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#2700 - Little question that Dave Darland was ready from the git-go. From THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP: A Racing Life, by Dave Darland with Bones Bourcier. (Darland Family collection)

#2699 - To quote the old country song, "some days are diamonds, some days are stones." This afternoon at Florida's Jacksonville Speedway back in 1954 was likely no edge-of-the-seat thriller. That's Curtis Turner and Herb Thomas up front on the parade lap of the 100 miler. When the checkered finally flew, Turner was over two laps ahead of Fonty Flock and Lee Petty. (From Florida Motorsports Retrospective Pictorial, Vol 1, 2nd Edition, by Eddie Roche. Photo Courtesy Jacksonville Hall of Fame)

#2698 - Rhinebeck, NY's legendary car owner Gordon Ross (right) campaigned pavement cars widely in the 1950s and early '60s, scooping up many a feature win with Harvey Tattersall's United Racing Club. But in 1965, he switched venues, and Doug Garrison and Eddie Delmolino (left) became his jockeys on the clay - especially on the high banks of Lebanon Valley, NY. By 1969, however, Ross was informed by his doctor to back it down a bit. He sold his cars to his drivers and filled the void by setting out on a tour of the country in a motorhome. (Ginny Ross Collection)

#2697 - How about that Jack Hewitt?! This is what he wrote in his book about this incident: "All was not lost. After this crash in my heat race we fixed the car and were able to make the feature ...and win!" From Hewitt's Law, by Jack Hewitt with Dave Argabright (John Mahoney Photo)

#2696 - Jack Zink, racer-become-legendary car owner, summed up his approach to racing and life with one sentence: "The man who wins is the man who tries." His ream was prepped to the hilt for the '56 Indy 500. He even held constant drills for the pit crew, such as this one using a rather straightforward jack to raise the rear for tire changes.
Driver Pat Flaherty assumed the lead on lap 77 and never gave it back. Quote and photo from TO INDY AND BEYOND: The Life of Racing Legend Jack Zink, by Dr. Bob L. Blackburn.

#2695 - "The VSCCA pre-war class boasts a most eclectic crowd. Here Chris Towner, long a stalwart of the Morgan world, leads a couple into Bib Bend [at Connecticut's Lime Rock Park]." Quote and photo from LIME ROCK PARK, Six Decades of Speed, Beauty and Tradition, edited by Gordon Kirby. (Photo courtesy of Ed Hyman)

#2694 - It was late afternoon in 1964 at the Lake Eyre salt pan deep in the outback of South Australia. Donald Campbell, on the eve of his Land Speed run in his famous Bluebird, surveyed the blue line he would follow to establish successfully the world record of 403 mph. How much sleep do you suspect he managed that night? Photo from BLUEBIRD AND THE DEAD LAKE, by John Pearson.

#2693 - R.C. Mudge of Brooklyn, NY, was an engineer and entrepreneur intrigued with both electrical and steam engines at the turn of the 20th century. His daughter, Generva Delphine "Eva" Mudge, a comely but delicate-looking actress, was often seen cruising the horse poop-strewn streets of New York City in an early Waverly electric car. Many contend that Eva actually became the first female race driver. In 1899 she entered a three-car race with her dad's tiller-steered Waverly. It was a first, but it didn't go well. Less the two blocks into the route, she lost control in snow and piled into a group of five spectators. No one was seriously injured, and she continued to compete in subsequent years with steam power. Photo from THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLES Volume II, Early Drivers of the Rough Tracks, by Gerald Hodges.

#2692 - During the USAC Sprints Eastern Swing in 2008, "Mother Nature was a pain in the posterior as many teams made the long haul to the East. In the end the two events contested were won by 16-year-old drivers. At Pennsylvania's Big Diamond Speedway, Cole Whitt became the youngest winner on dirt in series history. Whitt's record stood for two days, as an even younger Chad Boat (shown above) rolled into victory lane at Hagerstown, Maryland." Quote and Photo from MODERN THUNDER: The Illustrated History of USAC National Sprint Car Racing 1983-2017, by Dave Argabright, John Mahoney, and Patrick Sullivan. (John Mahoney Photo)

#2691 - "Ford had already secured the 1970 Trans-Am championship by the final round at Riverside, CA. That didn't stop Parnelli Jones from making a spectacular charge to win the race. Fellow driver Sam Posey recalled, 'The familiar school-bus yellow Mustang was battered and dirty, and the right side was caved in, the front spoiler crumpled, the brake-cooling ducts were dropping off. None of this bothered Parnelli. Lap after lap he charged out of turn nine, contemptuously brushing the wall, gunning past the pits with his granite chin thrust forward.' As the race neared its conclusion, everyone present knew they were witnessing a drive of epic proportions." Quote and Photo from TRANS-AM ERA: The Golden Years in Photographs, 1966-1972, by Daniel Lipetz. (Daniel Lipetz Collection)

