Sisters drivers have wild ride on track

Four racecars from Sisters were taken to Portland last weekend. Not all would return home in one piece.

Jerry and Jeff Taylor had the Rex Easley Studebaker, Jerry the designated driver for this event, the Baxter Auto Parts Portland Historics.

Curt Kallberg took his taxicab-yellow '67 Corvette and the electric blue IMSA GTO, a Corvette-based car soaked in steroids. Eric Dolson took Yellow Jacket, his '69 black-and-yellow roadster.

There were 35 cars scheduled to race in the Big Bore Production group, from Oregon, Washington, California and Arizona, including three newer NASCAR Winston Cup cars from California: a 1994 Ford; a 2000 Dodge; and a 2002 Dodge.

They seemed out of place among the vintage Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs. No one could figure out why they were on the grid with their wings, slick tires and tube frames.

Dolson and Kallberg qualified second and third, right in the middle of the NASCAR bunch.

On Saturday morning when the green flag came down, Dolson blasted to the front, Kallberg right behind him. The two edged out the blue-and-white 1994 Ford driven by Garland Self of San Jose, California, to the first 90-degree right turn of the Festival Curves, a quick right-left-right chicane.

As they came out the other side, Dolson put the power down through his favorite set of bends along the back of the course, balancing his Corvette on the edge of traction. Kallberg drove a line he knew would make it difficult for anyone to pass, and used the bigger engine in his lighter car to keep the NASCAR Ford, with its wings and wide smooth tires, behind him.

It was a short race, a little less than 14 miles, 84 turns. Kallberg held off the Ford for just long enough that Self could not catch Dolson by the time the checkered flag came down. The vintage Corvettes from Sisters took first and third against uneven odds.

Taylor was at the back of the pack in the Studebaker, not surprising considering the relatively heavy weight and smallish engine, but the car continued to be the favorite of large crowds.

It was not going to be so easy in the afternoon, nor as pleasant. The NASCARs seemed to have a plan, but even that would be overturned by action on the track.

As the cars came around the course on the pace lap, Self pulled off in the Ford. Which seemingly left the Corvettes to the field. Dolson again got first to the chicane, and again began to pull away.

But pandemonium was already laying a hand on the race. The rest of the pack was trying to get through the chicane. Jim Click of Phoenix, Arizona, was far right and nearly off the track when he ran his vintage Cobra over the back of John Goodman's Corvette. Fiberglass exploded. Click's car went up in the air and down hard. Pieces were lying everywhere. The move could earn Click a one-year suspension.

As the pack left, workers scrambled out and picked up the big pieces. When Dolson got around again, most of the debris was gone, except for a bright chrome bit of metal the size of a plate that lay in the middle of the first turn. He threaded through. In the meantime, Kallberg was driving next to Click. Race officials wanted Click off the course, and threw a black flag at him, meaning come in and come in NOW.

Kallberg could not tell the flag was not meant for him. He came in, and was told that he was not the culprit. He went back out. But his door flew open; the pin had not been replaced. He had to go in again and have workers repin his door. By the time he got back on the track, the Fords and a good portion of the field had passed him by. The Red 2000 Dodge Intrepid, driven by James Philion of La Jolla, California, pursued Dolson through the course.

Then it happened.

The Taylor Studebaker from Sisters was coming down the straight and it felt good. Then Jerry Taylor heard a noise. Suddenly power was lost, and oil poured everywhere. A huge cloud of smoke concealed the track and Taylor spun off just past the chicane.

Dolson saw the smoke and the oil and tiptoed through. He kept a slow pace, not knowing when his tires would dry. Philion went through, tested his tires and took off after Dolson.

Self came around in the blue Ford, lost control and hit the wall, but then went on. A safety truck came on to the course to help Taylor, and told him to get out of his car. Taylor struggled with his belts but then got out, heard a sound and ran for the infield.

The black Sunbeam Tiger of Mark Sorsdahl of Portland had tried to make it through the oil, but the car spun, went across the grass. It hit the safety truck, then, still spinning, hit the Studebaker, nearly taking out three members of the safety crew.

A mile away on the back straight, Philion overtook Dolson, but the race had already been declared over. The red flag came out, and every car was stopped where it was while officials sorted through the mess. Finally, the pace car directed all the cars back to the paddock.

Five race cars damaged. One safety truck. A race ended too soon - or not soon enough. It was a heavy toll for a day of racing, but no one was injured.

The third and final race on Sunday was a non-event for the production cars. It started to rain. The NASCARs decided to not even start. Kallberg left the course after one lap, Dolson and John Goodman of Seattle left after two. The Mustangs could battle it out if they wanted, but there was no fun to be had driving in slick conditions.

Kallberg had a far better run in his IMSA GTO. In Seattle the week before, the car had fueling problems. A shaft had sheared in the exotic fuel injection system. The problem was diagnosed and repaired before the Portland races but still the car was not running right.

Finally, they disconnected the rev limiter. The car ran well.

Kallberg won his class on Saturday afternoon, after the strange disappearance of Dave Kunicki of Vancouver, B.C. Kunicki did not start. He was nowhere to be seen. When he appeared at the track later in the day, he learned he'd apparently looked at the wrong section of race schedule.

On Sunday, Kunicki was back with a vengeance. Starting at the back of the pack, he drove his small-block IMSA GTO through the field in a display of great finesse. For a lap he dogged Kallberg, finally getting by and seemingly putting some distance between the two cars.

But in racing, there is little room for mistakes. Kunicki came too hot through Turn 12, and spun his car. He was passed, giving up all that he had made up. Kallberg got by, as did the pack of back markers. Sisters drivers pulled off another successful weekend.

Kallberg was awarded the "Workers' Choice" honor. He was selected as the driver most appreciated by those who actually work the races.

This is considered by some to be the most prestigious award of the weekend.