Sig Haugdahl

Sig Haugdahl shaking hands with Mayor Guy S. Bailey of Daytona Beach, in 1922 Sigurd Olson "Sig" Haugdahl (January 10, 1891 – February 4, 1970) was an IMCA "Big Car" (now sprint car) champion 1927 – 1932 and an early promoter of stock car racing in the United States.

Background Sig Haugdahl was born on the Tiller farm in Verdal Municipality, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway and migrated to the United States in 1910.

Racing career Haugdahl's U.S. racing career in 1912, when he drove a specially equipped Indian Motorcycle in ice races in Minnesota. He began dirt track racing in 1918. He became the IMCA champion six years in a row, between 1927 and 1932. He built the Wisconsin Special to unseat USAC champion Tommy Milton. The car was named after its 836 cubic inch Wisconsin Airplane 6-cylinder motor, which was directly connected to the rear wheels. The car was long, wide, and had . The speed would first be exceeded after over ten years. Haugdahl is credited with winning the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) sprint car national championships in 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, and 1932.

World speed record Haugdahl is reported to have set a world land speed record of 180 miles per hour in his Wisconsin Special car at the Daytona Beach Road Course on April 7, 1922. A world record was not awarded, however, because the run was not timed by the American Automobile Association and as such could not be verified.

Haugdahl talked with another local driver named Bill France Sr., and they talked the Daytona Beach Elks Club to host another event in 1937. The event was more successful, but still lost money. Haugdahl didn't promote any more events. France used the experience to found NASCAR.

Award Sig Haugdahl died at 79 years of age in Jacksonville, Florida. Haugdahl was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1994.