Nanook of the North

 

1994 was a strange year. It was also the year I attended and endured the most extreme motorsports event in my performance marketing career: The World Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River, Wisconsin. 

In January... IN WISCONSIN.

Let that sink in for a moment.

As the Technical and Motorsports Manager at NGK Spark Plugs, I was sponsoring several amateur and pro 'sled' racers with dollars and product. It was decided I'd be on-site to support the competitors and our Regional Sales Rep who wanted a corporate presence for the 1994 event. 

The Plan: I'd fly into Minneapolis to meet with Sales Rep Chris, we'd pick up a rented RV and, after loading it with food, gear and corporate goodies, I'd drive the rig North to Eagle River with Chris leading the way in his company car. We'd park the rig in the race pits as our base camp and spend several days spreading the gospel according to NGK. A typical race event plan, no biggie... except NORTHERN WISCONSIN IN JANUARY.

My arrival in Minneapolis was met with extreme cold and snow, and even though I'd been in town the previous year right before Christmas, I was shocked at the huge snow banks everywhere. I'd already learned about indoor self-service car washes, which seemed strange until my education about how ice, snow and mud can pack a car's chassis and needs to be removed with heated and pressurized water. Otherwise, it can fall off in large chunks on the freeway and impact cars following too closely.

Chris' advice about driving the rented RV on icy roads was very helpful:

1. Accelerate from stops slowly.

2. Never stab the brake pedal.

3. Use the 'thousand-yard stare' while driving.

4. When approaching a stop, begin braking at twice the distance than normal, with half the pressure on the brake pedal than normal.

The trek to Eagle River went well. The weather held off and gave us a clear run, covering the 275 miles without incident. I slid the RV only a couple of times, keeping it nice and straight. We arrived at the track on a sunny and clear zero-degree afternoon, parked the rig in the pits and made our way 20 miles North to the hotel in Land O' Lakes, hard on the border with the Michigan UP. 

Thankfully, I'd borrowed a pair of high-end snow boots and had NGK snowmobile clothing, goggles and other cold weather gear to keep warm. I had no idea how critical this kit would be over the weekend. 

The day we arrived in Eagle River would be the warmest and clearest we'd see for the entire race weekend. Nighttime temps would drop to minus-35 degrees, and I learned that Chris always parked his car with the nose partially buried into a snow bank. This prevented the wind from freezing the engine block solid and allowed the engine block warmer to actually warm the engine enough to start safely.

The next morning, Chris and I headed to the hotel restaurant for a hearty brekkie. We'd just ordered when a guy sat down at a table next to us. I glanced over, then looked again and realized it was Stan Fox, a notable sprint car and IndyCar driver from Janesville, Wisconsin.

Me (whispering): "Chris... do you know who Stan Fox is?"

Chris (whispering): "Yep, sure do... but why are you whispering?"

Me (still whispering): "Well, Stan Fox just sat down at the table next to us."

Chris (still whispering): Oh man... that's so COOOOL."

 

Without missing a beat, I went over and introduced myself to Stan, who couldn't have been friendlier and accepted my invitation to eat with us. It turns out he was a MAJOR sledding fan and attended The Derby every year, was staying at the same hotel, and wound up meeting us for breakfast each of the following mornings before heading to the track (we both loved oatmeal). He also loved NGK spark plugs and used them exclusively in all of his personal toys. 

Snapshot: The Derby track is a self-contained high-banked half-mile oval of snow and ice, where several classes of sleds (snowmobiles) race at speeds of up to 100mph. The 'hot pits' is a Staging area just outside of the track where sleds and riders line up to enter the track and then cool down after each race. During my first walk through the Staging area, I noticed hundreds of small wads of multi-colored tape littering the area and asked Chris what they were. His answer: pieces of duct tape the racers stuck to their faces underneath their head socks, helmets and goggles to prevent facial frostbite while racing, then pulled off and discarded after each race. OUCH.

                  2021 Eagle River Derby Pro-Mod 800 Final Highlights

Snapshot: One evening just before dusk, Chris and I went to dinner at a family restaurant/bar overlooking a frozen lake. Before ordering, we heard what sounded like a flock of angry chainsaws. We looked out the expansive window and watched a group of six sledders speeding across the lake towards the restaurant. They stopped and came into the adjacent bar to tilt a few. After about an hour, the drunk sledders left the bar, mounted their rides and blasted off across the pitch-black frozen lake at high speed. This seemed pretty dangerous to me, but Chris said it was normal Derby-time behavior. "They're filled with anti-freeze and if they crash, they'll feel no pain."

Snapshot: We attended the Friday night grudge match races between the Super Stock and F-1 sleds, a very popular event. With the wind chill, the temperature was about minus-40 degrees and the ground was so cold that I couldn't stand in one place for more than a minute before my feet began to hurt. The solution: bounce back and forth from one foot to another, which everyone standing around the track fence was doing, resulting in a crazy group dance. Every time the sleds raced by, we had to duck below the top edge of the fence or we'd be instantly enveloped in a thick coating of ice dust and wind up looking like a weird snowman. Note: the track fence height has been extended since my visit.