#2690 - That would be Al Tasnady in the coupe and Bucky Barker in the Sprinter at New Jersey's Harmony Speedway in 1970. Would love to know that they were saying.... (Dale Snyder Photo)

#2689 - On loan to New York's very active Saratoga Auto Museum from racing historian Ken Gypson is this '37 Ford Flatback. So many of these waltzed around thousands of ovals large and small scattered about the country back in the day. This is what the Museum's signage has to say: "Originally built by Paul Leinbohm in the fall of 1961 using a frame and body from Slovak's Junkyard in Stuyvesant, NY, this car was typical of the era. Leinbohm had barely fit the car with a hopped-up '53 Mercury flathead engine when he was drafted, causing him to sell it to Schodack resident Paul Visconte, who numbered it 300D and hired Niverville's George Henderson to drive it at RT. 66 Speedway in Poestenkill. Visconte would later renumber the car 67 and drive it himself at Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville during the 1963 season. The car passed to Gordon Film of Wynantskill the following year and was raced at the Pine Bowl Speedway in nearby Wyantskill through the end of the 1965 season. It eventually took up residence in Wait's Junkyard in Poestenkill and remained there until 1987, when Gypson traded John Wait Sr. a chainsaw for the derelict piece of history and dragged it home. In 2014, a two-year restoration was begun and the car restored to near original condition. Note the typical beer keg gas tank, school bus driver's seat, WW II surplus seat belt and roll bars and nerf bars welded up using old water pipe. The wheels are homemade offset "wide 5's" while the dashboard, fashioned from an old Monroe-Matic shock absorber sign, also sports a "hook" to lock the transmission in second gear for short ovals such as the Pine Bowl, as Ford top shifters were prone to flying out of gear under load. The stock design semi-elliptical "buggy" springs and "arm" shocks would eventually give way to quarter elliptical springs and tubular shocks, overhead V-8s would be adopted, and the bodies would be cut down to save weight, but for the early 1960's, this car was state of the art. (Quote and Photo, Saratoga Auto Museum)

#2688 - That's Roger Popplewell checking out his way-cool Lincoln tow vehicle and trailered Midget. The venue was likely New York's Monroe County Fairgrounds around the turn of the 1950s. Enoch "Eenie" Wright was Popplewell's popular and high-profile driver. Wright's son Dean had a productive 18-year career in Can-Am and Midget racing. (Dean Wright Collection)

#2687 - Jimmy Bryan gives his familiar Bryan winning salute at Springfield in 1955. Danny Oates said, "Bryan was the epitome of a championship driver. He could have been a champion at anything. Among his other talents, Jim was an excellent swimmer and diver. He'd go swimming at the beach in Indy down at the park. They had two diving boards on a platform about ten feet and twenty feet high. He'd go to the top one, dive down, hit the second one and do a flip into the water. He was a genius on that board. But he broke the bottom board about three times so they barred him from the park." Quote and photo from FABULOUS FIFTIES: American Championship Racing, by Dick Wallen

#2686 - The late Buddy Baker (in what he called his best James Dean pose): "I could just about do a book about Columbia (SC) Speedway. Ralph Earnhardt used to run up behind people on the last lap and touch you just enough to move you. You wouldn't even feel it sometimes. You'd be wondering how you overshot the corner, and it would have been Ralph moving you over just enough to get you out in the berm. You would finish second, he would leave that for you. There was one guy - and I won't say who it was because he is still around - Ralph moved him so many times one year that on one night he was leading Ralph on the last lap, and Ralph had a problem going down the back straightaway. This guy went into the corner expecting to get moved aside by Ralph, and just spun out on his own. Ralph was stopped halfway down the backstretch, but his guy created his own problem waiting for Ralph to get him." Quote and Photo from FLAT OUT AND HALF TURNED OVER: Tales From Pit Road, by David Poole with Buddy Baker.

#2685 - This is a picture of about 100 Formula Ford cars on the main straight at Connecticut's Lime Rock Park in 1994 on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the FF1600 class in the US. Formula Ford, a "spec" class with very tight rules (Formula), was initiated in the UK in 1968 as a part of the international road racing ladder to Formula 3, Formula 2 and, eventually, to Formula One, the premier racing series in the world. Many of the greatest F1 drivers got their start in FF1600, which remained, for decades, the most prolific international racing class. In the US during the 1970s it became so popular that seeing a full grid of over 50 cars was not unusual. The original 1.6 liter spec engine was from the FORD Cortina. The main sanctioning body in the US, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), sanctioned hundreds of races on over 50 road courses. In 2014, the 45th anniversary event at the four-mile long Road America included over 400 Formula Ford cars. (Quote and photo by good guy John Merriman)

