Off-Road Gran Prix : He’s Head and Shoulders Above Most Rivals

At 6 feet 8 inches, Vince Tjelmeland is the tallest professional race driver in the country, standing two inches higher than Chris Knievel, the Indy car and Trans Am driver who previously held that distinction in a sport of mostly jockey-sized competitors.

T. J., as the Yorba Linda ultra-stock driver is better known, finds the circumstances amusing, and at times favorable.

“No one can borrow my race car,” he said during practice for tonight’s Mickey Thompson Off-Road Gran Prix in the Rose Bowl. “They can’t reach the pedals.”

Several years ago, when Dan Gurney, 6-2, was contracted to drive a sports car at LeMans, the builders made a bubble in the roof to accommodate Gurney’s head. Tjelmeland did it differently.

“They put a chair down in the garage, put me in it and built the car around it,” he said.

Tjelmeland will drive a Nissan Pulsar tonight in the ultra-stock race, a one-of-a-kind class developed by the late Mickey Thompson for stadium racing. The cars were designed to resemble drag racing’s funny cars--full-fledged race cars masquerading as passenger cars.

After five races in the 10-event stadium series, Tjelmeland is leading with three wins and 200 points to 195 for defending champion Jeff Elrod of Campbell, Calif.

Racing will start with heats at 6:30 p.m.