Snapshot:  We spent Saturday morning visiting every race trailer in the pits to hand out spark plugs, contingency stickers and ball caps in minus-25 degree weather. We took a break inside the RV to warm up and have lunch. Without a word, Chris dug out a hibachi and some charcoal, pulled a big pack of bratwurst outta the fridge and started a barbecue outside the RV. I was stunned at the idea of grilling brats in such cold weather but it was normal for him, a Minneapolis native. We grilled brats and shared them with anyone who came walking by. We ran out of brats.

Not the actual brats, but a reasonable facsimile.

When we arrived trackside on Sunday morning, the weather had turned ugly enough that Chris suggested we bug out early or we'd never make it back to Minneapolis before dark. We were soon on the road South in a horizontal snowstorm, and the temperature was still around minus-25 degrees. The RV's heater was useless, and the full-blast defroster kept one square foot of windshield semi-clear. The engine belts kept freezing up with a loud squeal, then would heat up and work only to freeze again, over and over and over. The volt gauge kept bouncing from zero to 18 and back again. I was wearing ALL of my cold weather gear but still froze inside that cavernous RV.

As I carefully drove through the blizzard, the road ahead was covered with icy snow, visible only by two barely perceptible tire track lines. I drove like this for hours, thinking the whole time that I'd skid off into the forest and die, get buried by the snow and be found only after the Spring thaw. Luck was with us and we arrived at Chris' home before dark, so we drank several beers to celebrate not dying in a blizzard.

Epilogue: Stan Fox entered the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and was involved in a truly horrific crash that ended his racing career.

He was severely injured and in a coma for a week but survived. In 2000 he was killed in a head-on road collision while driving to a race meeting during a visit to New Zealand. R.I.P. Stan Fox. So it goes.

By the end of 1994, I'd lost my job at NGK and Mom was rehabbing at our home after suffering an alcoholic coma. 18 months later I was supervising regional personal watercraft (PWC) racing events for the IJSBA all over the country, and my spark plug technical background made me a very popular guy in the pits. So it goes.

I've been incredibly lucky to have enjoyed a long career that was so directly involved with the automotive performance and motorsports industries. I have Dad to thank for my love of racing, which he infected me with at a young age. Many people think race fans only like to watch because of the crashes. They're 100% wrong in every conceivable way.

Motor racing of any kind can be exhilarating and dangerous, and the threat of mayhem, injury and death is always there. However, as Steve McQueen's character Michael Delaney said in the film 'Le Mans': 

"Motor racing is important to men who do it well. For them, racing is life; anything that happens before and after... is just waiting."

All images, Gracias de Google Images; all videos, Muchisimas Gracias de YouTube.

Stingray Stomp

 

The phone call I made to Epitaph/Epitone Records in early 1997 started out really weird:

Him: "Good morning."

Me: "Hi... thanks for taking my call, it was hard finding your number! I want to get some information about a surf band on your label named Blue Stingrays.  I just bought their CD and really love it, but I have no idea who they are and I'm hoping you could help."

Him: (says nothing)

Me: (after a few seconds) "Hello... are you still there?"

Him: "Who IS this?"

Me: "... uh, excuse me? My name's Bob, I live in Mission Viejo and I'm trying to get some info on the Blue Stingrays."

Him: "Are you a reporter?"

Me: (stunned) "What?"

                           'Brave New World' - Blue Stingrays

The day before that phone call, a random search through the CD racks at my local Borders Bookstore uncovered a mystery that was like catnip to this music geek.

I'd been searching for some cool surf tunes in preparation for a music taping project. I was planning to record six hours of music (all drawn from my personal digital and vinyl collection) onto cassette tapes for use during the 1997 International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) personal watercraft (PWC, a.k.a. jet-ski) racing season.

As the IJSBA Regional Event Supervisor, I'd be working at all the National Tour and World Finals races during the year, so having a say in the kind of music being played would be AWESOME.

Our Competition Director asked if I'd be up for the project, which I agreed to in a nanosecond.

My goal: mix one 90-minute tape of semi-mellow music for morning practice sessions, then mix three more tapes of rocking music for the qualifying sessions and races. Although compact discs were already a thing, the players were very finicky and prone to jamming in outdoor environments. Cassettes were low-tech but very reliable, so that was the medium of choice. The tunes would be played over the race site PA system to get the crowd amped up during the morning pre-race rituals and competition events.

One problem: I didn't have that much surf music in-hand, so off to Borders I went.

'Goldfinger' - Blue Stingrays

After scanning through the 'Surf' music section at Borders, I'd already pulled out 'Bikini World', a compilation of surf tunes by bands from around the globe. Otherwise, the pickins' were slim.

That's when I found 'Blue Stingrays Surf-N-Burn'.  Never heard of this band, but I recognized a few of the song titles and decided to buy it and take a risk. Plus, great CD cover image... always a good sign.

