Local racer wins national award

For Curt Kallberg, going fast has plenty of rewards.

The veteran vintage car racer has won his share of regional races and has the pleasure of owning a rare "Can/Am" car, a 1972 McLaren. Now he has earned a prestigious national award for his efforts in carrying the torch for vintage races.

Kallberg was awarded the Can/Am Challenge Cup Trophy earlier this month at the Road America racetrack in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The Sisters man played a vital role in rallying Can/Am car owners to turn out for the 40th Anniversary celebration of the Can/Am racing series that ran from 1966 to 1974.

Kallberg described the series and the unique, powerful cars that raced over that eight-year period.

"They had very few rules," he said. "Basically (the cars) had to have four wheels, two doors and two seats. They were actually, in their time, the fastest cars in the world. Different manufacturers built different cars and what they did was put the best drivers in the world in the cars."

Manufacturers made a handful of cars each year - McLarens, Porches, Chapparals, Lolas. The drivers make a roster of legends: Mario Andretti, Jim Hall, Parnelli Jones.

The oil shock of the early '70s killed the series and with so few cars ever made, they are now rare and desirable - some are in museums.

Kallberg's car is a McLaren M8F raced in 1972.

"We ended up getting it about five years ago and restored it and started racing it in vintage car races," he said.

The rarity of the cars made the July 13-16 gathering at Road America unusual.

"You don't see very many of them at one time," Kallberg said.

About 70 cars turned out at Road America from as far away as New Zealand, thanks in large part to the networking and urging of Curt Kallberg. It was that effort that earned Kallberg his trophy, which he described as a great honor.

The event itself was huge, with thousands of spectators and five broadcast channels turning out to watch and record the high-speed excitement.

Kallberg wasn't just a spectator; he turned in a very respectable 17th place finish out of 45 racers.

"We didn't do too bad, he said. "We'd never been to the track before and it's a big, high-speed course. Some of the drivers were doing 200 miles per hour.

"We had a good time," he said. "The car worked real good, so it was fun."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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