Sisters racers compete in Seattle

Three auto racers from Sisters had a good first day in Seattle on July 4 at the Pacific Northwest Historics. Curt Kallberg, Eric Dolson and Jerry Taylor all had impressive runs in the race Friday afternoon.

But the day was also marked with an unfortunate accident. Steve MacDonald of Seattle lost control of his 1969 Corvette at the end of the main straight during qualifying, and wadded it into a mangle of bent steel and shattered fiberglass. MacDonald was taken to the hospital after being cut from his car, but later released. MacDonald was the heavy favorite, having dominated races in Seattle in recent years.

Also during qualifying, Kallberg twisted a half-shaft right out from under his Corvette while attempting to get back in the action after a spin. Kallberg had to wait for a tow back to the pits.

Dolson qualified third in a Corvette, after MacDonald and behind Dave Kunicki of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, driving a '68 Camaro.

But easily the most popular car in that area of pit row was Jeff and Jerry Taylor's 1964 Studebaker Daytona. The car drew crowds all three days of the event, despite the presence of million-dollar Ferraris and exotic Allards. According to legend, and a history thoughtfully provided by the Taylors, the car was originally built and raced by playboy Rex Easley, but put away after a short career.

Not particularly fast, nor noted for an excess of beauty, the Studebaker Daytona was never highly regarded as a race car. But it was wildly popular at the Historics. On a photo ratio, the '64 "Stude" easily received 20 shutter bugs to every one who took photos of the Corvettes and Camaros parked next to it. Everyone lauded the Taylor's craftsmanship and attention to detail. The car has been featured in two magazine articles and is clearly on its way to winning numerous awards.

The other story of that afternoon took place in the pits. After Kallberg was towed in, his crew went to work. Jon Bibler, Mike Osborne, Mark Morrison and Tigh Bunnell had the car up on jack stands and tore into the broken machine. In less than two hours, on their backs with tools, they had removed the half-shafts, shock absorbers, the rear end, and replaced all. Kallberg was ready to race by 1:45 p.m. that afternoon.

When the green flag came down, Dolson jumped into the lead, Kallberg moved momentarily up to second. David Kunicki then made his move to the front with great driving and a mysteriously strong small-block Chevrolet motor. Dolson slowly reeled him in though, and by about the seventh lap on the 2.25-mile track, Dolson was pasted on Kunicki's rear bumper through left and right turns, and both racers began to experience tires that were barely able to hold on.

Finally Kunicki cooked it a little fast into the left-right at the end of the back straight and went a little wide. He may have also had a burnt plug wire. Dolson floored his Vette to push past going up the hill into the sweeping left-hand Turn 8, and hurtled first to the finish line. Kallberg battled it out with John Goodman and Randy Dunphy of Seattle. Goodman had been pushing hard, there was a spin, Kallberg got by and finished in seventh place. Taylor brought the Rex Easley Studebaker Daytona in at a respectable 20th place.

The race on Saturday was held in a downpour. The men from Sisters went out late and actually had to be fed onto the field after the race began. Dolson ran just two laps in his open-cockpit roadster before he came in to the pits. Officials placed him at 13th. Kallberg was stymied by a Plymouth for most of the run and finished ninth. Taylor again ran a respectable race, placing 11th of the 15 cars that went out.

On Sunday it was dry and back to a nearly full field of 30 cars. The Rex Easley Studebaker showed a respectable 17th against much more modern Mustangs, Camaros and Corvettes. Kallberg nearly held Dolson off, but - ever the gentleman - gave an opening near the end, allowing Dolson to slip by. Kallberg finished fourth. Dolson, stymied early in the race by a pack of slow Mustangs that started in front of him, finished third.

The race was won by John Goodman of Seattle, posting a tremendous 132:528 best lap, with David Kunicki of Canada right behind him.