Brainerd International Raceway
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About this ebook
John Fitzgerald
John Fitzgerald is a longtime journalist who has worked for newspapers in Iowa, Florida, Montana, and Minnesota. He has attended many races but considers Brainerd International Raceway to be among the best tracks he has seen.
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Brainerd International Raceway - John Fitzgerald
BRAINERD
INTERNATIONAL
RACEWAY
The Can-Am Series at Brainerd International Raceway featured some of the fastest cars driven by some of the country’s best drivers. The three-mile layout, with a straightaway nearly one mile long, especially favored the Can-Am cars, which in the early 1970s were unhindered by later rules packages. (Brainerd International Raceway.)
FRONT COVER: Racers warm up for the 1975 Uncola Nationals. One of the most famous racers at BIR, Paul Newman, drove No. 75, a Datsun 510. (Jerry Winker.)
BACK COVER: No racetrack should ever sit idle, but during the long, cold Minnesota winters, it is difficult to run road races. The solution? At BIR, they just race different kinds of machines. (Brainerd International Raceway.)
COVER BACKGROUND: Built on 800 acres of swamp and forest outside of Brainerd, Minnesota, Donnybrook Speedway was inaugurated in 1967. New owners changed the name to Brainerd International Raceway in 1973. (Brainerd International Raceway.)
BRAINERD
INTERNATIONAL
RACEWAY
John Fitzgerald
Copyright © 2014 by John Fitzgerald
ISBN 978-1-4671-1141-6
Ebook ISBN 9781439644638
Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013945001
For all general information, please contact Arcadia Publishing:
Telephone 843-853-2070
Fax 843-853-0044
E-mail sales@arcadiapublishing.com
For customer service and orders:
Toll-Free 1-888-313-2665
Visit us on the Internet at www.arcadiapublishing.com
To Michael, Katharine, Anna, and Ilene:
In a life full of mistakes and missteps, you continually give me reason
for hope and happiness.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Jerry Winker for his invaluable help and to Jed Copham and Geoff Gorvin at BIR.
Frequently used names for courtesies are represented as acronyms:
Brainerd International Raceway (BIR)
Jerry Winker (JW)
The following is a key to abbreviations used throughout the book:
Champion Racing Association (CRA)
American Motors Corporation (AMC)
International Series of Champions (ISOC)
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)
National Speed Association (NSA)
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)
United States Auto Club (USAC)
FOREWORD
My wife, Kristi, and I are racing junkies. It’s as simple as that. We love to watch racing. We love to drive race cars. We love everything about racing.
Back in 2005–2006, we had hoped to build a country club–style racetrack north of the Twin Cities where people who owned high-performance sports cars could come and drive them like they were intended to be driven—fast! About that time, Brainerd International Raceway became available for sale, giving us the opportunity to buy an established track instead