#2684 - This was the start of the annual North Star 500 at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul on September 1, 1969. These IMCA championship events drew enormous crowds. This one carried a purse of $14,500 with $2,600 going to the winner. That was Ernie Derr, and it was a good day's work for him. Put in perspective, in 1969 just $200 would have been considered a solid week's pay. Photo from TWO LANE ROADS AND COUNTRY FAIRS: IMCA Stock Cars Brought Thrills to Generations of Race Fans, by Bill Haglund. (Photo Claire W. Schreiber/IMCA Collection)

#2682 - Covid sure has had everything covered over in 2020. Another of the great annual events cancelled for this November is Radius Nation's Racers' Reunion. That event was actually started back in the 1990s in San Antonio, choreographed by Bill Jones and often emceed by Johnny Rutherford. It was eventually moved to Irving, Texas, and has been run very successfully by our friend Bart Stevens and his event and collectibles firm, Radius Nation, for the last ten years. It has always attracted impressive numbers of luminaries; recent honorees have been Mike Curb, George Follmer, Chet Wilson, and Lloyd Ruby. Lighter moments are a big part of it, as you can imagine, especially when Kevin Olson is on the podium. (That's KO in his Saturday night best next to Bart.) Plans are already underway for 2021, bigger and better than ever. (Radius Nation Collection)

#2681 - Is this a cool, old-time racing publicity shot or what? That was Howard Hall's Sprinter outside the original entrance of Sun Valley Speedway, Anderson, IN, around 1960. (Don't know the name of the pretty person in the high heels). Photo from LET'S GO RACING: the Amazing Story of the American Speed Association, by Rex Robbins with Dave Argabright.

#2680 - "The jockey-size Vitor Meira is a tri-athlete, as is his countryman and fellow Miami resident, Tony Kanaan. But unlike Kanaan through 2011, Vitor had not yet won an IndyCar race. He finished second in eight races between 2004 and 2008 and enjoyed the best days of his career at Indianapolis as bridesmaid in 2003 and 2008. A nice guy and extremely good race car driver to be sure, and in spite of driving for A.J. Foyt's weak team, Meira's name is unknown to any but the most hard-core IndyCar fans. At the end of 2011, Vitor lost his ride with Foyt and returned home to Brazil to race in his home country's national stock car championship." Quote and Photo from SECOND TO ONE: All But For Indy, by Joe Freeman and Gordon Kirby.

#2679 - A lot went down during Neal "Terrible" Tooley's memorable career, but this moment was the scariest. "At the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on Labor Day afternoon, September 6, 1971, Neal Tooley, piloting the Doug Dingwall number 120, won the consolation race. In the 30-lap championship feature, Tooley, starting in the back of the 26-car field, was swiftly propelling his Chevrolet coach equipped with a 427 c.i. engine through the field. Roaring down the long backstretch, on lap twelve, Tooley had just passed Jean Guy Chartrand aboard the "Hemi-Cuda" to move into sixth spot when he lost his right-front wheel entering turn three. Crashing heavily into the concrete barrier, his racer went on to rip up 60 feet of fencing before hurtling over the wall, just missing several spectators who were viewing the action from outside the third turn. A section of steel pipe holding up the canvas covering along the top of the wall pierced Tooley's firewall, lacerating his knee before impaling itself in the seat cushion beneath him. The wayward wheel crashed through the side of a DeLuxe Lines trailer parked nearby. Miraculously no one was seriously injured in the frightening crash. Don Diffendorf of Endicott went on to win after taking the lead from Chuck Ciprich on lap eleven." Quote and Photo from THE LEGENDS OF WATERTOWN SPEEDWAY, by Dave Stoodley.

#2678 - Isn't it curious that during certain periods of time in certain areas of the country, the racing just seemed to be over-the-top with color and enthusiasm. That was certainly the case around Wisconsin in the mid-1960s, when the Milwaukee Stock Car Club was hosting fabulously successful events with a unique class of Modifieds. The top wheelmen were local heroes, as colorful as their machinery, all anointed with nicknames. One of the greatest among them was Miles "The Mouse" Melius. In 1967, his final season behind the wheel, he snatched the track titles at Beaver Dam, Cedarburg, Hales Corners, and Slinger. Photo from THE MILWAUKEE MODIFIED ERA 1959-1973, by Fr. Dale Grubba. (Patrick Heaney Collection)

#2677 - "I miss BC." (USAC Midgets, Twin Cities Raceway Park, North Vernon, IN, 2009). Quote and photo by John DaDalt.

#2676 - A rather focused-looking Don Edmunds at driver introductions at Long Beach Stadium in 1951. It was his first URA Midget ride. Checking him out from the outside was a rather stern-looking Don Hall. Both would motor right on to the Brickyard. From The Saga of Rotten Red: THE DON EDMUNDS STORY, by Paul Weisel, Jr.

