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YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN - THE 60TH RACE Text by Randy Unsbee
YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN - THE 60TH RACE Text by Randy Unsbee
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ABOVE Race #2 Pace Lap. Photo by Mari Miller.
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“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood ... back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame ... back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time - back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.”
- Thomas Wolfe
One of the more influential novels of the 20th Century was published in 1940 after the death of its mercurial American author, Thomas Wolfe.
“You Can’t Go Home Again” described the author’s disappointment in discovering that nostalgia for places and times past was disappointing. Critics said that attempting to relive youthful memories is doomed to failure.
My youthful memories of beginning a life in sports car racing reaches back to the 1970s, when family and friends
formed Peterman-Unsbee racing enterprises in suburban Chicago, IL. As detailed in the following article, reprinted from the December “Victory Lane” magazine, I had the chance to go back to my youth and a time dating back some 43 years. That was the last time I had raced my titlewinning #62 Mini Cooper S. When Don Racine of Mini Mania offered me the chance to reunite one more time with my legendary car, I didn’t hesitate. But going back in time didn’t just relate to my Mini, but also the track hosting the 60th Anniversary Race. It had been 10 years since I had raced at Portland International Raceway. For some of the drivers competing in the historic September race weekend, it was their first time at the circuit. For others, PIR was an old friend. Some of the drivers were relatively new to Mini racing, while others h a d b e e n racing Minis for decades. In each of our personal situations, we were both creating new memories while revisiting another time and place. For those who raced Minis in the last century we found that you can go home again - “back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame.” For those who raced Minis in the last century, we found that you can go home again - “back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame.”
From the Driver’s Seat
The 60th Anniversary Mini Race in North America Text by Randy Unsbee
Revised from the December issue of Victory Lane magazine. Photos by Cindi Racine, Mari Miller & Pacific Northwest Motor Racing
This was a race weekend to remember, and a fitting tribute to the Mini legacy.
The 1.96-mile, 12-corner circuit at Oregon’s Portland International Raceway was the site chosen for the 60th Anniversary Mini Race. A total of 25 teams gathered to compete in four classes based upon engine, chassis and suspension modifications, with classes M4 and M3 typically fastest and most modified, followed by M2 and M1 which more closely aligned with the former C and D Sedan classes of the Sports Car Club of America.
Team Mini Mania brought five cars from Nevada City, CA for family members Don, Dennis, Julie Racine, and John Burmann. 2 0
I was honored to be a guest driver in my former #62 (see Victory Lane magazine May 2019). A Mini Mania customer car of Colorado’s James Stiehr brought the team total to six.
The event was organized and planned by the All British Field Meet which was hosting its 43rd annual gathering that weekend, along with Seven Mini Parts, Mini Mania, Jet Motors,
ABOVE LEFT Richard Paterson #1, Don Racine #61 & Greg Wold #88 at turn one
ABOVE RIGHT Robert Beauchemin in his Mini Sprint leads Mini Mania’s Dennis Racine #177
Team from MINI of Portland & Paddy Hopkirk
MINI of Portland, and SOVREN Vintage Racing. Special guest for the weekend was Paddy Hopkirk, world-famous Mini rally champion and race driver.
The Mini event ran as a separate race group within the 17th Annual Columbia River Classic so track time was somewhat limited to fit in with the other vintage race groups. Saturday consisted of just one 15 minute practice/qualifying session and one 20 minute race. Sunday’s schedule was another 20 minute race in the morning, with a 30 minute feature in the afternoon. However, due to the fuel capacity of some of the cars the feature was shortened to 25 minutes.
Practice/Qualifying
Not surprisingly, British Columbia’s Geoff Tupholme in his beautifully prepared 1973 Austin Mini with crossflow head was fastest overall and first in M4 with a 1:33.327, but was closely followed by the M3 cars of Ontario’s Richard Paterson in Ward Barbour’s entry and Don
Racine just a few tenths back. Greg Wold from Minnesota was also in the 1:33 range to lead M2 with his 1964 Morris Cooper S, while Roger Soucy from Texas led M1 in his 1967 Austin Cooper S with a 1:40.708. My first stint in the #62 Mini after 43 years was also my first race in ten. However, I had spent the previous 10 years off and on racing at PIR so while I didn’t really know the restored car, I knew the track. Going out in practice we opted for used tires on the front to save the fresh ones for the three races that weekend. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I pulled out on the long front straight. The car was veering to the left and jumped around over every bump. I could barely keep it in a straight line and with the track surface being damp I fought to keep it off the wall. After two laps I nearly pulled back into the paddock but hoped that maybe warming tire temperatures would help the matter, and only got in eight slow laps, qualifying 20th overall out of 24 cars. Race #1 The field of classic Minis lining up for the first race was a sight to see, even from the back of the field where I was sitting! The green flag fell and Tupholme, Paterson, Don Racine, and Wold were quickly joined by Dennis Racine in his M3 class 1966 Mini Cooper S and Robert Beauchemin from British Columbia in his M4 1962 Austin Mini Sprint. Tupholme would drop out with mechanical problems after six laps and Don Racine after nine. Paterson would win overall and in class M3, followed by Wold first in M2, and Beauchemin first in M4. Dennis Racine was fourth overall and second in M3. James Stiehr won the M1 class in seventh overall. John Burmann was seventh in M2 and wife Julie Racine sixth in M1. As for me, we determined the used tires in practice must have had stagger or different circumferences due to wear, causing the violent bump steer. With fresh tires fitted I could tell on the pace Dennis Racine of Team Mini Mania
Dennis Racine #177 & Geoff Tupholme #441 pace the field for the Feature Race, while Hard Charger Randy Unsbee #62 starts dead last.
lap all was well. The problem was, I had only eight laps in the car before starting the first race, under completely different conditions – no reason to worry . . .
