<VV> Datsun 1200s, Imps, NSU, VW - Slight Corvair

[Vairtec Corporation]

Similar to Seth's story about the 1200cc "mini-stocks" that raced at 
Fremont in the 70s, here in the East two distinct racing classes 
developed for oval tracks.

The first, developed in the early 1960s around the specifications 
(wheelbase, displacement) of the VW Beetle was called "Foreign 
Compacts," then "Mini-Stocks."  The Beetle was among the least 
effective choices, and pretty much every Ford Anglia in the region 
gave its life to be a mini-stock racer.

Some people like speed and noise, but one of the better races I ever 
saw was a full field of Anglias going at it on the high-banked oval 
at Wall Stadium.  Those guys were racing for a trophy, but they raced 
as if the Indy 500 purse was on the line.

In the late 1960s, when the dune buggy craze hit, another group 
formed, ostensibly racing due buggies and calling themselves ACES, 
for "Air Cooled EngineS."  VW-based buggies were plentiful, but the 
Corvair-powered ones won everything.  So the Corvair was outlawed.

The mini-stock group lasted just over a decade, the dune buggy bunch 
far less than that.

As an aside, at the long-gone Freeport Municipal Stadium in New York, 
the track developed its own mini-stock class where the spec were not 
only based on the VW Beetle, the cars HAD to be VW Beetles.  Here 
again, I saw a memorable race of over two dozen banged-up Beetles, 
one of which was being driven by Major League Baseball player, "Ball 
Four" author, and sportscaster Jim Bouton.

--Bob