#2675 - A cool shot of the 2020 Musket 200 for the NASCAR Tour Modifieds at Loudon, NH, on September 12, 2020. Bobby Santos came back to his native New England to outduel Justin Bonsignore for the win in a battle that saw 20 lead changes in the last 20 laps. (Cover photo of the 2021 Modified Calendar by Dick Ayers)

#2674 - In July of 1972, Merle Bettenhausen crashed and burned in Grant King's Kingfish Offy at Michigan. He suffered severe facial burns and lost his right arm. Quite remarkably, in recovery he commented, "Racing has been my life. It's all I ever wanted to do. In that hospital bed my mental attitude improved 100 percent. I realize that, even if I now lack a little ability, I will be a racer again." A quick disconnect for his prosthetic arm was fitted on the family Midget, and Merle won his first one-armed victory at Johnson City, TN, in August of 1973. Quote and Photo from TONY BETTENHAUSEN & SONS: An American Racing Family Album, by Gordon Kirby with Merle and Susan Bettenhausen.

#2673 - Good guy Paul Gilardi runs an essentially unsponsored, low-buck Modified at Lebanon Valley, NY. He's been a winner, but it hasn't always been smooth sailing. "Not long ago we had a bad night when I made some contact in turn four and assumed everything was okay. I drove down the frontstretch normally and stepped on the brake. It went right to the floor; I went right to the wall. We lost the car and the motor. The irony was that it was the second time we had had an accident in that place, but, I'll tell you, it hurts a lot more physically - and financially - now that I'm 50." Quote and Photo from MODIFIEDS OF THE VALLEY: A History of Racing at Lebanon Valley Speedway, by Lew Boyd. (Photo by Our Man from Amsterdam, Dave Dalesandro)

#2672 - "Steve McQueen teamed outstandingly with uber-skilled road racer Peter Revson to run this Solar Productions Porsche 908 Spyder at the 12 hours of Sebring in 1970. The pair finished a highly credible, hard-earned second overall at the famous once-around-the-clock enduro and led the race for a time as several of the factory-entered Ferrari 512s faltered. Had the pair won, it would have been a great 'David beats Goliath' story for sure." From BULLITT: The Cars and People Behind Steve McQueen, by Matt Stone. (McQueen Family Collection)

#2671 - Last week there was a taping session at the late Lenny Boehler's garage for a soon-to-be released podcast on the Stafford (CT) Speedway website. Left to right next to the Ole Blue #3 Modified were Greg Fournier, Michael Boehler, Bugsy Stevens, and Matt Swanson. It was the first time in years that Bugsy, who won three NASCAR Modified Championships in Ole Blue, had been there. He met the Boehler's popular new driver Matt Swanson, and Matt's eyes grew noticeably bigger hearing tales of the old days. (Dick Berggren Photo)

#2670 - Starting out in his little shop, Harris Enterprises in Seattle, Ex-Boeing employee Trevor Harris began to build hot rods, his second of which was a then "worthless" 1935 Grand Prix Maserati powered by an Olds engine. From there it was all manner of assignments. He's shown here demonstrating the extent of his passion. "Not merely a hands-on development engineer, Mr. Harris got his whole body involved in evaluating a Gurney Eagle Indycar he designed for Al Unser Jr. in 1983. This wild ride was at Phoenix, Arizona." Photo and Quote from SHADOW: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery: Can-Am - Formula 1 - F500, by Pete Lyons (Trevor Harris Collection)

#2669 - "Early in his career, future Indy 500 winner Troy Ruttman decided to give Midgets a try. He talked Arnold Krause into letting him drive the radical Sidewinder at the Orange Show Stadium in 1947. He struggled in his first race. A week later at Orange Show, Arnold Krause had some advice. 'Now, Kid, let me tell you how to drive this thing: If you don't follow my instructions you will have no ride. Get on the gas or you're out.' Ruttman followed his instructions, hooked a rut and took a wild ride, finally flipping over the fence and catching fire. Ruttman jumped out of the car and ran. When Krause caught up to him, Ruttman told him he had done exactly what he was instructed. Krause said, 'Don't you know when to lift?' Ruttman said 'You didn't tell me that and I quit.' His next ride was in Ray Gardner's Offy." Quote and Photo from DISTANT THUNDER: When Midgets Were Mighty, by Dick Wallen. (Dick Wallen Collection)

