Dave from Ewillys.com always has some great articles, but he has outdone himself with his new article about Pacific Northwest off road races and playdays from the 70’s really hit home for me. I grew up attending the same events in British Columbia and Washington with my family in the 70’s and early 80’s. Of course, the obstacle course and sand drags were popular, but some of the most loved events were things like the potato stab, blindfold driver race, and the backwards race. One of my favourite stories is when my parents were at a playday Calgary, Alberta. One of the events was where the co-driver would hold a bowl full of water while the driver tried to navigate the off road course as fast as possible. The team with the most amount of water left in the bowl was the winner. My parents were making great time until they came to a rough section. For some reason, my Dad forgot to lock in the hubs and they were stuck with only the rear tires spinning. My mother proceeded to dump the bowl of water on over my Dad’s head. Of course, the local city news was there to capture the moment and it was blasted over the local news for a few days. Do they still hold events like this in your area? What were some of your favourite events?
It is with great sorrow that I announce that off road racing legend Frank “Scoop” Vessels has passed away after a plane crash in Oregon at the age of 58. Vessels is one of the pioneers of desert racing and was known to be one of the most friendly “big name” off road racers around. Stories are starting to pour in on this thread on Race Dezert about his generosity and willingness to take the time from his busy schedule on race day to talk to kids, fans and other racers.
We are looking for older Dave Shoppe photos? He raced desert races for a number of years and drove both Chevrolet and Ford Class 8 race trucks. Can you help us?
We are looking for more photos of the Miller Lite Oldsmobile Cutlass that Chris Robinson used to off road race in Class 6. Can you help us out?
Do you remember the Cal Wells prepared Toyota factory off road race trucks in the Mickey Thompson MTEG stadium races? We are looking for more photos of the trucks. Ivan Stewart, Robby Gordon, Butch Acerio and others. Can you help us?
Do you remember Glen Harris and the Black Gold-Team Mazda off road racing team? They raced some desert races, but mostly the Mickey Thompson MTEG stadium races. They were a force to be reckoned with!
All I am going to say is that ou have to love the 80’s!
For me, one of the best parts about Waynes World was the pimped out AMC Pacer. Did you know that there was a few AMC Pacers that were raced off road in the 70’s?
Off Road Action reader Rod Hafner sent us this great photo of the Condor off road racing motorhome. He took the photo in the 1969 or 1970 Mint 400.
Earlier this month, we wrote a short article about 3 Ford Edsel that used to race in off road desert races in the 60’s though to the 80’s. With the Swift’s racing their restored Ford Edsel off road race car in the NORRA Mexican 1000 this week, we have been coming across more photos for your pleasure. Thank you to Class 3 Racing.com for most of the photos in this post.
