Vinton, Iowa
(July 3, 1979) – Keith Knaack, auto racing promoter, official, driver and
publisher, has brought a new type of auto racing to Iowa.
While the
crowds aren’t exactly rushing to the Benton County Fairgrounds in Vinton, Iowa,
for his Saturday night programs, interest is growing.
Knaack calls
his new class of cars “International Motor Contest Association modifieds”. They
have full-sized car frames but the bodies are from Pinto, Vega, Gremlin and
Monza.
And in the
interest of conserving gasoline, Knaack requires all cars competing to use
gasohol. He also makes available for the cars methanol alcohol, a non-petroleum
based fuel popular with sprint car racers.
He’s
converting his modified to burn alcohol at a cost of $125 for a different
carburetor.
The engines
don’t have to correspond either. In his own car, Knaack has a V-6 Buick engine
and plan to change to a Buick V-8.
Long an
advocate of inexpensive race cars, he is following the philosophy of Vinton.
“The frames
can be bought for $20 at a junk yard,” he noted. “A Monza body costs about $50.
They can be race-ready for $500. These modifieds are fast.”
They’re so
fast Knaack hopes to challenge and beat a sportsman car on the quarter-mile
track at Vinton later the season.
The tread
on the modified’s tire can be no wider than 9 inches. “That takes away the
exotic cams and powerful engines,” he said. “With such small tires, a lot of
power won’t do a person any good. He can’t get it to the ground.”
Knaack said
seven modifieds are racing and eight are being built. He hopes to have 12 for
Saturday night’s races.
“We’ve had
rain or potential rain every night we’ve run,” said Knaack, publisher of
Hawkeye Racing News. “That has kept our crowds down. We had about 700 fans last
week. We need about 1,000 to be successful.”
Why does he
call it International Motor Contests Association modifieds? He is one of three
owners of IMCA, which was a noted stock car and sprint car circuit until recent
years.
Knaack also
has Roadrunner 200 and Roadrunner 400 racing. They are also low-cost race cars
and are required to have only roll bars and safety belts. A driver must wear a
helmet.
The
Roadrunner 200 cars can be claimed by anyone who wants to pay $200 for them. If
somebody wants a “200”, the car owner has the option of selling it to the
claimant for $200, moving up to the “400” class or not racing it again.
The
Roadrunner 400 can be claimed for $400. If the owner won’t sell, he also must
retire it.
Knaack’s
racing program also consists of spectator one-on-one racing and Hare ‘n Hound,
a demolition-like race.
“We want to
have fun here,” he said, “And we’ve gotten rid of a lot of junk cars around
town.”
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