#2668 - Back in 2011 at the TQ's Gambler's Classic at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, "Liquid Lou" Cicconi was doin' his thing, looking ahead, even under a yellow. But it was not to be his day. After six laps he was on the trailer, and "TC," the late Teddy Christopher, was on his way to Victory Lane. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2667 - Very popular racer and philanthropist John Andretti tragically passed away of cancer last January. Along the way there was little in motorsports that he did not do. In the newly released book he worked on with Jade Gurss he wrote, "Going to the semifinals in my very first NHRA Top Fuel race in the Taco Bell Express! I loved the people and the fans in drag racing, but I like to drive more than five seconds at a time." Quote and Photo from RACER, by John Andretti. (Richard Shute Photo)

#2666 - From Bentley Warren's autobiography with Bones Bourcier WICKED FAST: "We went really well in the beginning of the '79 season, but I flipped Cindy Snyder's Super in June at Oswego. That either tweaked the suspension or bent something we couldn't find because the car was never as comfortable as it had been. We had a couple of seconds and a third-place finish at Oswego, but the car just wasn't right. That was a throwaway year, anyway. My hands and arms got scalded in the pits at Stafford when a radiator hose blew off the Modified I'd been driving. The steam and hot water shot right at me, but I couldn't jump back because one of the crewmen was positioned in such a way that it would have burned his face if I moved. I ran the next night at Oswego, then went home and checked into Massachusetts General Hospital. I needed skin grafts - again - and didn't race for most of July and all of August." (Photo Courtesy Speedway Press Archives)

#2665 - Here are Stevie Smith and his sister, Summer, at Pennsylvania's Grandview Speedway in 1995. Stevie went onto an illustrious career in 410s, but Summer, a former Miss Grandview and Miss Motorsports, met an untimely death in December of 2008. (Caption and Photo by Mike Feltenberger)

#2664 - In his brand new book, Don Prudhomme writes about the day he decided to go boating - in a blown gas hydro with a wooden hull. "Look at this idiot grinning with no idea he's about to make the biggest mistake of his life....Up and over...I was so stunned I couldn't even move. I mean, it ripped my helmet off....They fished me out and sent me to the hospital. That was my last boat race." Quote and Photos from THE SNAKE: DON PRUDHOMME - My Life Beyond the 1320, by Don Prudhomme with Elana Scherr.

#2663 - When George Walker and the FoMOCo design team introduced the '49 Ford, they were being pretty racy. The model had a whole new and much sleeker look, and the knee-action front end replaced the straight axle front end common since the days of wagon trains. But they probably did not have in mind what happened when the model became a favorite on short tracks across the nation. That's mine, rubber-side up (see Photo of the Day # 2018). Top photo from a gorgeous new book, THE CELLINI OF CHROME: The Story of George W. Walker / Ford Motor Company's First Vice President of Design, by Henry Dominguez. (Ford Photomedia). Bottom Photo by Bill Balser, Coastal 181 Collection.

#2662 - Here's Chris Perley checking out the cosmos before the start of the ISMA feature at the recent World Series at Thompson, CT. As usual, he gave the mighty Vic Miller machine a spectacular ride, breaking out to an early lead. But, when the checkered flew, he was runner-up to Jon McKennedy (Photo of the Day #2646) who swept all three IMSA shows in a Covid-shortened 2020 schedule. The rumor among the railbirds was that the Supers were clocked at over 170mph on the backstretch. (John DaDalt Photo)

#2661 - This is a curious little number from our friend Bradley Poulsen's photo collection. How about that injected Buick up front on a rail frame - and street tires! The photo has no identification, but Bradley says Fox was a farm-machine manufacturer in Appleton, WI. He thinks the track may have been Calumet County Speedway in Chilton at the turn of the 1960s. (Bob Bergeron Photo)

#2660 - Joyce Standridge's wonderfully warm and homey book FOUR...AND MORE - The Standridge Brothers: Big Wins, Big Wrecks, Big Fun captures the essence of a true-blue American racing family. She writes, "Some families pass down a beloved high chair or wooden rocking horse. The Standridges passed down a CAE Sprint Car. It wasn't even new at the beginning. Dick bought it used from northern Illinois racer Jack Tyne. So old it didn't even have an integrated roll cage, that old darlin' exemplified the thinking that the sturdier the better. Ironically, for all the many - oh, my, many - wrecks, rollovers and flips that car took through the years, when it was finally junked out back of the garage, it was still in one piece and the frame mostly straight." (Standridge Family Collection)

#2659 - Steve Kinser, the undisputed King of the Outlaws with 690 wins before retiring in 2014, took some time off from the Sprinters for a brief outing with NASCAR. He just plain had no luck at all. Here he is taking his driver introduction lap at Richmond on March 5, 1995, where he would end up 28th. After just seven races with an average finish of 35th, he was replaced by Hut Stricklin. (Photo and Quote by Mike Feltenberger)

