs went through snow suit, blue jeans, winter under wear.....Think he was scratched but not dinged too bad. SUPER LUCKY. Don't believe we had any ambulance at races yet either.
BAR IN HATLEY, WISCONSIN. In backyard on side of hill.....AT NIGHT....DURING A SNOWSTORM. With the lighting and the snow it was quit interesting to say the least. By this time; not sure of year; tire/screw technology was starting to make a difference. Mark Yonjof from Madison had a Bultaco framed Kawasaki bike with some tires from Michigan. He was pretty much in league of his own due to the traction he had over the rest. Steve Kasten gave him a good run for his money but he could ride a bike with two flat tires and loose handlebars back then and still make it go fast.
POTTERS CRANBERRY BOG IN WARRENS. Drive out on the cranberry dikes and park. Now some guys were coming up from Madison with Rokon cycles with snowmobile engines and clutches. Had good tires and enduro riding style; went fast. Larry Pettis rode framer Yamahas and even hopped on the Rokon stuff and went real fast. Don't think shutting off throttle was in his vocabulary/mindset back then.
Well that's about all for now. Will save some more BS for another trip in the WAYBACK MACHINE. Winter seems like it is coming sooner than we want or expect it this year. Take care all, Woody Eckes ;) ;)
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cdaniels
Advanced Member
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Good read Woody.

Do I remember CWIRA racing on Pacawa Lake by Plover?.....at night? This would have been mid to late 90's?

Question for ya (anyone who might know)........how many acres minimum would you need to put a race on these days? Or, how many acres is Snyder that Larry used to put on?......I would guess a guy wouldnt want to attempt to hold a race on anything smaller then that....pretty tight from what I remember, although it was always my favorite track (the smaller the better for me).
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cliff61
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Now that people come to races with stock car haulers and motorhomes there is quite a bit of difference in the places you can race at in terms of access. The whole scenario of putting on a race now is HUGE: ambulance, trophies, track /parking/access road plowing, insurance, food, toilets, advertising.......probably am forgetting somethings.
Granted it is a much better more complete show that accomodates an unbelievable amount of racers/spectators.
The smaller tracks also get rougher quicker than the bigger ones.
The races right off Hwy 51/39 on the edge of Plover were a night race as were the Kold Kutter shootout at Antigo during the Ice Race Nationals back in????? I know I came to flag during the day on saturday and got to announce from the tower in the middle of the track that night.....big difference in temperature. Subzero temps with windchill at Antigo for those of you who don't know or remember cold seized up a lot of engines and froze, froze, froze a lot of feet and hands out there.
If we have the ice race meeting at the T&T clubhouse this year I will see if I can dig up some tapes of some of this early stuff. Back when men were men and sheep were nervous :P :X Woody Eckes
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MotoBill
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As I recall we hit Lake Pacawa at least 2 years, maybe 3. Guessing around '94? maybe '96. They also had Watercross there in the late '90s - I alsways thought it was a neat place. I don't think I've ever been to a "not bad-azzed cold" Antigo. Wierd. Larry would tell me stories about a KDX200 (2-stroke) they ran that cold-siezed on the straight. Turns out it was so cold and they were going so fast down the chute it sucked ALL the heat out of the engine - and being only a 200 there wasn't much to start with. That's ugly.
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John R.
John R.
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MELROSE ?

South of town by the snowmobile clubhouse . On the back straight ya ran over logs frozen into the water.
YA I smoke ? I ride motorcycles too
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MotoBill
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Wow Cliff, you have a great memory! Just happen to come across your nostalgia article on tracks from the past. Those days were fun. I remember coming up mostly because Jack Potter or his father had a broom which was unheard of back then and made the ice sooo nice. There was definitely some neat equipment back then too. I thought the Rokons would be the hot tip but once we got the tires working, you got them down so low you would pick the wheels off the ground in the corners with the large case that covered the clutch.
You neglected to mention Phil Flick and his Honda 350 that wouldn't spin or Stan Mallard's BSA. Can't believe you remember the KawTacos. They were fun to ride except the spokes would pull out of the hubs and the frame flexed so much that it would throw the chain or finally pull the countershaft sprocket off the end of the shaft. Do you remember Brown Deer Park in Milwaukee, Mineola Bay in Il. or Edgerton, WI? Anyway, I'm down in NC and riding the woods whenever possible which is still about every week. I usually run into Jack Potter in SC for an Enduro or two before bike week. Give me a call one of these days and come on down and ride a bit. Take care and maybe see you at the 3 hr as soon as I figure out how to make a set of fenders that won't break.

Mark Yonjof
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