Opening Day August 29, 1964

if this image doesn't do it for you, you're either too young or you're on the wrong website

Kenny Bell's '53 Ford stages against Jim Hunter's choice '57 Pontiac out of the Timers Car Club flagstarter taking care of business was none other than Fred Turner of Bachman Turner Overdrive fame photo courtesy of Hugh Hanson

if you were a young fellow in Winnipeg in 1962 and had a burning desire for a dragster what would you do? well, if you were Bob Buccini, you'd pretty up an Oldsmobile block weld some pipe, paint it a catchy color and enter a lot of car shows
we have it on good authority car was known as "the Carrot" We can also tell you this was the basis for Cam McCallum and the Marquis Car Club's first dragster and yes, Bob Forzley was very much involved in the transformation

Cam McCallum, seated, and Vic Kydd go over details of their Team Marquis injected 301 Chevy powered dragster Inset was taken after early shake down runs on an abandoned highway east of Neepawa, circa 1963, which makes this likely the first operational dragster in Manitoba Brian MacCourt, John Fulton and Vic Kydd, among others, partnered with Cam to form Team Marquis

with a mild custom, a motorcycle, a dragster and a pretty girl, this photo has it all

Cam McCallum tells us this polaroid was taken by a spectator at the Roadsters Car Club's spring 1964 show

Cam McCallum sittin' pretty at Keystone

a great shot of the state of the art early 60's dragster

Team Marquis dragster chasing Fargo, North Dakota's Larry Severson

Larry Severson contributed these images of his 1965 Keystone Grand Opening winning '34 Stovebolt 1934 Chev coupe ran a built 292 GMC inline

wonder if Larry was a Chuck Connors fan?
the following letter to the editor detailed the car and it's accomplishments

Larry also included these shots which appear to be taken on the old homestead
shortened wheelbase very evident here drivetrain later found it's way into a Willys pick up

always a free spirit, driver's door was lettered "assembled and launched by Larry Severson" We also seem to recall Larry combining old thinking with new on a steel bodied Challenger altered there was also the transformation of a funny car to, we believe, an econo altered and, as class racing fell to brackets, a big block powered Nova wagon once a drag racer, always a drag racer

Bob Buccini and another of Winnipeg's earliest dragsters a sheetmetal worker, Bob's skills were evident in many local cars

the late Jack Sund's 427 Ford Thunderbolt and 426 hemi Mopar of Bill Dill have the flagstarter's complete attention

Bill Dill Plymouth hemi pit images courtesy of Wayne Wedge

Jack Sund's ill fated Ford Thunderbolt

and as it appeared in an early 1965 issue of Keystone Drag News

Roadsters Car Club's Willys coupe

Team Marquis dragster and Roadsters Car Club Willys at the Roadsters' 1965 car show

312 Y block powered '53 Ford Modified Production of Dennis McCallum photo courtesy of Bill Balicky

Cam McCallum passed along these snapshots of the same car display at the Roadsters Car Club's 1965 show Interesting display consisted of Team Marquis members with the dragster, Dennis McCallum's '53 Ford and Jim MacKelvie's Red Ram Hemi-fied '38 Dodge coupe
while one might think there had been a sale on Freuhauf yellow paint, Cam tells us it was actually Yellow Cab yellow, intended to depict a rapid transportation theme whatever the reasoning, Team Marquis is still active as a club today 44 years...     and counting

workshop?     we don't need no stinkin' workshop! Jim MacKelvie's Dodge in process in it's au natural Charleswood setting local legend, Walter Woodman, doing the welding honors

MacKelvie's injected Dodge Red Ram Hemi looks like it grew there

Dennis McCallum getting in some track time

Bob Buccini lights 'em up ...

Ron Demadash, left, and Bill Wakeman with a view from the tower

and, who was the first lady driver to compete at Keystone?
Erica Dyck