Ellefson racing tale

Just like those who have found an unexpected hidden treasure with a fine piece of art, so did Ron Turner with his restoration of his 1970s vintage Jim Tipke sprint car.

Aside from chipping away old paint and some rust, Turner also unearthed a treasure chest of local racing history. Perhaps the real history behind Turner’s project car belongs to Cheney resident Norm Ellefson.

Ellefson drove this car – the third in a line of Tipke creations – to an impressive finish in 1971 at one of the nation’s top sprint car races of its day, the Minnesota State Fair. “I got mine (sprint car) about August 1971,” Ellefson recalled.

The first stop was the annual race at the Minnesota State Fair. “In those days that was the biggest sprint car race in the nation, before the World of Outlaws. Anybody who was anybody was there. “There were 142 cars.” Ellefson said.

“We went back there and actually terrorized them with it,” Ellefson said. The Tipke/Ellefson team was the first rear-engine car to run at the Minnesota State Fair.

Ellefson was hardly a no-name back in Minneapolis. “We had been back there in 1969 and blew ‘em away with our roadster,” said the Edmonton, Alberta, native.

And in 1971 it looked like there would be a repeat performance. “We went back there with this car, and the first three days, we just annihilated everybody,” Ellefson said.

Ellefson’s run in 1971 was really one that defied the odds. The first three days of the race Ellefson, driving the only rear-engine entry in the race, was so dominant, “we turned into a target,” he said.

“Because we had such a small engine in that car – we only ran a 305 (cubic inch) in it – I talked Tipke into taking the clutch out, the starter out. ‘Throw all that crap away,’ I told him.

“I was out there fiddling around. I was playing with a guy. There was a back-marker (slow driver) and I was chasing him down the back straightaway seeing how close I could get my left front (tire) to his right rear (tire). If they touch, it’s really catastrophic.”

“There’s this great big bloody oil slick,” Ellefson said in his best Canadian accent. “I zoomed right into it, spun the car and stalled the motor.” Without a starter Ellefson had to sit and wait for a push truck as the laps wound down on the half-mile oval.

“Well there I was stuck on the racetrack. No starter, no clutch. So they let me sit for five laps. Then the push truck comes out,” Ellefson recalled.

Along with losing five laps, Ellefson’s right rear tire was flat. “When I come back out, I’m on a mission. That was probably on the 15th or 20th lap. By the 100th lap we were back in third spot after being down seven laps,” Ellefson said.

Under a caution, Ellefson saw his chance to take the lead. As he was trying to pass the number one and two drivers, “bingo, they got me again.” The guy hit Ellefson so hard that it bent the rear nerf bar.

“They left me there for 11 laps that time,” Ellefson said incredulously.

He had to come in for another stop and the team’s lap counter miscounted. “At the end of the race we were in third spot. We should have been first. We got 11 laps back,” Ellefson said.

“It was unbelievable how fast we were,” Ellefson said. In a 100-lap race they gained back 18 laps.

The car returned to the Northwest and continued to reel off impressive outings. “We brought the car back here, ran Boise with it,” Ellefson said. “We won quite a few races with it. It was just an awesome car. The last race Tom Sneva and I had together, and I beat him in it.”

Ellefson turned heads at the track, and also on the streets of Spokane prior to a United States Auto Club race at Seattle.

“Friday afternoon we rolled her onto the street there on Perry,” Ellefson remembered. “He (Tipke) pushed me off and I ran it up the hill to Gonzaga (Prep). I turned and brought it back down toward Jimmy’s Tavern. I went by the shop at 7300 rpm in third gear – 132 miles per hour,” Ellefson said.

“There’s a dip in the street and this old gal is coming up the street in the Oldsmobile. She just hit the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road. I went down to Jimmy’s Tavern, turn around, drove by her, and she was still sitting there wondering what the hell that was.”

“Tipke is standing in the middle of the road pointing at the door. ” ‘You damn fool, let’s get the hell out of here,’ and that’s what we did.

“We went road racing. I had never been on a road course in my life,” Ellefson said. His lack of experience showed right off the trailer at Seattle International Raceway. But Ellefson tried to use bravado to try to keep up with the Andrettis, Dallenbachs and Johncocks.

“What the hell are these guys going so slow?” Ellefson asked. Coming out of the S curves, he found out. “I lost the rear-end and stuffed it in the bank,” he said.

Ellefson didn’t feel alone on the sidelines, however. Seattle International Raceway’s road course got the best of some of the best that day.

“Gordon Johncock was there,” Ellefson remembered. “He caught me at 172 (miles per hour), and he went 202. He never turned and was done for the day.”

On race day Ellefson described himself as “tail-end Charlie.” He got a flat tire at the start. “I just drove around and got my practice,” finishing 14th.

“It was a hell of a school.”