You can learn more about our 1995 and 2003 Inductees Earl and Larry Pollard, Earl’s wife and 2004 Pioneer award-winner Laura and the remaining members of this local racing family in author Bob Kehoe’s recently-released book, “Every Saturday Night” which is now available on Amazon. Both black and white and colour versions are available. Bob has also previously written one on 1984 Inductee Billy Foster which is also available on Amazon.
Having completed a first round of website updates, we are now continuing with a second one which will include revisions on more of the older individual “Inductee” pages. We hope you enjoy the new information and added photos!
Local Victoria businessman Len Ingraham inherited his father Victor’s Douglas St. “Ingraham Hotel” just over a year after the establishment’s opening in June of 1960. Sharing his Dad’s love of local sports and their promotion, he carried on where his father had left off and soon established Victoria’s newest hotel and pub as a favourite “watering hole” for many of the city’s sports teams and organizations, providing not only a place to gather following sporting events, but support which included financial sponsorships. This included auto racing and in 1967, Len offered the “Vancouver Island Track Racing Association” (VITRA) which co-sanctioned racing at Western Speedway at that time, one of the hotel’s large meeting rooms at no cost to the club. This benevolent gesture was made back many times over in the years that followed when scores of thirsty racers would troop upstairs to the hotel’s pub for rounds of “Labatts” draft beer and food following the club’s monthly meetings! In addition, several race teams received monetary sponsorships in return for the hotel’s name and distinctive “cat” logo being displayed on their cars. These practices were continued by new owners following Len’s sale of the “Ingy” in 1972.
Following his purchase of Billy Foster’s 1962 Daffodil Cup-winning Modifed Sportsman, 1986 Hall of Fame Inductee Geoff Vantreight put his driver Al Smith behind the wheel and entered it in the newly-formed Canadian American Modified Racing Association (CAMRA) circuit for that organization’s inaugural 1963 season.
At that time in the southern U.S. there was a new racing accessory called a “wing” which was mounted atop open-wheel cars that was claimed to give added traction and improved handling. Deciding that this new innovation was certainly worth a try after consulting with Al and crew, Geoff hopped a plane down to Miami, Florida to get one. After buying a return flight ticket for himself plus one for his new purchase, Geoff carried the wing up the gangway of his return flight. One can only imagine the looks from the stewardesses and the other passengers! After a stopover in Indiana to watch that year’s “Indy 500”, Geoff completed his return trip to Victoria. The hype around the “sheet metal monsters” (as some referred to them) seemed to be warranted as following the wing’s installation, Al scored a clean sweep at a race meet at Haney Speedway in Vancouver. It was the first use of a wing on an Island car and perhaps the first one in B.C. and Canada.
The airline-riding airfoil later found it’s way to Roy Smith’s car during Roy’s rookie season in a Modified in mid-1968 and today it resides in the Hall of Fame Museum.
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