Deer Park Newspapers (SCCA/SCCS/NWMS) 1956-1985

bryan

Bryan Woodbury, CSM 97
I've recovered every newspaper article I could find regarding the history of Northwest Motorsports. The articles are from the Tri-County Tribune/Deer Park Tribune and range from 1956-1985.

From the Tri-County Tribune/Deer Park Union newspaper on May 24, 1956: Sports Car Club of Spokane, Inc. will be host to the first "European style road race" at the Deer Park airport on Sunday, May 27, 1956. [Note: The Sports Car Club of Spokane is known for running TSD rallies.]

From the Tri-County Tribune/Deer Park Union/Deer Park Tribune newspaper on April 17, 1969: "Northwest Motor Sports was formed and Incorporated in January 1968 for the purpose of uniting and providing sanction for road races."


--Bryan
 
May 24, 1956 (jpeg)
May 24, 1956 (tiff)

Deer Park to Host Auto Race Debut

Deer Park will be host to the Inland Empire debut of Sports Car Road racing this Sunday, May 27. For the first time, the residents of Eastern Washington will have an opportunity to witness racing in its truest and purest form, the European style road race. Instead of merely going around a small circle, an actual course is laid out to approximate an actual road circuit with its many corners and bends both to the right and left. The course is laid out on the Deer Park airport just east of the town and uses the runways and taxistrips of the field, all of which are paved.

The race is being promoted by the Sports Car club of Spokane, Inc. and is sanctioned by the Sports Car club of America for the benefit of the Society for Crippled Children and Adults. Cars and drivers are expected from all over Washington, Idaho and Oregon to race just for trophies. Sports Car racing is strictly amateur where no one receives any remuneration except a trophy, if they win. All the profits of the race go to charitable organizations and this generally amounts to quite a sum. The money from this race will go to the building of a new camp at Coeur d'Alene lake for the crippled children being taken care of by this society.

One of the most exciting aspects of Sports Car Road racing is the race within a race. Sports cars are grouped into classes according to their engine displacement. During one race, there will be several different classes running at the same time. Although they are all trying for an overall win, the trophies are awarded according to class winners. Thereby, a small car running near the back of the pack may actually be as much of a winner as the car coming in first.

Sports Cars are designed and built to be a competent racing machine as well as a useful and comfortable automobile for normal road use. The general rule of thumb definition of a sports car is a car that can be driven to and from a race Sunday and to the grocery store and work on Monday. The variety of sports cars available now is very large. They vary from little cars with displacement of 30 cubic inches to over 300 cubic inches. The price runs from as little as $2,000.00 to over $30,000.00. There will be cars in all classes running at the Deer Park Road race, some of which are the Formula III Coopers, Austin Healey's, Jaguars (to name a few) and many special made cars. Altogether, the total value of the cars to be seen at the race should run close to one-half million dollars.

Sunday morning will be taken up with the Safety Inspection of all the cars followed by practice races to check out the course and the car's tuning. At 12:30 p.m., the competition starts with the small production sports cars and touring car category. This will be followed by a race for the big bore machines also of production category, then the small specially modified cars designed more for racing, and not for the road; the big modified cars; and the last race of the day will be an open race for any category and any class.

For a full day of the finest kind of racing in the world, the best place to be will be Deer Park Sunday, May 27.
 
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April 17, 1969 (jpeg)
April 17, 1969 (tiff)

Northtown Hosts Motor Sports Club

The Northwest Motor Sports Club is coming to Northtown for an all day display of competitive cars in the malls, Saturday, April 19th. Among the cars expected are a German Auto special owned by Tom Kagi, (builder and designer of the Lotus 23-B), the Lotus 18, Europa, Cortina and a Porsche 911. Other cars expected are a Manx-Corvair, Avenger GT-12, Vespa-600, several Sprites and Sunbeam Tiger.

Northwest Motor Sports was formed and Incorporated in January, 1968 for the purpose of uniting and providing sanction for road racers. Since its inception the membership has grown to 60 and represents interests in many types of road racing.

During 1968, NWMS produced two championship Autocross series involving a total of 13 autocrosses and one major road race at Deer Park. This year's road race is scheduled for Labor day at Deer Park, with at least nine auto crosses preceeding it.

For the neophytes among us, an autocross is a skilled driving trial involving competition against time with performance classed sports vehicles. The victor is one who has negotiated the closes course flawlessly in the shortest time. The sport attracts many people from varied walks of life and is known as a "gentleman's" sport because all competition is against time, not other cars sharing the same track. The displays will be on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 19 in the malls at Northtown Shopping Center. The show arrangements are being made by John Kohlofs, Autocross chairman.
 
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September 1, 1977 (jpeg)
September 1, 1977 (tiff)

Weekend of Auto Races at Airport

Northwest Motorsports club of Spokane will host more than 100 sports car racers at the Deer Park race track, located at the airport, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3 and 4, for the 12th event in the International Conference of Sports Car clubs 1977 championship race series.

