Biography

 

A couple youngsters jumped on their bikes and rode to Tri-City Raceway where the Glacier Park International Airport is now located. They rode all the way from Evergreen to watch the fast cars race and wow, was it fun. What wasn't fun was when  their parents caught them.  Randy Vickhammer remembers that day well even though it was 50 years ago. I suspect that wasn't the first time he had been in trouble, and I know personally that it wasn't his last but Randy has always been about having fun.  He holds the unique distinction of being the last person to drive on the track at Big Sky Speedway AND the first person to turn a lap at Montana Raceway Park.  Well, yeah, he did it after hours, after sneeking in with his passenger car, but the feel of that freshly laid asphalt was exilerating ... and fun!

Randy got started in racing in 1972 when he got out of the Marine Corp. He and partner Doug Tyree bought a '54 Ford and transformed it into a race car. He is probably best remembered for his bright pink bomber car that he won the season high point championship in at Raceway Park or that fabulous hobby stock with the 8" smoke stack protruding out the top. He had that rigged so that when he passed the grandstands he would flip a switch and blow a 3 foot flame out the top. But behind the scenes he was one of the hardest working men I've ever seen.

He served as president of the NW Montana Stock Car Racing Association as well as terms as vice-president, board of directors, Pit boss and on the rules committee.  He holds the record as flagman for 7 straight years. And as a driver he has piloted his cars to a  first place championship, three 2nd place season championships and a third place finish. He held the track record for street stocks in '92. One of Randy's most memorable moments came at Big Sky Speedway when he register a rare "clean sweep" his first night out in a new street stock. Just before the Main Event Verne Corpron told him he would buy him the checkered flag if he won.  He has that flag hanging on his wall and in winning that night, broke Dan Morris's record consecutive string of winning a main event.

But go ahead and ask him what it was like to be that successful and he'll tell you - "I had a lot of fun".