The green flag fell and I passed several rows of cars going into the tight right, left, right corners now christened the Shelton Chicane, named in honor of racing legend Monte Shelton. By the end of lap one I had passed five cars and was in 15th, by lap five I was 13th overall and on lap 10 had advanced to 10th before the race was flagged at 11 laps. So, we ended up 10th overall from 20th, sixth in class, and named the Harder Charger for passing the most cars in the race – ten in all.
Race #2
Starting 10th overall in the second race was encouraging, and I was feeling optimistic that I could discover what the car and I were really capable of accomplishing.
Team Mini Mania’s James Stiehr
The sun came out as Greg Wold and Richard Paterson brought the field down for the green flag. Paterson took the early lead
while Dennis Racine got the jump on Wold for second overall heading into the Shelton Chicane.
Paterson and Dennis Racine had a mighty duel for first overall until the former dropped out with mechanical problems. Geoff Tupholme started last due to his first race DNF, and picked his way through the field to first overall and first in M4, followed by Dennis Racine second overall and first in M3, and Wold third overall and first in M2. Don Racine was fourth overall and only second to son Dennis in M3. Stiehr was eighth overall and first again in
my wife Julia to drop off my equipment. My weekend was done and it was time to sit in the stands, enjoy the races, and have a beer. Or, so I thought. as they expertly completed the swap. Minutes before the call to grid we were done, got refueled, checked the tire pressures, torqued the wheels, and got the driver gear back on. From the Driver’s Seat
M1. John Burmann finished sixth in M2 and Julie Racine sixth in M1. #62 got a great start, and I again passed several rows before the first turn. Things were looking up, as I was starting to feel comfortable in the car after only 19 total laps. With the front of the field clearly in my reach, my optimism was shattered the same time the shift linkage inside the transmission case broke, leaving me without drive and on the side of the course after just three laps. After being towed back to the paddock I gathered up my race gear and headed to our car with That’s when I heard a voice behind me call out, “Randy, you aren’t going home, are you? We’re trying to decide if we have time to change engines.” Don Racine was huddled with Dennis Racine and discussing their options. They had brought a spare motor but there was only a little more than two hours until the feature race, and they estimated two hours for the swap. They decided to give it a go and I pitched in where I could, not really remembering much of anything from when I used to rebuild my engine after nearly every race four decades ago! Don and Dennis were a blur Race #3 In racing, you always hear that “track position” is everything. They’re right. Cars I was easily ahead of in Race #2 were well ahead of me when starting dead last in the feature event. At the start I passed several rows again before turn one and picked my way through the field on a very damp course. That wasn’t my biggest concern, just getting home was primary. The engine swap was lightening fast, so in the back of my mind I wondered if everything was connected tight, how hard could I safely push #62 from the back of the grid, and could I bring the car back in one piece. I had jokingly made the pre-race comment that I only wanted to not finish last and bring the car home in one piece. But, here I was starting dead last in a previously wounded car. Mini Mania’s Don Racine #6 and Greg Wolld #88 Richard Paterson in Ward Barbour’s entry
#37 Steve Phillips
Team Mini Mania’s Randy Unsbee & Dennis Racine
It nearly all came to an end on lap seven when a car I had previously passed, then was repassed by, then passed again made a dive bomb attempt in turn one. Fortunately, I saw him coming at me just as I was braking and turning in. I waited a beat and sure enough, he flew by me on the inside and straight off the track at top speed. If I had turned in at my usual point it would have been a t-bone disaster.
After 14 laps Tupholme was first overall again, followed by Dennis Racine and Wold. Steve Phillips from California was fourth overall and second in M4 in his 1966 Austin Mini Cooper S, followed across the line by Stiehr winning M1 again. Don Racine had a half shaft problem but still managed second in M3.
Steve Schmidt in the #7 Marcos Mini and Bruce Houlden #427
John Breslow #347 and Greg Wold #88 Mike Kimball #176
We were named the Hard Charger for a second time for passing nine cars, taking the checkered flag in eighth overall from dead last, claiming third in the M2 class, and finishing on the podium.
Altogether an historic and exciting weekend with a bunch of Mini enthusiasts, including six Mini Mania t e a m m a t e s , putting on a show that won’t soon be forgotten and lives on thanks to You Tube videos!
M2 Class Podium (fr. left) Greg Wold, Scott Crawford, Randy Unsbee
Team Mini Mania #00 John Burmann
Overall Winners Podium (fr. left) Paddy Hopkirk, Geoff Tupholme, Dennis Racine, Greg Wold, Roger Botton
Seven Mini Parts #12 Paul Quakenbush
