July: The Golden Rod Rally has been cancelled. (No reason was given.)
March: "Golden Rod Rally has been changed to June 23, 24, and 25th. It will start and end in Lincoln." (The June, July, and August issues of the 1961 Exhaust Notes are missing.) Noted in October in minutes from a Quarterly Meeting: "The Golden Rod Rally was next on the agenda. Mike (Lemmers) extended the thanks of the Committee to all the folks who worked so hard to put on the biggest event of the year for our Region." (Note: The Woody Dunn Trophy for 1961 was given to the Golden Rod Rally Workers.)
October: October 15, 1961: 2nd Annual Economart Gymkhana. "This was lots of fun for those with nerves of steel ... but it's a little frustrating when you, the navigator, are screaming 'Go Straight, STRAIGHT!' and your poor driver is going straight into a light pole." ... "John Buchanan claims he sprained a toe getting out of Dr. Paul Reichstadt's Alfa." (The best we can assume is that this was a "blindfolded driver" segment of the event.)
December: "The Tony Andersen Trophy dedicated to the outstanding competition driver in the opinion of the licensed competition drivers in the Region, went to Gene Smiley. In acceptance, Gene said "I just bought an Osca." (Why the competition driver trophy is no longer named for Tony Andersen is a mystery.)
March: "The tabletop racing club meets every Tuesday evening at 7:30, alternating between the homes of Bob Jennings and Dr. Paul Reichstadt. There's no entry fee and Bob suggests that you come on over to a meet and see what is going on. ... Bob said he didn't think you could buy a Lotus, Cooper, or BRM anywhere else for only $10.00!"
April: "National has requested that we encourage more of our members to participate in National Rallies. Their idea was for us to offer a set of Regional trophies for high point (to be determined by National) driver and high point navigator. Your officers approved this plan at the March meeting, and we'll accordingly have two more pieces of travelling loot to award at the Annual Meeting. The idea is being thrown around that the winners must have participated in at least 50% of our Regional events."
May: "Alliance, Nebraska Cattle Capitol Sprints ... April 28-29 ... Go Smiley lost a bet with John Buchanan about some car, and only paid up when John threatened to sing the rest of the way home. One car had wiring trouble and I understand it was quite an experience driving with no lights (on the way home) following Jerry Venger at 75 mph. Later Jerry fell in behind someone else and turned off HIS lights, just to see how it felt. I think everyone feels that this was one of the most pleasant race weekends we've ever experienced."
June: "SEAT BELTS REQUIRED! ... The importance of belts has been well documented in statistics, and even national rallys require that all cars be so equipped. It appears that in the future belts may be required for all types of events."
July: (The original idea for this appeared in the February 1962 Notes when Dr. Dean Bloch said he would set up a rally route from Columbus to Denver, then a follow-the-leader, hare and hound route through the mountains and ending in Estes Park. Since he was going there for vacation anyway.) "Four adventurous couples started off on the Tour to Colorado, after waiting 45 minutes for John Buchanan (he overslept) to show up. They rallied from here to there, with Mike Lemmers turning in the best time, Don Wilson in second place, and John Buchanan in third."
"In Memoriam ... Dr. Robert C. Byers, known to friends as "Jack," joined our Region in 1958. He lost his life in a one-car crash on Friday, June 22, 1962. A long time enthusiast and former winner of the Golden Rod Rally, Dr. Byers had withdrawn from sports car activity upon the death of his wife, Annibal, almost exactly one year before his own death. Still a member in good standing, he maintained a great interest in Nebraska Region's activities. His loss is a great one to our Region."
September: "Golden Rod '62 ... If at first you don't succeed, try again. We, the members of Nebraska Region, are going to do just that. On the weekend of November 10 and 11, Golden Rod '62 will be run. ... It will be a Divisional Rally, the last for the 1962 year." (In the next few issues of the Notes there are no comments on the Golden Rod Rally, so we don't know what happened.)
November: "In Memoriam ... Dr. Blaine Carey, Norfolk, Nebraska, died Saturday, October 20, 1962, of a heart attack at his home. One of the charter members of the Nebraska Region, it was partly through his efforts that our Region was established. We have called upon him many times for help and advice through the years, and his loss is a great one to our region."
