Back in the day, the Sturgis motorcycle rally was mostly built around racing.

In 1938, the first of what would become the granddaddy of all motorcycle rallies featured just nine racers and a handful of spectators. They spent a weekend racing at the Sturgis Fairgrounds and picnicing as guests of rally founders J.C. and Pearl Hoel, local motorcycle dealers who founded the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club in 1936.

In past years, the rally has seen plenty of prestigious racing events on the half-mile hillclimb and short track, including the AMA's Western Regional Championships

Nowadays, the racing schedule isn't quite as ambitious. The Gypsies' longtime dream of hosting a Grand National race, the top rung of AMA flat-tracking, remains just that, and the venerable Sturgis Fairgrounds half-mile, long the centerpiece venue of rally racing, sits dormant.

The Gypsies had originally slated a Grand National for the short track on Aug. 7 but couldn't secure the event financially.

The Aug. 6 Pearl Hoel Memorial and Aug. 7 Outlaw Pro-Am, both set at the short track, could still see a slew of AMA's big dogs, being conveniently scheduled between AMA stops in West Liberty, Iowa, on Aug. 4 and Castle Rock, Wash., on Aug. 10-11.

The North American Hillclimbers Association's Rumble in the Hills event will move to a 300-foot man-carved incline at the Buffalo Chip Campground for four sessions on Aug. 8-9.

"The Hill That John Deere Built," features a 10-foot vertical at mid-track an another 8-foot precipice near the top, according to Dusty Beer, NAHA champion hillclimber.

"There will probably be a few more spills, but the really good riders will get over the top," he said.

Notes from the infield

Best wishes to Mearl Tschetter of Rapid City, who has been battling illness for several weeks. Tschetter, an avid race fan who suffers from the Limb-Girdle form of Muscular Dystrophy, is a prime mover in the NAPA/MDA Racing For a Cure Late Model Series that concludes Friday, Aug. 10, at Black Hills Speedway and Saturday, Aug. 1, at Gillette Thunder Speedway.

Also, Harvey Ostermiller, 61, longtime sprint car owner, his driver, son Josh, 22, and crewmember Larry Coomber, 42, of Billings, Mont., critically injured in a bad semi-truck crash near Columbus, Mont., were on June 29. Rapid City's Shane Liebig drove an Ostermiller-owned 360 sprint car for several years.

While en route to Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., their truck and trailer blew a tire, crashed through a guardrail and rolled down a 450-foot embankment. All three men face a long period of recovery from injuries sustained from being thrown from the truck.

Cody Hanrahan of Philip claimed the Badlands Mini Sprint Association Series event at Thunder Speedway on Saturday nighy. Dave Muller, John Garrigan, Jr., Jeff Mount, Cody and Jaeson Hanrahan and Paul Olson are all within a handful of markers in the points standings for the series, which continues Aug. 24 at BHS and Aug. 25 at Heartland Speedway. The series concludes Sept. 22 at Gillette.

Contact Jim Holland at 394-8429 or jim.holland@rapidcityjournal.com