Thunder Mountain Speedway in Williams Lake paid tribute to legendary racing car champion Doug Larson with a memorial race held Friday, Aug. 10.
As dozens of vintage car drivers took turns doing qualifying runs, TMS president Bob Lowen said some of the drivers were in their 80s, late 60s and early 70s, and were vintage themselves.
“We used to have what was called the Canadian American Modified Racing Association (CAMRA) series that they ran and Doug helped start it,” Lowen said.
Twenty-five years ago, he added, the cars had wings on them, but nowadays they don’t.
“It saves the drivers a little bit of money because they aren’t going as fast and don’t have to have as good shocks.”
Louise Larson, who was married to Doug Larson, said the two of them started racing together at the young age of 16.
“I raced all the powder puffs on dirt with Doug,” she recalled, noting McLeese Lake was home and Williams Lake was where she attended school and where she raced.
“I started at the old track where the drive-in used to be near Sugar Cane. We raced on dirt there from 1968, we moved to Likely for a year and then we moved to Quesnel and raced dirt up there and built a new race car. We raced from 1969 and then in 1974, Doug bought the Tipke Roadster Car.”
She said he started racing in Quesnel, Williams Lake and Prince George.
“He won many championships,” she said, adding the last time she raced was with Rita Seibert in Kamloops on pavement in 1967 or 1968.
Louise moved away in 1984 to Alberta after the Larsons separated, but looking back said she supported him with his racing and his logging truck businesses.
“We had two beautiful boys,” she added.
After Doug died on July 16, 2008, the family held a memorial race and their youngest boy, Ronnie Larson, actually won.
Williams Lake’s own professional auto racer Trevor Seibert returned home for the event, driving one of the 14 vintage cars Bob Wills from Kamloops brought to the speedway for the event.
Seibert said Larson was every kid’s hero.
“We’d go out and watch him over across the way and as I got older and started racing the cars myself I started racing against Doug,” Seibert recalled, adding one of the most memorable races he ever had was against Larson.
It was in Quesnel, and Seibert was driving a lower class car against Larson and some other guys.
“I thought I was going to win the race. I got passed with two laps to go and it was Doug that passed me on the outside. But I was pretty proud to finish second to Doug Larson.”
Seibert said he’s raced against the Larsons’ sons Ronnie and Richie for many years.
“There’s a lot of history there for sure. I was pretty excited to be part of this.”
Read more: Trevor Seibert on track for success
Wendell Moore, who was racer number 15, said Larson was the only four-time champion in the CAMRA series.
“They called him ‘Doug the Logger Larson’ because he worked all week,” Moore said. “He drove truck and had a logging show and he’d race on the weekends and he’d basically drive from Quesnel to Washington, or Idaho, California and race. That’s what he did. Back in the day the series was called Road to the Indianapolis 500. He was just one of those guys that was very successful and was a hard worker.”
Vintage car driver Ralph Monhay, 83, of Spokane, Wa. was a good friend of Larson’s and described him as “one of the greatest.”
“I used to go to races in Prince George in the 70s and that’s when I first met Doug Larson. He ran in a lot of my races and I ran against him on the CAMRA circuit for many, many years.”
Larson was a talented race car driver, he added.
“He picked it up really well and was a clean, courteous driver, but really, really tough to beat. He was always in the top. He was a great race car driver and was probably a great logging truck driver too because that’s what he did for a living.”
Monhay brought his 1974 Maxwell Sprint Car for the memorial race.
It was originally built in 1974, and restored with some modifications.
“We run it now with the West Coast Vintage Racers,” Monhay said. “I’m just an old guy trying to have fun. We have a pretty extensive circuit and in the winter we race down in Arizona.”
Read more: Westwick, Knott, win respective main events at Thunder Mountain season opener
Top three results from the bone stock, pro mini and vintage classes are as follows:
BONESTOCK
A Dash
1.) Steve Panta
2.) Zach Salmon
3.) Brian Bettles
B Dash
1.) Tiffany-Rose Verkaik
2.) Tristan Waslen
3.) Shawn Knott
C Dash
1.) Ryan Grant
2.) Mark Grant
3.) Dillon Alberts
A Heat
1.) Tiffany-Rose Verkaik
2.) Shawn Knott
3.) Brian Bettles
B Heat
1.) Tristan Waslen
2.) Mark Grant
3.) Ryan Grant
Main Event
1.) Zach Salmon
2.) Shawn Knott
3.) Mark Grant
PRO MINI
A Dash
1.) Terry Brahman
2.) Gord Bettles
3.) Steven Woods
B Dash
1.) Hana Wurm
2.) Ryan Woods
3.) Brian Hutchinson
A Heat
1.) Gord Bettles
2.) Mike Garcia
3.) Steven Woods
Main Event
1.) Terry Brahman
2.) Gord Bettles
3.) Mike Garcia
VINTAGE
A Dash
1.) Ron Brewer
2.) Shawn Priest
3.) Trevor Seibert
B Dash
1.) Dean Warmerdam
2.) Tyson Cross
3.) Daryle Redlin
C Dash
1.) Bob Nesty
2.) Bob Wills
3.) Dale Nesty
D Dash
1.) Jeff Cook
2.) John Edwards
3.) Glen Walker
E Dash
1.) Allan Levien
2.) Bob Gage
3.) Ralph Monhay
A Heat
1.) Tyson Cross
2.) Bob Williams
3.) Ron Brewer
B Heat
1.) Dean Warmerdam
2.) Wendell Moore
3.) Bob Wills
C Heat
1.) Glen Walker
2.) Ralph Monhay
3.) Jeff Cook
‘B’ Main Event
1.) Dale Nesty
2.) Jeff Cook
3.) Glen Walker
Main Event
1.) Dean Warmerdam
2.) Trevor Seibert
3.) Bill Lawrence
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