Challenge issued to guessers for this week's mystery vehicle
Three readers correctly guessed last week's guess the vehicle.
The 1953 GMC Carryall Suburban is owned by Wayne Wooden, owner of Woody's Auto in Merrifield.
Most of the guesses were for the wrong year, 1954 or 1955, or make.
Wooden has owned this vehicle for the last 15 years. He said it has no engine, but it still has a dashboard, steering wheel, radiator and the grille shell.
Last week's vehicle, a Buick Riviera, generated more response.
Gene Carlson wrote in an e-mail that this Riviera may have been manufactured in August 1964 but it still is a 1965.
"Since most new models are introduced in the fall of the year, they must be manufactured in late summer," he wrote. "An August 1964 manufacture date for a 1965 model is consistent with manufacturing and model introduction schedules.
He said he worked in the Ford assembly plant in St. Paul and it shut down each July for the new-model change over.
This week's guess the vehicle is so unusual I am issuing a challenge. Whoever correctly guesses it, The Dispatch will give two free Movies 10 at Westgate movie tickets. Good luck.
Brainerd International Raceway will be the site of one of the largest sportsman drag racing events this weekend. A bigger event would be the NHRA National event at Topeka, said BIR's General Manager Scott Quick.
The raceway will host the four-day second annual BIR 5000 with a payout of $50,000.
Race days will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Friday will be test and tune day.
Each day, the top bracket racers and top NHRA Legal Stock and Super Stock racers will have separate payouts. The payout for Saturday's winners in each class will be $2,500, the payout for Sunday's will be $5,000 and the winner in each class Monday will take home $2,500.
Quick noted that the track will obviously payback to 16 places in each category daily.
He said he already has received twice as many entries as last year.
"We're expecting upwards of 500 vehicles for this event," he said. "Some of the top stock and super stock racers in the country will be here."
He said that this field will include cars that can make passes in six to seven seconds. All cars in this event must tour the quarter-mile strip in less than 12 seconds.
Ken Martin of Brainerd, who is hoping to qualify with his NHRA Pro Stock bike at the NHRA National event in Chicago May 29-June 1, also said he will race in this event Sunday and Monday..
He said in an e-mail that he is hoping to test as long as the weather cooperates. He will be testing with an engine which was modified to produce more horsepower by Ward Performance in Twin Cities.
The event also will include a DJ and fireworks on Saturday.
BIR also will host its first lawnmower races Saturday. The races, which could include lawnmowers blazing 60 mph around the grass track, start at 6 p.m.
Quick said he is expecting 25 to 30 lawnmowers from out of state.
Trent Snyder, winner of the late model feature Saturday at I-94 Raceway in Sauk Centre, said he was running consistent lap times throughout the race (between two and six hundredths of a second).
"The car was just like a rocket ship," he said.
Snyder, who started on the outside pole, said he got the early lead and watched the second place car of Eugene Dick battle with the third place car the first few laps.
He said he had a straightaway-lead with seven laps to go, the same time of a caution.
On the restart, he said Dick tried passing him low a couple times to no avail.
He estimated that he won the 30 lapper by about a car length.
This was his 16th feature win between this raceway and one in Fergus Falls.
Earlier in the fast dash (where the six fastest racers race), Snyder worked his way up from last to fourth place after being involved in a crash.
Snyder said he started in the front of the pack and ducked behind the pole sitter right away. The crash occurred when another racer attempted to block him from passing.
"(Trent) just about went into the wall backwards," said his father Steve.
The two were sent to the back of the pack on the restart.
Snyder will be busy this weekend. He will race in the Fergus Falls Raceway opener Friday and Sauk Centre Saturday.
Steve said Friday's race will be the first time that Trent raced the three-eigths mile asphalt track on Hoosier tires instead of Goodyears.