#2658 - A year ago at Thompson (CT) Speedway, Bugsy Stevens superfan Cheryl Paine asked him to autograph her chest along with the book she purchased. The Bug was quick to comply. Cheryl subsequently informed him, "I decided to have it tattooed so that "You will always be close to my heart." You just gotta love racing folk. (Cheryl Paine Photo)

#2657 - "Bryan Saulpaugh and Harris Insinger pose with 'The Catfish.' Originally built by the Sparks-Wierick Racing Team, the car was designed by aerodynamics engineers at Stanford University. The car was eventually sold to Fred Frame for $8500. Saulpaugh was fatally injured at Oakland (CA) on April 22, 1933. Insinger was killed at Oakland on September 8, 1935." From A HISTORY OF OAKLAND SPEEDWAY 1931-1945, by Tom Motter. (Ted Wilson Photo)

#2656 - If this '37 Ford coupe showed some unusual contours, it was no surprise. It had just become the first car to flip at the Daytona International Speedway. Back in 1959, 55 Sportsman-Modifieds took off in a 200-miler the day before the inaugural Daytona 500. Bobby Albert, a highly accomplished driver from White Plains, New York, had qualified very creditably in 16th spot. But on lap three, his motor blew, he spun, hit the apron, and over and over he tumbled. Luckily, he scrambled out unfazed and unhurt and was awarded a 46th-place finish. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#2655 - "Parnelli Jones catches a ride with his driver, Al Unser, on what was a state-of-the-art golf cart at the time. Al would win the 1970 and 1971 Indy 500s as a member of the Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing Team." Quote and Photo from LEGACY OF JUSTICE, by Tom Madigan. (Ed Justice Jr. Photo)

#2654 - "The start of any early Trans-Am race was always frantic. Rain made it even more so. Note the use of earthen embankments to keep the cars in the field of play. Track owners wanted the Trans-Am show, and the SCCA needed venues. Quick fixes to the facilities were often not well thought-out and in some cases outright dangerous." Quote and Photo from THE CARS OF TRANS-AM RACING 1966-1972, by David Tom. (Ron Lathrop Collection)

#2653 - For nearly four decades the high-banked, paved Westboro Stadium was a popular Friday night destination in central Massachusetts. It opened in 1947 for the Midgets, but was most known for stock cars, often pretty funky, over the years before closing in 1985. Even the wandering early NASCAR Grand National tribesmen came to town once, in August of 1951. Pre-race releases boasted of the likes of Bill Rexford, Frank Mundy, the Flock Brothers, Wally Campbell, and Sammy Packard, whose sleek machine is pictured above. But it was Charlie Gattalia who returned to neighboring Connecticut with the biggest slice of the $3,100 pie for the 200-lapper. (H. White Photo, RA Silvia Collection)

#2653 - Bronxville, NY's Tony Bonadies was the real deal. He raced widely for 24 years in early NASCAR Grand National events and even ventured to the Brickyard on three occasions. He is most known, though, for his consistent winning performances in Midgets. He was particularly successful in a roadster, one of the 10 built by Kurtis-Kraft. He was also fast on the dirt in upright cars before losing a wheel and flipping to his death in one at Williams Grove in 1964. Tony Jr. did run the roadster subsequently, but, after the motor blew, it was put in storage in upstate New York. A few years ago, the Bobby Albert family, a well-known racing clan and great friends of the Bonadies, collaborated with Bob Dini and a host of others to restore the car lovingly to its original shine. One of the three Kurtis-built Midgets still in existence, it will be shown at future vintage venues. (Photos courtesy Tony Bonadies Jr. and the Albert Family)

#2652 - Ted Horn leads at Reading, PA, during an AAA race in 1940. (Do you think the bumpers of those passenger cars served as a guard rail that day?) It is said that at age 15 on his way to a newspaper job in Los Angeles, Horn had been stopped for speeding. He must have been really trucking because the policeman, clearly a creative thinker, insisted that as a punishment Horn go to San Jose Speedway, find an open race car, and drive it until he could get all the speed out of him. Only then could he retrieve his impounded road car. Horn so did, but along the way he fell in love with racing. He became three-time AAA champion and put together the best ten-year streak in Indy annals, before his luck ran out at Du Quoin at 48 in 1948. A spindle broke in his car named 'Beauty' and he died in the resulting crash. Photo from STRAPPED IN magazine, December 2003. (Bruce Craig Photo)

#2651 - Wishing the ageless favorite Red Farmer well in his recovery from COVID. He reported that it felt like a train ran over him, backed up, and did it again. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2650 - A beautiful thing. Roger Ward exercises the Leader Card Special at Sacramento in 1959. From FABLOUS FIFTIES: American Championship Racing, by Dick Wallen. (Bob Tronolone Photo)

