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12. IMCA
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12 | IMCA O n opening day of Playland’s 1955 season, Beauchamp only managed a fourth in the feature. He followed this inauspicious beginning in subsequent weeks with a second in the semi- feature, a first in the semi- feature, and a second in the feature. By July 4, Bud Burdick was the leader with 1,200 points, and Beauchamp not far behind with 1,121. However, Beauchamp’s second- place standing was deceptive, because points were difficult to earn. The competition was stronger than ever.Winning was so difficult that Tiny Lund was not a threat; he was not even among the top ten point leaders. Lund had no intention of building his race career around Playland. Although he shared a car with Hooky Christensen (when Lund drove, it was number 9; when Hooky was piloting, it was 99) and they planned to build a second car. The second car was never built. Lund’s performance was so unsuccessful that the Playland track became more of a sideshow for him, and he redoubled his racing activities elsewhere. Tiny Lund, perpetually in motion, searching for races, cars to drive, and new challenges, operated as an informal clearinghouse for racing activity. The ubiquitous Lund was either at a track or had already been there and left. Because he lived in Harlan, Lund sometimes intersected with Beauchamp and Swanson at the local races, while at other times he showed the way to new racing for them. A good example is how Lund’s activities encouraged Beauchamp finally to make the move into late model racing. In the course of Lund’s frenetic schedule, he crossed paths with Marvin Copple, a Lincoln, Nebraska, driver. Copple, the vice president of his family’s savings and loan, the Commonwealth Company, had financial support. He began with old models in 1948 and in 1951 competed with a late model at the local track, finishing seventh. In 1955 he entered a new Oldsmobile in a NASCAR Daytona Beach event, finishing seventh.1 Planning to race late models in the Midwest, at the beginning of the 1955 season Copple purchased a 1955 Chevrolet from Ray Erickson Speed IMCA | 65 Service in Chicago.2 Erickson not only supplied the car, but sent along a bright, capable, mechanic named Robert McKee, who was fresh out of high school. Copple and McKee worked out of Bill Smith’s Speed Shop in Lincoln, a nexus of activity for race enthusiasts. Beauchamp, Lund, and Swanson all knew Speedy Bill Smith from the hot rod days and from Playland. Lund bought the Copple Chevrolet, retaining McKee as his mechanic .3 Lund entered his new Chevrolet in July at the Des Moines, Iowa, Fairgrounds in what was billed as a 250- lap “American Grand Prix” with a purse of $3,500. Recognizing the opportunities, he had been urging Beauchamp and Swanson to leave the rough Playland scene for the more prestigious and lucrative late models. Beauchamp’s decision came on June 22. The trigger for the decision was a visit to Harlan by Junior Brunick, a successful driver from Vermillion, South Dakota. In 1950, at the Sioux City oval, Lund and Brunick’s brother- in- law nearly came to blows after Lund spun Brunick out on the last lap of a feature race. In subsequent years, Brunick purchased motors from Swanson and by 1955 Tiny and Brunick had patched up their differences, and these fierce competitors had become friends. On this visit, Junior Brunick intended to buy an engine, so he stayed the night with the Swansons, much to the chagrin of Lund, who asked Junior, “Why didn’t you stay with me?”4 Brunick explained, “Dale and I are doing some business together, and I already accepted an invitation to stay with him.”5 It was a race night, and they all went to Playland, where, as Brunick recalled , Beauchamp won the feature. They all stopped on the way out of Council Bluffs at a restaurant. Swanson said bluntly to Beauchamp, “You need to decide whether to race late model cars or the old stock cars.” Beauchamp , never one to be the center of attention, thought for a moment and then said, “I believe I would rather race late model cars.” Swanson, who lacked the energy to maintain an old model and a new model race car, at this point offered to sell Brunick his 1934 old model car rather than only a motor. Brunick bought Swanson’s car, and the Swanson-Beauchamp team...