'81 AMA Texas Nats: CL Racing
Bill Lee
The 1981 Nats is history. The racing was as good as ever, the competition fierce, and the site one of the best we've ever had. Those who stayed home missed what may be the best Nats in a long time. Seguin provided plenty of practice area, smooth pavement, an air‑conditioned Nats headquarters, and warm hospitality.
The meet followed the usual recent schedule:
- Open Goodyear — Monday
- Junior and Senior Goodyear — Wednesday
- Open Fast Rat — Thursday
- Open Slow Rat — Saturday
- Junior and Senior Fast/Slow Rat — Friday
- Class I Mouse Race — Tuesday afternoon
- Monday–Tuesday: FAI Team Race selection for the 1982 World Championships in Sweden
Goodyear
A welcome development this year was the availability of more competitive engines. Henry Nelson's new glow version of his well‑known .15 diesel and the new Rossi .15 were both at the Nats. Neither brand won, but Bob Oge used a Rossi to place second.
Qualifying times were similar to last year (around 2:50–3:00 for a single heat). Harold "Pops" Lambert turned the best single heat of 2:50.25 and won overall with a very good combined time of 5:52.74. Pops' in‑traffic airspeed was roughly 152–153 mph; his son Dick provided excellent pit work.
There was a close fight for second through fourth:
- 2nd — Bob Oge: 5:58.80
- 3rd — George Cleveland: 5:59.80
- 4th — Jim Ong: 5:59.87
A difference of 1.07 seconds between second and fourth is about one-and-a-half prop flips in the pits—close!
Junior Scale Race
Tom Ong of Pineville, LA, won first in Junior Scale with a solid combined time of 6:24.27. It was great to see Tom, his brother Robert, and their father Jim on the field — a promising family for the future of competitive racing.
Mouse Race
Class I Mouse Race enjoyed a good turnout: roughly 10 entries in Junior/Senior combined and nine in Open. Racing was strong, with winning times in the mid‑5:30 range. George Mitchell of Cleveland won both the Open and Junior classes. Considering many racers from heavy‑ratio areas may not have attended, this turnout and proficiency point to a healthy future for mouse racing in Texas.
Fast Rat
Thursday featured the Open Fast Rat. The event is hard to describe — the speed, noise, and sheer spectacle are unique. This year saw some very fast machines (125+ mph planes and some pushing toward 150 mph).
Tim Gillott was a standout. He teamed with pilot Kerry Turner from Dallas; between them they placed first and third, with Dick Lambert taking second. Equipment was dominated by K&B engines, with a few HPs and OSs; one of the fastest models belonged to Vic Garner, powered by a Supertigre.
Highlights:
- Best qualifying single heat: Tim Gillott — 2:16.50
- Finals cutoff (combined): 4:58.87
- Final winning combined time: Tim Gillott — about 4:41
- The top five finishers were separated by less than five seconds; Tim edged Dick Lambert in an excellent final.
Slow Rat
Open Slow Rat ran on Saturday. Practice Friday afternoon was busy as teams chased last‑minute speed and clean pits. Vic Garner showed an impressive new Slow Rat using an OS .36 (Tune/Hill); he routinely recorded mid‑13 second lap times in practice, and once a 13.13 was clocked. Unfortunately, gremlins struck during qualifying and the model would not settle properly.
Qualifying highlights:
- Low single heat: Richard Stubblefield — 2:36.79
- Best combined qualifying: Gary Crawford (California) — 5:32.43
Finals field composition:
- Midwest: John Ballard, Larry Dziak Jr., Larry Dziak Sr.
- California: Gary Crawford, Bob Kerr
- Texas: Richard Stubblefield, Mike Greb, Frank Williams
Finals summary:
- John Ballard opened strongly and set a time no one could match despite an extra glide lap in one pit stop.
- Mike Greb, using an engine borrowed the night before, posted a solid combined time (5:41.12) good enough for second.
- Richard Stubblefield was running well but experienced repeated ½‑lap shutdowns; on the last pit a gust of wind caused a hard crash that broke his wing and eliminated him.
- Final results: 1st — John Ballard (combined 5:32.59), 2nd — Mike Greb, 3rd — Frank Williams.
Other notes
- The Seguin site, practice areas, and scoring crew (including event director Bill Lowe and assistant Lee Lorlo) contributed to an exceptionally well‑run contest.
- Several notable appearances included Frank McMillian's Martin‑Baker semiscale stunt ship and Gene Martinez's Mariner (which scored near‑perfect appearance points).
Overall, the '81 Texas Nats offered fierce competition, excellent facilities, and many memorable performances across Goodyear, Mouse, Rat, and Scale events.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
