Ice racing still happens on the frozen waters near St. Paul, Minnesota. But seeing Siatas and 356s and Allards wheel to slipping wheel is no less a tremendous sight out on the ice in this film of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Winter Ice Races of 1954.
As with many of the races of the period, I’m always astonished to see the variety of machines out there mixing it up. Not just sportscars of various sizes, but several American hot rodders joining the race as well
Worth watching just for the onboard from director Tom Countryman—who was a fixture in the upper-midwest vintage racing scene for decades. It really shows the delicate balance required for this very different kind of off-road racing. Glorious.
Thanks for sending this in, Paul!
Tag: ice racing
Racing photographer Tom Moran has uploaded some scans of photos of Minnesota’s racing past. There are dozens of painfully fantastic shots of the action and cars (and a few bikini-clad spectators) from the heydays of Donnybrooke Raceway (now Brainerd International Speedway). There are a handful of photos from a 1957 SCCA Land O’ Lakes region event that looks to have been an airstrip race. The set also includes a lush green (maybe that’s the Kodachrome) racing afternoon in the mid-60’s.
Yowza! 
Minnesota Racing 1966 
The Crowd Likes This Alfa
Of course, no Minnesota racing gallery is complete without some ice racing action. The sun sets mighty early up here in the north woods, so these racers aren’t just hitting the ice and trying to keep it from spinning, they’re doing it after dark. Impressive.
The entire gallery is definitely worth checking out. Thanks for sharing these shots, Tom.