Hey...where are they now?

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zracer22

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Back in the mid to late eighties, there was a compact truck roadrace series. Nissan, Ford Ranger, Mazda, Chevy S-10, and Jeep Comanche were in it. The Archer brothers field a couple of Jeeps. Some of these trucks must still be around somewhere. I can't even find anything about them on the internet.
 
The "SporTruck" series was going to ride the wave of compact pickup sales to a huge success. They got good venues (typically w/TransAm) but the races were often crashfests. They were NOT cheap to run - since you had to have a different third member for each desired camber setting, and a few people discovered that having structure that close to their head resulted in nasty noggin bashing in an accident.

Charlie Hexom (Portland area guy) ran a hand-control version for Mitsubishi and even at Pikes Peak (they were allowed as a class one year) and got to keep the truck as a parting gift. It ran regionals for a while after that.

There is an ITT (IT Truck) class in the SE but I'm not sure if they run to the same rules as the pro series did.

Other teams included General Tire Ford Rangers (Saleen?), at least a couple of Nissans, the aforementioned Archer Jeeps, and...Toyotas? I don't remember them clearly. Seems to me the Chevy was notably absent.

It all lasted just a couple of years and - poof - they were gone.

K
 
Now we're talking!! Real racecars, oops I mean racetrucks. I ran the series for Dave Wolins Team Mitsubishi. They were great fun, from the drivers seat they felt very IT like. Just a lot more body contact!! We ran Pikes Peak, the full oval at Pocono a bunch of street courses. The trucks may have dissapeared but some of the drivers are still around. Charlie Downs, The Archers, Chuck Hemmingson, Peter Schwartzot and yours truly. Ah, those were the days. How does the saying go? The older I get the faster I was..
John Norris
 
If I recall, the series was sponsored by a bedliner company and you had to run with the tail gate up. No Toneaus.

Tail gate down is the hot ticket for getting more speed out of a PU.
 
Originally posted by joeg:
Tail gate down is the hot ticket for getting more speed out of a PU.
Click to expand...

Not always.

Some Bonneville trucks run with it up. Of course, they have a fuel cell cover just ahead of that, that ISN'T a tonneau, but looks a lot like a rear wing...
 
A few of the Nissan trucks did make their way into the ITT class here in the Atlanta Region and I believe they are running under rules that closely match the "SporTruck" series. The class really hasn't caught on though. I think maybe one or two other trucks have been built to run and that's it.

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Bob Pinkowski
Atlanta Region SCCA
OPM Motorsports
ITS Honda Prelude
 
Okay, anybody can make a mini pickup truck go fast....but how about a real truck.

Just got back from ALMS at Road America where one of the featured groups is the 'Tonka' series for full size i.e. Semi's diesel trucks.

These things weigh about 10000lbs, have water cooled brakes, 1000HP diesels, and just barely clear the Snap-On bridge at Road America.

They are a riot!
 
You know, the ARRC isn't really too far away and I wonder if I could talk the committee into running the Tonka Trucks in SP
smile.gif


And since the event is run at Road Atlanta, Dr. Don might have some available. Hmmm.....

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Bob Pinkowski
Atlanta Region SCCA
OPM Motorsports
ITS Honda Prelude
 
Hey Bob Pinkowski - how willing are you to stand behind a barrier at Road Atlanta when those Tonka trucks are on course?

I'd make sure I have lots of room to run.....

Bob Hudson
Atlanta F&C
 
Their are a couple trucks from the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series running in the northeast... they look like they might be fun vehicles to drive, unfortunatly I can't tell as I havn't seen anyone that can actually drive get behind the wheel!!!

Raymond
 
<font face=\"Verdana, Arial\" size=\"2\"> Dave Wolins Team Mitsubishi. </font>
Click to expand...

One of these trucks is here in portland owned by a friend of mine...I think it is being rebuilt with a larger turbo package and is going to be running ITE....

Joe Harlan
 
There are 5 ITT trucks running regularly at Rd. Atlanta. Another shows up occasionally and a new Nissan is being built. They are great fun to race. It's a hoot to terrorize SMs through the esses!
I have one of the original Nissans. It seems that the truck ran at every major track in the 80s. I should be so lucky.
We'll be at ARRC. Come see us.

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games.
Hemingway.
 
Originally posted by ITTdriver:
Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games.
Hemingway.
Click to expand...

I guess Hemingway didn't care for water (frozen or otherwise) sports, as I don't see ski jumping and big wave surfing on that list.




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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]
 
Those big trucks don't need to be run at Road Atlanta, there is no real safe place for any worker. It will also be interesting to see how badly the pavement gets torn up and how it will affect the rest of the series.

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Lance Snyder
Atlanta Region F&C

I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left
earlier they wouldn't have to go so fast.
 
Originally posted by Anubis:
Those big trucks don't need to be run at Road Atlanta, there is no real safe place for any worker.
Click to expand...

No kidding. They had one pulling demo laps at the Sears Point IMSA round and we all stood as far back as we possibly could... and even that wasn't far enough.

A British marshal told me that when they race the trucks in Europe, they have a second set of flag stations for them... a good 20 yards further back from the track!

Travis
SF Region SCCA F&C
 
about 20 minutes SE of me they are doing the s10 series oval track trucks started this past year ... I seen a few of them they are real works of art(to bad ya cant see the sarchasm in my typing) but it seems to be taking off pretty hard around here in NW Ohio
 
The ITT entrants at Rd Atlanta are certainly more credible as road racers than the Tonka boys or any oval trackers. We run times that are competitive with many a SM or Spec 7. Plus we're the best looking drivers as a class!

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games.
Hemingway.
 
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