Kallberg takes checkered flag in Portland

With a mighty blend of horsepower and track smarts, Curt Kallberg of Sisters showed the rest of the field why he often earns the checkered flag at the Portland Historic Races, held last weekend in Portland.

Kallberg won both the "heat race," on Saturday, and the main event on Sunday. Dave Kunicki, of Surrey, British Columbia, took second in each event. Eric Dolson of Sisters threatened each day, but bad luck dogged him all weekend.

The difference in the three cars could be heard in the pits. Kunicki's "small block" Chevrolet Camaro would snarl with energy, like a caged cat. Dolson's aluminum 427 Corvette would howl when provoked. But Kallberg's high compression 427 would explode with noise, the firing of each cylinder like a gun shot. The sounds foretold the driving styles.

Dolson qualified more than a second ahead of the other racers, but in Saturday's race he was making his move on Kallberg down the main straight toward the quick right-left-right turns of the "chicane" at Portland International Raceway when a missed shift caused his transmission to give up, and he lost first and third gears.

While Dolson limped his car back to the pits, Kallberg and Kunicki battled it out, Kunicki doing everything to get by in the turns, Kallberg squirting away whenever the track straightened out. Once at the end of the back straight, Kunicki had to put his left wheels in the dirt when Kallberg shut the door on his line through the left-hand Turn 10, before going right again through Turns 11 and 12 leading on to the main straight.

Kallberg took the short race, and put himself on the pole for Sunday's final.

Jon Bibler and Kallberg crew member Mike Osborne went to work on Dolson's car in the relative cool of the next morning. With help from Mark Morrison, Tigh Bunnell and Brent Rippy, the transmission was replaced.

Dolson had to start at the back of the 25-car field.

A number of racers decided not to run in the afternoon. Temperatures had climbed all day. One of Vic Edelbrock's crew took an electronic temperature from the asphalt in the pits. It read 135 degrees.

Eventually those who could still run and chose to run headed out to the track.

When the green flag came down, Kunicki and Kallberg jumped out, while Dolson cut through the pack, taking cars first on the right into the chicane, then on the outside, out-gunning some on the longer straights and out-braking into the curves. He got by about half the field on the first lap, and was chipping away at the rest. He was again turning laps about one second faster than anyone else until he finally caught up with leaders Kunicki and Kallberg, with Kunicki in the lead.

Then the pace car came out while a broken Mustang was towed out of danger. When the green flag fell again, Kallberg and Dolson blasted ahead of Kunicki, and began a back and forth fight. Kallberg had the lead, but said later he figured it was just a matter of time.

Dolson was making his move on Kallberg down the main straight when the weekend's bad luck struck again. Dolson got a black flag and was told to come into the pits. Race officials seemed at first confused, asking if his car felt right. Yes. Some worker had reported a shimmy in his right front wheel. Dolson said he had not felt anything wrong. The wheel was checked and found to be fine. There were other questions, and answers. Finally the official simply told Dolson to continue racing, but by then he was four laps down.

While Dolson was talking to officials, Kallberg and Kunicki were battling it out. Kunicki tried to get around Kallberg on the left, then on the right. He would close the gaps under braking and through some turns, but Kallberg's car would suddenly be in the exact spot Kunicki needed to make the pass. Then on the straights, Kallberg's hideously ferocious 427 motor would explode down the track, leaving Kunicki behind until the next set of curves.

Kunicki had his last and best chance coming into the newly-configured Turn 7, a right-hand turn where the track narrows suddenly from three or four cars wide to little more than two. Kallberg bobbled, got his Corvette a little sideways. Kunicki nearly got by, but then the yellow Corvette found its footing, and scalded down the back straight, hitting more than 160 mph, with Kunicki unsuccessfully trying to figure out some answer to Kallberg's power and smarts.

Kallberg repeated the quality of his performance in the following race of exotic IMSA cars, finishing a respectable third.

The 1964 Studebaker Daytonoa of Jerry and Jeff Taylor of Sisters ran well and mid-pack for most of the weekend, but suffered a lack of brakes toward the end of the main race. But the "Rex Easley" Studebaker gathered a huge amount of attention from spectators who marveled over the level of craftsmanship, attention to detail and the sheer wonder of a Studebaker race car.