The following was written to the Public Pulse of the Omaha World Herald: "The persons who called the police Sunday to complain about the noise at the Ames Plaza Gymkhana should reconsider. It is far better to have supervised racing on a safe course. Would some rather have the drivers try out their cars on the open highway or city streets? Police are notified in advance of all sports car club activities. Some did a lot of work planning and setting up the race course and notifying club members. They even specified (and checked) the requirement of seat belts in all participating vehicles. It is unfair that many people should be disappointed just because a few object. ... Mrs. Florence Fansher. (There was an added note that she was not a member of SCCA, yet.)
January: "A new traveling trophy has been created for the Hero Driver Extraordinaire of each monthly event. This trophy is awarded to the member who has the worst score."
June: "In Memoriam ... The club mourns the loss of our friend and fellow sports car enthusiast John D. Lewis who was killed in an automobile accident May 22. John was a real sports car lover and took an active part in our club activities. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his family."
August: "Patter Chatter ... by Pat Baker (Comments on a Rally) ... a certain red Spitfire from Offutt ended up with nine bullet holes in his car! This particular person happened to be a guest. What a way to be initiated!!! If I were being chased by a truck and a shotgun I think I'd head for the nearest town and officer, to heck with any old rally."
November: "What do you say Pat Woolery (now Patc Henry), you must like that little man on the Hero Driver Trophy as you keep trying so hard to get him each month. Pat is the only member to ever win this particular trophy twice in a row." (Winning the Hero Driver, for doing something embarrassing such as getting out of your car and it rolls away, entitled the entrant to a free entry to the next event. Sources say that Patc won it so often -- when it was retired, she got to keep it.)
February: "Our second annual icekhana was cancelled for the second year in a row and was replaced by a wild, twisting, turning, rough road course."
April: "Panicky Party: (Rallymaster, Jerry Baker) Jerry Miller probably had as much fun as anybody -- he went through the final check point before it was set up. Not knowing the rally was over, he continued to follow the instructions which had some wild speeds on some even wilder roads."
October: "Would you believe -- Mike Lemmers instigated the 'Pot of Gold' way back in the early part of 1962 and he finally collected $5.00 last month! ... If he attended every meeting in that time, his $11.25 investment finally paid a dividend in cash." (The Pot of Gold: At monthly membership meetings each person could put a quarter in the pot. If their number was drawn, and they had also attended the previous meeting, they would claim all of the quarters in the pot.)
August: The Sunray DX Sports Car Festival had 97 cars entered in the rally and 112 cars in the gymkhana.
February: "Lake Wa-Con-Da Ice Trials -- Vic Kuklin -- Cold, clear ice, hard as stone and over a foot thick. Sound good for Ice Trials? It was!!! Dr. Bill Jurgensen not only provided access to the ice, he even had the snow plowed off a twisting mile and a half course. Several new ideas were incorporated into the rules of the event by the chairman, Ralph Barbe. Knocked over pylons had to be reset by the driver. Bruised bottoms were plentiful. If you spun into the snow, you had to do your own pushing. Have you ever tried to push your car with no one driving except the choke?"
March: "Greenwood Raceways may roar again! There is no official word from SCCA but according to Gene Strangeburg of the Des Moines Region, Greenwood Raceways may roar with the sound of SCCA racing this season. The remains of a very challenging road course are located 35 miles southeast of Des Moines, Iowa. Built about 1962, this course was the home of SCCA road racing, stock car, motorcycle and go-kart racing up until 1966." (It is assumed that there was insufficient money to pull off the reopening of the track.)
May: "SCCA approves Greenwood for Racing!!! Vic Kuklin was informed that Greenwood received an okay from SCCA to conduct events on the track. No date for the first event has been received. As soon as a date is set we'll get word around ..."
December: "New Formula -- Super Vee -- SCCA news November 24, 1969 -- Westport, Connecticut -- Adoption of the new 'Formula Super Vee' racing class marked competition rule developments ..."