I cued up the CD when I got home and was blown away at their sound: totally old-school, crystal-clear with lots of reverb, and marinated with a sense of humor and homage to the surfing lifestyle that we native Californians of a certain age have in our DNA. The kind of tunes we heard on our transistor radios.

An added bonus was the cool dark blue guitar pick with the band logo on it that fell onto my lap when I opened the jewel case.  WINNER.

My confusion began when I started to read the liner notes.  According to their bio, Blue Stingrays was the original California band that started the surf music trend in 1959. Once the genre began to blow up, they rejected stardom and moved to a Tahitian island for 30 years to hone their sound, with 'Surf-N-Burn' as the result. The other LPs in their discography were no longer available. 

Now... I've listened to a LOT of surf music in my life but had never heard of this band or their music, which was odd because they were supposedly the first to break out the signature surf sound.

I had to find out more about Blue Stingrays.

                           'Stingray Stomp' - Blue Stingrays

I was able to locate a phone number for Epitaph Records in Hollywood, the company that released the CD under the 'Epitone' name.

That's when I made the phone call that took a decidedly weird turn.

Him: "I said... are you a reporter?"

Me: " Nope... not a reporter. Just a surf music fan who found this CD by a band that I've never heard of. I'm making a mix tape for the upcoming jet-ski racing season and want to add some surf music. I have to know more about the Blue Stingrays... they're GREAT!"

Him: (apparently satisfied with my answer) "OK, I appreciate your honesty because this is a brand new release. Do you know who The Heartbreakers are?"

Me: "You mean Tom Petty's Heartbreakers? His backing band?"

Him: "Yeah, that's the one.  Tom's been on a hiatus, so the guys... Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell and a couple of others... they wanted to do a side project during their downtime, and since they all love surf music they created a fake band name and bio as a cover to record under so no one would know."

Me:  "Wait a minute. You mean the liner notes... the bio... the discography... it's all fake?  That is SO COOL! They sound so original, and the music is just fantastic!"

Him:  "I'm glad you like it, they had a lot of fun recording new stuff and creating the bio. The music is first-rate 'cuz those guys are all great musicians. That's why I asked if you're a reporter... the CD was released unannounced a few days ago and we're trying to keep it quiet so Tom's record company won't get all pissed off. You must've bought one of the first copies on the market!"

'Surfer's Life' - Blue Stingrays (my favorite cut on this CD)

We talked for a few more minutes and he asked me to be low-key about the music for at least a few weeks, because the news would get out soon enough. I agreed and thanked him for letting me in on the secret. I mean... he didn't have to tell me squat, right?

The mix tapes? They were played over the PA system at all eleven of the IJSBA National Tour races that summer and all eight days of the World Finals in Lake Havasu City, Arizona that October, where we hosted over 1,300 professional and amateur PWC racers from all over the world. It was AWESOME.

A Regional event promoter who helped with announcing at the World Finals admitted to me he'd dubbed copies of the tapes to use at his own events during the next racing season. 

Hearing my mix tapes blasting from the PA at race event sites all over the country was a pretty special feeling for this lifetime music geek.

                           'Zuma Sunset' - Blue Stingrays

If you love great surf music, there's a lot more on the CD than the sampling here, and knowing the genesis of this 'fake' band only makes it easier to appreciate the craftsmanship and skullduggery it took to create Blue Stingrays.

Sometimes, only certain kinds of music will work for my state of mind, the task at hand or the situation. 'Blue Stingrays Surf-N-Burn' is that kind of music. 

Every time I hear 'Surfer's Life', I see a video in my head of the jet-ski races... the snap of the Starting Line band, a dozen boats at speed aiming for the first buoy, a stand-up racer dragging his leg in the water on a hard turn... all in super slow-mo, the water flying away in sheets from the hulls in a massive spray, catching the sun and sparkling, just like the music.

Download this musical release and you'll be rewarded with a gift that crosses time and space. Better yet, find and buy the CD and read the liner notes about a band that never was... but will always be.

Plus... FREE GUITAR PICK!

Then imagine what it was like to hear bitchin' surf music on a transistor radio!

*********************************************************

Special Bonus Track -- The other CD I bought at Borders was titled 'Bikini World' (Relativity Records) and featured music by surf bands from all over the world.  This tune by The Fathoms, a Boston-based group, is one of my faves from this excellent and eclectic collection.

                             'Fathomless' - The Fathoms

Imagen principal, Gracias de Google Images; todos los videos, Muchismas Gracias de YouTube; cuando cae la goma, la mierda se detiene.

Special Dedication: This post is dedicated to Snackie, Blake (my brother from another Mother), Jonny Ya-Ya, Connecticut Steve, Tim, Mark, Mike, Tony, Shawnie and all the IJSBA brothers and sisters for some of most memorable working days of my life. I've never worked as hard or had as much fun as we did during those halcyon racing days... the IJSBA Traveling Circus.