The biggest little city in Kansas.

For more information about Halstead's Old Settlers Celebration, or to offer your help or suggestions, contact:

Old Settlers Committee
P.O. Box 99
Halstead, KS 67056

Anyone interested in more information on Kansas Antique Racers can contact Bryson Mills at 316-263-8251.

Notes from the KAR Annual Banquet in March

The Kansas Antique Racers (KAR) held its annual banquet in Newton, Kansas, on March 1 and reviewed race schedules for this year, including the Fourth Annual Vintage Auto Race to be held on the afternoon of August 9 during the 116th Halstead Old Settlers Picnic Celebration.

Over 100 KAR members were in attendance for this annual banquet. Bill Mills, Event Chairperson, said, “I am pleased at the participation of our club and our members in events such as the Old Settlers Celebration in Halstead. The heritage of automobile racing in the U.S. has deep roots from this part of the country and our goal is to keep that spirit alive by honoring past, present and future race car drivers and car builders.”

During the KAR program in Newton, Bryson Mills, Ron Coleman, Bill Mills and Tom Barclay presided over the awarding of prizes and discussion of the KAR events scheduled for 2003. Mills asked guest Craig Sooter to make some remarks about this Old Settlers event.

“I want to thank you for the invitation to attend this banquet,” Sooter said. “It is an honor to be able to thank KAR members for their participation over the past three years. I helped in the planning of Jim Roper to be our special guest at Old Settlers in 1998. That year we held a static display of KAR cars at the Halstead Heritage Museum with Roper signing autographs and reminiscing about racing and growing up in Halstead. We had a lot of visitors at the Heritage Museum, the display of race cars brought a lot of interest about Halstead’s special celebrity. One reoccurring comment was, 'What time does the race start?' After hearing that comment several times, I asked Bill and Bryson, 'What do we need to have a race?' A simple reply came from Bryson, 'A track and some cars.' That started the ball rolling. The next thing I knew, all three of us were driving through fields in my Suzuki Samurai looking for the perfect plot for a race track. Our plan was to have Jim at the first race. Sooter said, “This was one race we lost. Jim passed away June 23, 2000.”

The banquet finished up with a charity auction.

Kansas Antique Racers 4th Annual Jim Roper Memorial @ Halstead Old Settlers

This special antique auto race in Halstead is referred to by Kansas Antique Racers (KAR) as the Fourth Annual Jim Roper Memorial. The late Jim Roper of Halstead, Kansas, is recognized by NASCAR as the winner of the very first sanctioned NASCAR stock car race held on June 9, 1949 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jim Roper, in his later years, was honored several times by being the Grand Marshal or the Honorary Flagman at Winston Cup events. The last such event was in April of 1998 when Roper was asked to be the honorary flagman and to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASCAR. He was hoisted into the flagstand and gave the green flag for the start of the Winston Cup Race at Texas Motor Speedway. One hundred fifty thousand race fans stood and applauded Jim Roper as he made his way to the flagstand to start the race. Bill Mills explained that “all of the big names in Winston Cup racing visited with Jim Roper that day as they paraded across the introduction platform. They included Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhart, John Andretti, Kyle Petty, Mark Martin and every driver who qualified for the race. Jim Roper was photographed talking to Mark Martin and Roper was predicting that it was Mark Martin’s day and that he would win the race in the Valvoline Ford. Roper’s prediction came true and Mark Martin did in fact receive the checkered flag in first place."

When talking about the Halstead event, Bryson Mills stated, “Here is a community that wants us. They have invited us to their annual celebration for the past four years and have made us a part of their annual parade as well as building us a track to run on as part of the Old Settler’s celebration. This is a wonderful annual event that reflects the pride and heritage of the people of Halstead.”

Last year we had a nice turnout of antique cars including seven midgets, six sprinters and five modifieds. These cars represent three divisions of open wheel, single seat race cars that ran in the Midwest from the 1930’s through the 1970’s. Craig Sooter noted, ”The dedication of Old Settlers members and the City of Halstead has been wonderful. We have worked on building this event to be better each year. This year we hope to have our own water truck operational so we can condition the track. American Airlines donated an old jet fuel truck for us to convert to a water truck. It will now be possible to control the moisture and the dust for the racers. I want to give a big thanks to those individuals who do the 'hands-on' work: Phil Adams and Pat Adams. If not for these individuals, the race would not happen.

"I encourage all of you to consider the Old Settlers Race. Besides the race, we have a parade in the morning, a barbeque at noon, a car show in our beautiful city park and much more. We have limited lodging so make reservations early and please be our guests for Halstead Old Settlers 2003. The antique racers will be checking in and preparing to race at 1:30 p.m. with the first race to start at 3:00 p.m."

In addition to Old Settlers, KAR is involved with other area projects related to antique race cars. Board members from the High Banks Hall of Fame Museum, Belleville, Kansas, made a presentation on the progress of the new High Banks Hall of Fame museum currently under construction. "The dedication and perseverance of the members of the National Midget Auto Racing Museum as well as the Kansas Antique Racers has established a home for those who accomplished feats and established and made a name for themselves," said
Don McChesney. Interested race fans can visit the High Banks museum online at www.highbanks-museum.org.

Anyone interested in more information on Kansas Antique Racers can contact Bryson Mills, 316-263-8251.