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2001 WORLD CUP ICE
SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
By Brian
Goley
3/21/2001
 The
25th Anniversary World Cup ICE Speedway Championship
Series rolled into Madison, Wisconsins Alliant Energy
Center on March 16th-17th and
crowned its 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONS in the bike and quad
divisions.
The series featured two nights of oval track speedway racing
on none other than a sheet of ice with the ever-present
hockey arena walls to avoid.
The weekends racing was filled with
bar-to-bar, wheel-to-wheel, and sometimes quad-to-wall
action. High-energy
bump and grind racing is the signature trademark of
I.C.E./World Speedway Racing Association quad racing.
The Wisconsin event proved to be just that.
The series showcased the world's top professional ice racers
from Europe, Canada and the United States.
All quads in the studded quad class were equipped
with razor sharp steel studded tires.
The only difference between an ice racing quad
and any regular TT/Oval track quad are the tires.
You can take any of the ice racing quads, change
the tires to regular rubber without studs and it can
compete on any TT/Oval track.
 The
studded quad division featured the highly modified four-wheel
ATVs known as the Outlaw Quads.
They are built and prepared specifically for oval
track ice racing. Any engine or chassis configuration is
allowed as long as the machine is rear wheel driven and
no wider than 50 inches at any point. These wild Outlaw
machines can be seen nowhere else except on the ICE
series. These quads are capable of accelerating from
0-60MPH in under three seconds - even on the ice!
The local Wisconsin ice racers showed up in force as the
series opened up the event to unstudded
tire quads. The class was labeled as the Rubber class.
This allowed the average everyday rider to put
their skills to the challenge.
Quad racing with unstudded tires is very safe,
as the speeds obtained by these racers didnt set any
speed records.
Since the unstudded quads didnt have the explosive speed
response from hitting the gas as the studded quad had,
they spent more time spinning their tires, performing
donuts, checking the outside walls, and playing bumper
cars with other quads.
The primary goal of ice racing a unstudded quad is to develop a consistency of control, correct throttle
response, and proper rubber (tire configuration) to give
the added advantage.
 The
ICE/WSRA officials were pleasantly surprised to have
such a great turn out and were excited to have three
very courageous women racers enter the field.
The lady riders turned out to be crowd favorites
as they raced against the guys and themselves during
their heat races. All
of the racers enjoyed the opportunity to race in the
low-pressure event in which the participants and the
fans showed they were all having fun.
In two hours of racing for each night, the fans saw 23
exciting races to determine the event Champions in both
the bike and quad divisions.
Racing consisted of 18 qualifying heats, last
chance heats for studded and unstudded tires, and then the main events to crown the World Champions.
To keep the crowd involved and entertain between
heat races, the ever popular Zamboni performed its ice
maintenance and several local radio stations held
contests such as Fish Bowling and Human
Toboggan races.
There was even a Zamboni racewell not exactlybut the
crowd did cheer the unofficial winner as they
crossed the line in a photo finish.
Friday nights racing action proved to be very competitive
in all divisions. Several
heat races saw many quad checks, bumps, and a couple of
vocal exchanges between competitors.
Louis Taz-Man Smith, reigning 2000 Champion
from Saucier, Mississippi, was bumped and squeezed out
of the top three podium places by local riders. Louis finished a respectable 4th, but he was
visibly upset with his showing.
During his heat race, Louis and a local rider #61
continued to show their competitive racing spirits even after
the race was completed.
Friday Night Results
 Unstudded
"Rubber" Class:
1st - #10
2nd - #68
3rd - #82
Unlimited Outlaw Quads (Studded) Class:
1st - #02
2nd - #5
3rd - #23
Saturday Nights racing action was just as competitive and
all out bumping and grinding as the previous night.
The main event for the unstudded Rubber class was all
out chaos as 12 quads lined up at the start.
The ice racing track is only wide enough for 4
quads and there was not much room left between the
quads. Imagine
having three rows, each with 4 quads, and virtually no
room to pass. At
the start, it looked more like a bumper car ride than an
actual race. They
even tore some of the protective padding off of the wall
on the backstretch.
But once the field spread out and the passing
lanes opened up, the racing was outstanding and very
competitive.
 The
2000 Champion, Louis Smith, came out focused for the
nights races, but again the local riders showed no
mercy as they out powered and out raced Louis.
Louis had to qualify for the main event from the
last chance qualifier.
Take a look at the last picture on the right for
Louis's front dismount routine as he
and several of the heat race competitors bumped and
jockeyed for position.
The main event for the studded quads saw Louis Smith starting
on the last row. Some
how Louis received the best possible lucky break in the
first turn as several front row starters took each other
out. This
allowed Louis to grab the hole shot and cruised on to
victory. Louis
provided the crowd and his nearest competitor with a
taunting head bobbing routine as he exited the corners.
After capturing the victory and the 2001 World
Cup Championship, Louis entertain the fans with several
wheelie laps and 360 spinning runs.
Quad rider #64 was hit with a 2:00 minute penalty and was
sent to the penalty box for icing the winner.
Rider #64 took the opportunity to roost a shower
of ice on the winner as he waited for the other riders
to exit the ice. Congratulations to Louis Smith.
It was a hard fought victory, as the locals
didnt show any signs of intimidation from the past
champ.
Saturday Night Results
 Unstudded
"Rubber" Class:
1st:
Paul Schmudlach
2nd: Rick Gilbert
3rd: Victor Spataro
Unlimited Outlaw Quads (Studded) Class:
1st - Louis Taz-Man Smith
2nd - Brad Gordon
3rd -
Wayne Richter
Many of the studded quad class riders had different front
tire configuration.
Most ran with turf tamers on the rear.
Check out the studded tires pictured below:
A
special thanks goes out to the ICE/WSRA crew and
officials. For information on the 2002 series, please contact them
at:
 
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