Much of America’s racing heritage was built on dirt tracks by men driving dangerous machines on small rings all over the country. There wasn’t a fairgrounds in America without a horse racing track, and those venues became the perfect place to hold races. Vukovitch, Foyt, Ward, and hundreds of other aspiring race cars drivers battled it out every week in a new city for small money and high risk. Estimates from the late 1940s and early 1950s suggest that 20% of the people who competed on dirt tracks were killed or severely maimed.
This video shows a vintage dirt track event from the 1980s. The race cars shown range in age from old to nearly prehistoric! You’ll see engines with Frontenac heads, unidentified big displacement four bangers, and injected V8 motors screaming away. Looking at these cars, it is no wonder that so many guys were hurt or killed, as there ain’t much to them and safety in that era was not even part of the equation.
If you like dirt track racing, hit play below to see the machines that literally created the genre!
Thanks to Ermott for the tip!
