A Sunday time ago

[taglialavore]

I found this paper, I was not in that race, but nevertheless, I think this simple kind of papers, chats with my uncle and some rough pictures started me in becoming an Unlimited race fan. Time changes, isnīt it?. Compare it with nowadays, the official commemorative programs, etc. See the attendance quantities.

[supercub]

Re: A Sunday time ago

I remember that race, and Richard Laidley definetly did fly low..it was pretty amazing. I don't remember seeing his name anywhere else........was this the only race he ever flew?

Attendance around 25,000 Sat and Sunday......what is it nowadays?

[taglialavore]

Re: A Sunday time ago

Yes, well appreciation, I didnīt notice it, searched for more information and it seems he only made that race. Laidley was a NASA test pilot and was replacing at Greenamyer, flying the Bearcat N#1. I donīt know if the retirement of the Conquest I from the racecourse may have influenced. Who knows?.
It seems he would have been a good racing pilot, see his performance in that race, flying too low, in that racer, and scratching the 1st place.
I donīt have the exact numbers but somewhere Iīve read about an attendance of about 150000 people the event in the year 2000 races. Please correct me if Iīm wrong.

[Bigger Al]

Re: A Sunday time ago

I was seven years old, and I can still remember sitting on the wing of the Roto Finish Special with gunther Balz to have my picture taken after the race.
Times have indeed changed!

[Cloudchaser427]

Re: A Sunday time ago

It was fun to read about the past and Gunthers win. I too was at Reno for that race. I purchased my Thunder Mustang from Gunther and talk to him on a regular basis. He's doing well and in the process of building another kit plane. He still fly's about once a week.

Cloudchaser

[Sneauxman]

Re: A Sunday time ago

What an exciting race. Gunther held back because of some false instrument readings. He finally just screwed it down and went for it with three laps to go. His speed for the last three laps had to be shockingly fast but lost in the average. Laidley flew nap of the earth and was popping up and down while making dust devils. It was exciting!

[John]

Re: A Sunday time ago

Hey guys,
did Roto Finish ahead of Conquest in that race?

[eeyore]

Re: A Sunday time ago

I remember that race. It was the first time Dad took me to the air races. It was the fourth lap. Darrel was down low and Gunther above, as they came off the turn before the stands. They rolled level and Gunther grabbed the lead. The crowd went nuts. Gunther hung on to win by a narrow margin. Only one other race strikes me as being that exciting. 1990 and the back forth struggle between the Bear and Tsunami

[taglialavore]

Re: A Sunday time ago

Oh you guys are killing me of envy. Nothing so exciting like the low low pass of the racers.

[MRussell]

Re: A Sunday time ago

Only one other race strikes me as being that exciting. 1990 and the back forth struggle between the Bear and Tsunami

IIRC that was the first time Skip raced Tsunami, which explained a lot.

[BuckyD]

Re: A Sunday time ago

"Roto-Relic".........

During Gunther Balz's easy win of Friday (9-15-72) Unlimited Heat #2 @ 395.590-av/mph for the 6-lap event, a large section of fiberglass overlay skin tore off from the R/H fuselage aft of the cockpit on #5 Roto-Finish Special during the race. His crew worked 35-hours-straight to repair the Mustang in time to make the start of Sunday's 8-lap Gold Championship final, which he won at a Gold record speed of 416.160-av/mph- upsetting Bearcat domination at the annual Reno NCAR event up 'till then.

Eleven years later at Reno '83, on Sun. morning prior to the start of qualifying (9/11/83), I woke up after campin' out for the night near old Outer 4 Pylon on the back side of the Unlimited race course, w/my friend- Neal Nurmi. I decided to head up-course for a brief solitary stroll & p-break, before the drive back in to the airport. While standing out in the sagebrush, I surveyed the ground around me, noting the typical odd assortment of wind-blown junk & litter you see in the Nevada desert close to civilization. No more than a couple feet down at my right, I noted a long section of bondo'd fiberglas laying face down in the dirt & out of curiosity, I flipped it over- face-up, w/the toe of my boot, to see silver enamel finish & black brushed-on letters...."SPIRATRON" over "VIBRATRON"! Knowing the history, I immediately recognized the air racing relic for what it was & snatched it up to go running back to my pal Neal, yelling & laughing like a kid. Neal was equally-astounded at my find, and we couldn't wait to show it off around in the pits back at the field.

I shipped it safely back home to Alaska intact, via my pal- Don Wrobel's van, who'd driven down for the races via the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system. Years later, in 1989, I ended up giving it to Dwight Thorn, who was a key member of the winning Roto-Finish crew for Balz, and he had it framed & mounted proudly on his shop wall at Mystery Aire. Crazy how things happen sometimes!

Anyway, thanks for your post subject, which provided the thematic opportunity to share this bit of air racing serendipity w/you all. DBD

P.S. - See p.126 of the excellent air racing ref. book- "MUSTANG-The Racing Thoroughbred" by Dustin W. Carter & Birch Matthews, for Bruce Treadway's detail photo at page bottom, which shows the missing skin area on Race #5 Roto-Finish at Reno '72. BTW- the relic skin dimensions were 60-in. long x 13-in. wide (at its' widest point).

[taglialavore]

Re: A Sunday time ago

It was written you would find that piece of Roto Finish, [B]eleven years later!? Unbelivable.

[t-dub]

Re: A Sunday time ago

Only one other race strikes me as being that exciting. 1990 and the back forth struggle between the Bear and Tsunami

I think the best one I ever saw was the 1991 version (and sadly John Sandberg's and Tsunami's last) with Tsunami, Bear, and Strega duking it out for the whole race, and crossing the finish line together in a Bear, Strega, Tsunami finish, with all three setting new race records at over 478 mph! Any of the three could have won.............

[flyingjibus]

Re: A Sunday time ago

That was a spectacular race.