The Gazette

King of the Mini Stocks

Built in the late 1970's, Mini-Stocks continued their progression from altered VW "Bugs" to sophisticated, purpose built racers, division king Bob Hackel ran this #97 from 1977 to 1982. Other #97s resembled a stock Bug and VW's version of a station wagon.

Narrowed 1976 VW Dasher sheet metal covers a 2" x 3" tube frame and roll cage powered by a 2000cc VW engine that began life at 1500 cc before the crankshaft was stroked and larger cylinder barrels added. Dual 51 mm Weber carburetors are fed by an electric fuel pump from the front mounted aluminum fuel tank. When the engine began to run warm, the mixture was richened using the dial on the side of the cockpit.

"I started in 1970 with a regular VW and retired in 1987, when we ran tube-frame rocket ships," recalls Hackel. "In between I won just over 400 features. I really loved the minis. I've driven modifieds but I walked away, because these were way more fun."

"My last engine was in the 230 hp range," offered Hackel, "but this one produced between 145 and 150 hp." .

Photo courtesy Saratoga Auto Museum

The 1968 VW transmission and drive axle was one of five with varied gear ratios that Hackel swapped between races as track sizes varied. A VW mechanic by trade, he had the process down to under 40 minutes per change. Girling gas shocks from a Jaguar were used on the rear with the front- end stock except for a Koni shock on the right side and a homebuilt "jacking bolt" on the left. Steering was by a 1956 Porsche box while the tires were either Goodyear or M+H. depending on the surface, with the car equally competitive on the dirt or asphalt

"From dirt to asphalt, we'd just change the transaxle and tires. I always ran way more stagger than anyone else, because I enjoyed the car being loose. You could run three or four wide, because with small cars, the track gets 'bigger'. You can run where the modifieds can't but I wanted to be able to turn it."

The battery was housed in the left wing with the right side containing the much lighter oil cooler. When asked to describe a "typical" season, Hackel said, "We'd run just over 50 races a year, not counting rainouts, and we'd usually win 37 or 38. Mid-season would find us racing every night but Monday, and we'd usually end the year with a trip to Florida, where we'd usually win four out of five races." The car was so successful that Hackel built 25 copies, with rolling chassis selling for $1,250 each.

"We did 15 one winter" recalls the Albany, New York businessman, "they went to Florida, West Virginia, Ohio, Connecticut, and all over New York." The salesmanship for the car came about due to his trail of races on the circuit, "We'd start out Tuesday night at the Norwood Arena in Massachusetts, about 2 1/2 hours away. Wednesday I'd go west to Perry, about 4 1/2 hours, Thursday was 4 1/2 hours to Catamount Stadium in Vermont, then Friday was either Albany-Saratoga or five hours to Dundee. Saturday was Five Mile Point, which was 2 1/2 hours, or Lebanon Valley. Sunday we'd go to Twin Valleys, near Binghamton, then Utica-Rome at night." The car, weighing 1410 pounds dry and always right on the minimum of 1700 including liquids and driver, the car was blazing fast, though far from exotic. A favorite story involves a promoter letting him put his helmet back on to make weight, showing how close he cut it.

All told, the New York Sate Stock Car Association Hall of Fame driver recorded over 400 feature wins, with cars he built claiming countless other victories.

Come see an amazing array of motorcycles in the new exhibit "Born 2 Ride-America on 2 Wheels" at the Museum through July 22nd.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park at 110 Avenue of the Pines. For more information, guests can also visit the Museum's website at www.saratogaautomuseum.org call (518) 587-1935 x 22, or e-mail alan.edstrom@saratogaautomuseum.org