Sports car, sedan and formula drivers from Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana as well as some from Canada will be competing in the two-day event on the 1.5-mile long airport circuit.

Practice and time trial qualifications will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday with the races set for Sunday.

The fifth annual running of the Spokane Cup special formula car race will take place Sunday, with a $500 purse and the sterling silver Spokane Cup on the line.

Between 20 and 30 of the single-seat, open-wheel formula racing cars are expected for the Labor Day weekend races, including Memorial Day race winner Tom Phillips of Portland, who will return with his Lola T 440 Ford.

Other local racers expected to take part in the races include Jim Sloane of Spokane in Crossle 30F Formula car; Marv Dike from Mead in an Alfetta in the A-Sedan class and several other NWMS club members.
 
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September 4, 1985 (Sports) (jpeg)
September 4, 1985 (Sports) (tiff)

Spokane club races to a 31-year-old finish

By Peter Chapin

Seventy-seven amateur auto-racing enthusiasts from the Northwest competed over the Labor Day weekend at Deer Park in the Northwest Motorsport Grand Prix finale.

The emphasis was on finale.

The 31-year bittersweet affair between the Spokane club and Deer Park apparently is history. The Airport Board gave Northwest Motorsport of Spokane permission to stage its last race this year if the group would clean up the facilities.

Disenchantment with the club stemmed from complaints about noise and incompatibility with aviation.

Nevertheless, the turnout for the final fling was considered better than average by race chairman Mel Nordhagen of Spokane.

"We had no problems beyond the normal mechanical breakdowns that always occur," he said.

The weekend competition actually counted as two races in the 10-race series held by the ICSCC, whose members include clubs from Portland and Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, as well as Spokane.

Five-lap qualifying heats on the 1.3 mile course led to 20-minute championship showdowns in each of the 22 racing groups.

Top winners were Ken Deckman of Auburn, who won the Group 1 GT and Class A Sports divisions both days; and Mac Russell of Redmond, Ore., a double-winner in the Group 3 GT and in Sunday's Class C Sports.

Area winners include Dave and Mark Jaremko of Nine-Mile Falls, two-time winners in the closed-wheel novice and D Production classes respectively. They are third- and second-generation racers from the Jaremko family who have competed at Deer Park.

Erik Youngston of Loon Lake won the open-wheel novice competition on Saturday.

The only woman driver, Jerrilyn Sturge of Woodenville, won the Formula V event both days. Paraplegic Charley Hexom of Portland drove his specially equipped H Production machine to victory Saturday.

Winners received trophies and points in the conference standings.

Nordhagen described the Deer Park course as a driver's track--fairly short straightaways with six turns of 90 degrees or more to test the drivers' abilities.

Beginners are required to compete in at least three novice races before they earn their area license. After three more races, they can move up to a senior license.

Northwest Motorsports offers a novice driving school at least once a year.

The 35-member group currently is negotiating with two tracks in Spokane for next year's competition, Nordhagen said.


NORTHWEST MOTORSPORT RESULTS

(Drivers won both Saturday's and Sunday's events, unless two names are listed. The first name is Saturday's winner).

Novice, closed wheel -- Dave Jaremko, Nine-Mile Falls.

Novice, open wheel -- Erik Youngston, Loon Lake. Charles Petty, Seattle.

D Production -- Mark Jaremko, Nine-Mile Falls.

E Production -- Don Smethers, Westlin, Ore. Jack Banton, Portland.

F Production -- Win Casey, Portland.

G Production -- Dave Battin, Portland.

H Production -- Charley Hexon, Portland (Saturday only).

I Production -- Jon Wilson, Portland. Paul Truess, Kirkland.

F Sports Racing -- Rudy Pabst, Spokane (Saturday only).

Formula 440 -- Todd Cornish, Kent.

Formula V -- Jerrilyn Sturge, Woodenville.

GT1 -- Ken Deckman, Auburn.

GT2 -- Frank McCabe, Redmond, Ore.

GT3 -- Mac Russell, Redmond, Ore.

GT4 -- Al Beebe, Lynnwood.

GT5 -- Ken Reviea, Salem, Ore.

GT Improved -- Keith Heinaman, Portland.

Formula Ford -- Bill Johnston, Vancouver, B.C.

Club Ford -- Mel Nordhagen, Spokane. Darren Joy, Seattle.

A Sports Racing -- Ken Deckman, Auburn.

B Sports Racing -- Brad Gehring, Bremerton. Gary Heath, Bremerton.

C Sports Racing -- Jeff Ducken, Seattle. Mac Russell, Redmond, Ore.

D Sports Racing -- Woody Woodburn, Selah.

F Sports Racing -- Rudy Pabst, Spokane (Sunday only).
 
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Apparently I missed that race as Asst. Steward, or just can't remember that far back anymore. These are great articles, thank you Bryan. It is cool to see so many familiar names, including some that are still racing.
 
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