#2649 - That's a 15-year-old Wally Dallenbach on his '37 Indian, with the first stock car he built in the background. Ed Farley wheeled the coupe because Wally was too young to race it himself. As for the bike, "My mom hated motorcycles and she said, 'If you want to ride that motorcycle, you just ride around the sand pit.' Every Friday she would go shopping and about three o'clock that afternoon I took it out on the road and gave it a good run. I brought it back and put the motorcycle in the garage. It was crackling hot, dripping oil and smoking. My mom always parked in front of the house and took the groceries out, but for some reason that day she went to the garage and smelt the smoke and saw oil dripping. She went over and looked at the speedometer and it said 95 mph When she saw that, she took an axe and chopped it up." From WALLY DALLENBACH: Steward of the Sport, by Gordon Kirby. (Dallenbach Family Collection)

#2648 - That was Dick Jones practicing for the Little 500 back in the day. It must have taken some tough dudes to strong arm one of those early cars through 2000 turns. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2647 - "In the 2017 qualifying crash of (Sebastien) Bourdais at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bourdais' car hit the Turn 2 SAFER wall at 227 mph with an impact measured at 108 Gs....The SAFER barrier, his car's safety elements, and HANS saved Bourdais from critical or fatal injury.... The SAFER barrier consists of eight-inch by eight-inch rectangular steel tubes welded together and strapped to existing concrete retaining walls. Bundles of polystyrene foam are placed between the barrier and wall." From CRASH - FROM SENNA TO EARNHARDT: How the HANS Helped Save Racing, by Jonathan Ingram. (AP Photo)

#2646 - How about that Jon McKennedy! He just added two big ones to the many notches on his belt. This season the ISMA super schedule has been reduced to the Ollie Silva Classic at Lee, NH, in August and the Star Classic in Epping, NH, in September because of Covid 29. He swept both of them. Only the World Series at Thompson, CT, is left. You can be he'll be ready for that. (Rich Hayes Photo)

#2645 - It didn’t have the look of a Wood Brothers pit stop when Freddie Adam pulled in for fuel back in the day. But his nickname was "The Kutztown Comet," and he sure drove like one on the mile-and-one-eighth dirt in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. From AREA AUTO RACING NEWS PICTORIAL (Walt Chernokal Photo)

#2644 - All the back of this photo indicates is "Bill Horstmeyer at La Crosse." In any case, he was on the hammer. Is that cardboard taped onto his busy right arm to protect him from flying rocks and "Offy rash"? (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2643 - It was the turn of the 1960s, and a young Modified driver stood somewhat anxiously behind the main grandstand at the Kearney Bowl in Fresno. What a career he would put together, including 22 starts at the Brickyard. His name: George "Ziggy" Snider. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2642 - On Columbus Day 1927, popular and ultra-speedy "Smiling Harry" Hartz took one world-class tumble on the frightful 1.25-mile board track in Rockingham, NH. He was thrown from his Miller, landing on his head on the track, while the car sailed right over him and blew up. The resulting fire burned a hole in the track. Harry was pretty banged up. But, as you can see, he and his wife were definitely looking dapper during his two-year recuperation. He would never race again, though he never stopped smilin'. Photo from BOARD TRACK: Guts, Gold, and Glory, by Dick Wallen.

#2641 - He was a good one! Photo from 67: Tom Reffner and Dick Trickle, by Fr. Dale Grubba.

#2639 - Jack Hahn kicks up a plume from the loose stuff at Pueblo, CO, in 1961. Was that wall meant to contain the dust? (LeRoy Byers Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2638 - There aren't too many books coming out about NASCAR racing these days, but a brand-new one, I WAS A NASCAR REDNECK, a 600-pager by Will Cronkrite is a corker. As you can see, it has its levity - that's Jerry Hayes applying an air hose to Loni Anderson's skirt, as Will Cronkrite applauds. But it also has fascinating tales about NASCAR's golden era and many curious technical insights. There is no question Cronkrite is one clever guy. As Humpy Wheeler says in the foreword, "If he and the legendary Smokey Yunick had worked on the moon program, we would have been there a decade earlier." Photo and quote from I WAS A NASCAR REDNECK: Reflections of the Transformation of a Yankee Farm Boy to a Southern Redneck, by Will Cronkrite.

