Sig Haugdahl

Last updated February 22, 2019

Sigurd Olson “Sig” Haugdahl (January 10, 1891 – February 4, 1970) was an IMCA champion 1927 – 1932 and an early promoter of stock car racing in the United States.^[1]

The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) was organized in 1915 by J. Alex Sloan, and is currently the oldest active auto racing sanctioning body in the United States. IMCA is currently headquartered in Vinton, Iowa, and features several classes and divisions of weekly racing in six geographical regions of the United States.

Background

Sig Haugdahl was born on the Tiller farm in Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway and migrated to the United States in 1910 making his home with an uncle in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He started his racing career in 1912 on an ice motorbike powered by an Indian (motorcycle) engine that reached a speed of 70 M.P.H. He soon switched to racing motorcycles but gave those up to race automobiles in 1912.

Verdal Municipality in Trøndelag, Norway

Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Other villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklestad, Trones, Vera, Vinne, and Vuku.

Nord-Trøndelag was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and Søndre Trondhjems amt. In 2016, the two county councils voted to merge (back) into a single county on 1 January 2018.

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northwestern Europe whose territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula; the remote island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard are also part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land.

Racing career

Haugdahl's U.S. racing career in 1912, when he drove a specially equipped Indian Motorcycle in ice races in Minnesota. He began dirt track racing in 1918. He became the IMCA champion six years in a row, between 1927 and 1932.^[2] He built the Wisconsin Special to unseat USAC champion Tommy Milton. The car was named after its 836 cubic inch Wisconsin Airplane 6-cylinder motor, which was directly connected to the rear wheels. The car was 192 inches (4,900 mm) long, 20 inches (510 mm) wide, and had 250 horsepower (190 kW). The speed would first be exceeded after over ten years.

Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ice, it is usually found at higher latitudes in Canada, the northern United States, and in northern Europe, although limited indoor events are held in warmer climates, typically on ice hockey rinks. Tracks in North America vary from 1/4 mile long ovals to several mile-long road course designs.

Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on clay or dirt surfaced oval tracks. It started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s. Two different types of race cars dominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South. While open wheel race cars are purpose-built racing vehicles, stock cars can be either purpose-built race cars or street vehicles that have been modified to varying degrees.

Thomas "Tommy" Milton was an American race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He was notable for having only one functional eye, a disability that would have disqualified him from competing in modern motorsports.

World speed record

Haugdahl is reported to have set a world land speed record of 180 miles per hour in his Wisconsin Special car at the Daytona Beach Road Course on April 7, 1922.^[3] A world record was not awarded, however, because the run was not timed by the American Automobile Association and as such could not be verified.^[2] It is considered by some that the record speed was claimed by IMCA for the promotional benefits that it would offer.^[2] If true, this record would have represented a record speed 50 mph (80 km/h) faster than the official record, set by a car with a quarter less power than the current holder, five years before the official record reached this level.

Land speed record the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land

The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The land speed record (LSR) is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs. Two runs are required in opposite directions within one hour, and a new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated.

The American Automobile Association is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held non-profit national member association and service organization with over 58 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA provides services to its members, including roadside assistance and others. Its national headquarters are in Heathrow, Florida.

Daytona Beach Road Course

World land speed record attempts moved from Daytona to the more consistent surface at the Bonneville Salt Flats with Campbell's Blue Bird in 1935. Not wishing to lose the valuable visitor trade, Daytona Beach officials asked local racer Haugdahl to organize and promote an automobile race along the 3.2-mile (5.1 km) course. Haugdahl is credited for designing the track. The city posted at $5,000 purse. The ticket-takers arrived at the event to find thousands of fans already at the track. The sandy turns became virtually impassable, and the event was stopped after 75 of 78 laps. The city has not promoted an event since.^[4]

The Bonneville Salt Flats is a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. The area is a remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville and is the largest of many salt flats located west of the Great Salt Lake. The property is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is known for land speed records at the "Bonneville Speedway". Access to the flats is open to the public.

Major Sir Malcolm Campbell was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird, including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam. His son, Donald Campbell, carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records.

The Campbell-Railton Blue Bird was Sir Malcolm Campbell's final land speed record car.

Haugdahl talked with another local driver named William France Sr., and they talked the Daytona Beach Elks Club to host another event in 1937. The event was more successful, but still lost money. Haugdahl didn't promote any more events. France used the experience to found NASCAR.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock-car racing. Its three largest or National series are the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Regional series include the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West, the Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Pinty's Series NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Europe. NASCAR has presented races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, and the Calder Park Thunderdome in Australia. NASCAR also ventures into eSports via the PEAK Antifreeze NASCAR iRacing Series and a sanctioned ladder system on that title.

Award

Sig Haugdahl died at 79 years of age in Jacksonville, Florida. Haugdahl was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1994.^[5]^[6]

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References

↑ Sigurd Olson “Sig” Haugdahl (The Cowley County Fairgrounds Marble Wall of Fame For Auto Racing) Archived January 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine .
1 2 3 "Sigurd Olson "Sig" Haugdahl". HistoricRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-05-12. ^{[ dead link ]}
↑ "Picture and brief biography". Archived from the original on 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
↑ Haugdahl races at Daytona. April 7, 1922(A&E Television Networks) Archived February 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine .
↑ Haugdahl, Sigurd (Social Security Death Index) Archived March 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine .
↑ Fifth National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductions (National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum) Archived December 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine .

Other sources

Fleischman, Bill and Al Pearce The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide 1998-99 (Visible Ink Press: 1999) ISBN 1-57859-093-0, ISBN 978-1-57859-093-3

External links

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[1] Sigurd Olson “Sig” Haugdahl (The Cowley County Fairgrounds Marble Wall of Fame For Auto Racing) Archived January 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine .

[historicracing-2] 1 2 3 "Sigurd Olson "Sig" Haugdahl". HistoricRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-05-12. ^{[ dead link ]}

[sprintguy-3] "Picture and brief biography". Archived from the original on 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2007-06-03.

[4] Haugdahl races at Daytona. April 7, 1922(A&E Television Networks) Archived February 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine .

[5] Haugdahl, Sigurd (Social Security Death Index) Archived March 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine .

[6] Fifth National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductions (National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum) Archived December 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine .