It was a shocking-and abrupt-ending for a larger-than-life local business owner and motorsports enthusiast whose name was synonymous with a Brainerd lakes area raceway.
Brainerd International Raceway owner Jed Copham's impact in the world of racing was evident by the hundreds who honored his memory at a Nov. 17 candlelight vigil at BIR.
They came to reminiscence, pay their respects and say their goodbyes to the 46-year-old businessman who died Nov. 11 after a swimming accident in Florida.
Copham was swimming from his parents' boat near Punta Rassa, just south of Fort Myers, Fla., when he went missing. Search and rescue teams temporarily suspended their efforts to find Copham that night but found his body the morning of Nov. 12.
BIR is the largest racetrack in the Upper Midwest with a world-class drag racing strip and two road course configurations, and hosts drag racing, road racing, endurance racing, Superbike racing, drifting and autocross competitions, cruising events and car shows.
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Jed Copham and his wife bought the 600-acre BIR complex in 2006 from Sports International Inc. of Michigan, which had owned the facility since 1994, just 10 days before the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.
Copham's focus was always to improve the track and safety systems for racers while exposing fans to a variety of exciting motorsports, a news release stated.
His greatest achievement was building a section of track separating BIR's road course from the drag strip. The original 3.1-mile, 10-turn road course built in 1968 had a mile-long straightaway used for drag racing. But the track could only be configured for drag racing or road racing.
The new section of track created a 2.5-mile, 13-turn road course, allowing BIR to offer drag racing and road racing simultaneously, which was the case for most of the events on the racing schedule each year. Fans buy a single ticket and can watch either type of racing or both.
The new track, called the Competition Road Course, is certified to host nearly every level of road racing except Formula One.
In the 50-year history of Brainerd International Raceway, 1973 may have been the darkest, according to another Brainerd Dispatch story that ran in August. Faced with growing debt, the track then known as Donnybrooke was closed by owner George Montgomery.
While there were no racing events in 1973, Sports Car Club of America driver Jerry Hansen purchased the track, renamed it Brainerd International Raceway and hired Dick Roe as general manager.
For the next 26 years, BIR would see big changes under the leadership of Roe and Hansen and several key items preserved the health of the track until Roe resigned in 1999.
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Roe reportedly said the two most significant reasons for the track's existence today included procurement of a camping permit and a noise exemption from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency standards.
