Thunder Mountain Speedway north of Bottineau has just started
another season of stock car racing. I found two old pictures of racing
at the Bottineau County Fair Grounds. These were called jalopy races as
the cars were mainly older cars that had been stripped down to the frame
and a seat so they would go fast. These pictures are from the late 40s
or early 50s. Racing stopped there after a very tragic accident that
took the life of one of the people involved. The new track has gone to
strict safety standards to protect both the drivers and the crowd from
injury. I was a driver at Thunder Mt. for several years and to my
knowledge, only one injury occurred and that was caused by an
undetectable poor weld on the seat belt hold down. After my racing
days, I served as an inspector in the pits. Often as the drivers were
lined up and ready to head out onto the track, I would reach into the
car and give a strong jerk on their safety harness just to make sure in
their haste and excitement, they hadn’t forgotten to latch up the
locks. The first time I did that to most of the guys they were rather
annoyed that I did it but soon they understood the importance and just
leaned back and relaxed and gave me the thumbs up. The new drivers were
often so excited that they were almost numb to their actions so they
were for sure needing to be checked before they went out for their
heat. I have to admit, that there is something about dirt track racing
that is nearly addicting. After I quit my involvement with the sport
altogether, I didn’t go to the races for a couple years and really
didn’t think I missed it. One night a couple years later Brenda and I
went over to watch. The Bombers and the Streets had no real effect on
me. Then the Modifieds came rolling out and did their hot laps. When
they all kicked it for the green flag, I could hardly sit there and not
want to go home and build another car! I think gasoline and
testosterone are a natural mix. Thanks Gary!

Dick