Vintage racers complete season

Curt Kallberg (68) holds the lead for at least another moment at the Pacific Northwest Historics in Seattle. photo by Bob Dunsmore

Vintage car racing means more to drivers than speeding old cars around a racetrack. Sure, the cars go really fast (around 160 mph) and are loud, but the very act of driving a restored piece of history adds a certain extra cachet to the sport.

Five men from Central Oregon, vintage models themselves, just completed a successful April-September race season. Curt Kallberg, Jerry Taylor and Eric Dolson are from Sisters; Jim Santimaw and Randy Bloomquist hail from Bend.

They competed at tracks on the West Coast, mostly for bragging rights amongst themselves. There were no trophies to be won, no series final to be aimed for. These guys drive big bore production cars -- Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, and Cobras -- that had models produced as regular driving cars as well as race cars. The big-bore cars growl when they start and roar when the accelerator goes down.

The crowds love all that atmosphere, said Kallberg.

The newest of these cars was produced in 1969; other models range back to the 1950s. Most of the Central Oregon men raced the same or similar models back when they were hot off the assembly lines. It's a homecoming of sorts to race them nowadays and find the cars virtually unchanged. According to Kallberg, the only legal modifications are ones that would also have been allowed in the car's year of production.

The races are held on paved tracks that are about two miles in length. Numerous curves, tight corners and a back straight add variety for both drivers and spectators. The races run 25 minutes maximum, with between 20 and 40 cars racing.

When asked to pinpoint a highlight of the season, Kallberg and Taylor each hedged a bit. It seems that participating in this sport is thrill enough in itself.

As Taylor said, "If you are on the track, racing, you've won."

Both acknowledged that the first race of the season, the Seattle Historic, held in Kent, Washington on the Fourth of July, was memorable. Kallberg said it's the biggest race of the year, with at least 35 cars competing in the big bore races, more than 250 in other groups.

The fellows from Central Oregon, after arriving late, walked all over the competition.

Bloomquist won on both days, with Dolson taking a second and a fourth and Kallberg a third and a fourth.

Then, according to Kallberg, they slipped quietly away, leaving the locals to wonder what Central Oregon has that the big city doesn't.

Taylor's big thrill was to race a '68 Camaro street car that he had purchased for $2,000 at a swap meet and completely restored and rebuilt as a race car.

He turned in his fastest personal times this season in the car.

All from a 61-year-old car guy who got into racing at age 55.

"(Vintage car racing) is a beautiful thing," he said. "The cars are immaculate, and the people are great. Most of the organizations that run the races we enter are nonprofits, so the proceeds go to charity. We race for the fun of it."

Vintage racing is a non-contact sport, with disqualification for offenders. The cars are worth a bundle, represent countless hours of restoration and mechanical work. Spin-outs do happen, but they definitely are not what this sport is about.

Dolson, who won races in Portland this season in a 1969 Corvette, noted that avoiding contact is a challenge when several cars are heading for the same hairpin corner, all going around 150 mph. The years of experience that these drivers have chalked up comes to the fore when they emerge from these adrenaline-pumping moments.

The racers made their mark this season and returned back to their Central Oregon enclave. Back to their garages where they'll spend the winter tweaking and tuning and getting ready for another season of seriously good natured competition.