#2637 - Here's what a local newspaper wrote when Indy legend Lou Moore came to town in 1929: "THE EASTERN 100-mile CHAMPION," Woodbridge, New Jersey. Lou Moore, from Los Angeles, who won the title of the Woodbridge track in a record time of one hour, twenty minutes, and 4-5 seconds." (From our friend Jeff Hardifer's very substantial collection)

#2636 - Despite being workaholic, much of the staff of Speedway Illustrated magazine somehow still finds time to race. Here's Jason Beck, their energetic editor, getting started behind the wheel back in 2011. Was he trying to reach someone in the infield with that message on the hood? Commenting on it today, he makes technical commentary: "Who says front-wheel drives can't be loose? As Harry Hogge said, 'Loose is fast, but on the edge of control.'" (Photo Jason Beck Collection)

#2635 - The #106 looked pretty snappy, and Red Farmer looked fit as a fiddle. But, as you can see, not everyone got too dressed up back in the day. What in the world was Red doing with that derby in his right hand? From FLORIDA MOTORSPORTS RETROSPECTIVE, Vol 1, 2nd edition. (Eddie Roche Collection)

#2634 - By any definition, Bobby Santos III, now of Noblesville, IN, is among our country's most masterful racers. Plant him behind a steering wheel and it's case over. In the last few weeks he copped the high-profile Night Before the 500 in a Seymour-prepared Midget, the 72nd annual Little 500 at Anderson, IN, in a Sprint Car, and he came home to New England last weekend to sweep the Musket 200, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Race on the mile in Loudon, New Hampshire. The fact is that he was so naturally talented that he did not seem to have to learn. Way back when, while he was an early teenager already winning in Small Block Supers, I approached him and his devoted dad, Bob Jr., and suggested that Bobby should really get some dirt experience along the way. I called Randy Howe, the track champion on the dirt at Canaan, NH, and rented his backup car for a night. When we got there, I told Bobby dirt can be more uncivilized than asphalt, but that there is a system, a feel, to it. "Just follow me for the race and you'll begin to get the hang of it." Off we went. In about two laps, he roared around me on the outside, and I didn't see him until the end of the race. How's that for gratitude?! (Photo Santos Family Collection)

#2633 - "Mario Andretti, already an Indycar National Champion and with so much more still ahead, tried on Wayne Hartman's Shadow body buck for size and signed a letter of intent to driver the radical racer should it prove competitive." Quote and Photo from SHADOW: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery: Can-AM, Formula 1, F5000, by Pete Lyons. (Don Nichols Collection)

#2632 - All suited up and ready to go in the 2007 Eastern States 200 at Middletown, NY, Jack Johnson holds court before his attentive son Ronnie and Jimmy Horton, (R).
(Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2631 - "When the Justice Brothers opened their business in Jacksonville, Florida, they were literally the first company to offer a driver the chance to make a buck or two running a sponsor's decal (Wynn's Friction Proofing.)" That's Jack Smith in the car, champion of NASCAR's short-lived "Speedway Division," with Big Bill France and Harold Brassington behind. Quote and photo from LEGACY OF JUSTICE, by Tom Madigan with Ed Justice Jr. (Justice Family Collection)

#2630 - Only "Herman Hutton #45 Selma" is scratched in pencil on the back of this period photo. In any case, whoever it was looked to be having a good time. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2629 - Other difficult times. "Mauricio Gugelmin drives out of the pits as the cars roll off for the American Memorial 500 at Eurospeedway Lausitz. Staged just a few days after the 9/11/01 terrorist acts, this race is remembered for the accident that cost two-time CART series champion Alex Zanardi his legs." From TIME FLIES: The History of PACWEST Racing, by John Oreovicz. (Dan R. Boyd Photo)

#2628 - It was 1983 at the World Series at Thompson, CT. The NEMA field was full and the sandbanks high, though sometimes not high enough. Bobby White, Dave Humphrey, and Joey Coy would bring them down for the green. Photo from NEMA 30th Anniversary Yearbook, 1983.

#2627 - That was the speedy and innovative Chuck Boos winning one at Lancaster, NY, back in 1968. You would have thought that starter, Bruce Fleishman, would have felt a tad exposed. In the 1970s, the starter's stand was moved significantly up and away. Photo from LANCASTER HEROES: A Look Back at the Golden Age of Racing in Western New York, by John Bisci. (Gordon Reinig Photo)

#2626 - Ronnie Guinther sure looked pleased with himself posing next to his cool new humpback coach at the infamous old Reading Fairgrounds. His career best on the flat and heavy half-mile was a tenth. Photo from Strapped In magazine, February 2012.
(Bob Eppihimer Photo)

#2625 - Racing can certainly be a family tradition. Here are Illinois' racing Kneppers: Butch in the 1930s; to the right his son, Arnie, in the '50s and '60s; and to the right his son, Art, in 1980. But Arnie's truth-talkin' widow, Wanda, knew from early on that it wasn't always going to be milk and honey. Arnie told her that as a boy, back when the racing was on fairground half-miles, Butch would take him to the track and have him stand to mark the point near the turn where Butch wanted to back off. Young Arnie, however, wanted his dad to win and thought he was using way too much brake. So every lap he would move a couple of feet further towards the turn... (First and second photo from A Quarter Century of Racing by the St. Louis Racing Association, Anniversary Edition; third photo from Knepper Family Collection)

#2624 - Springfield 2011. Our friend and master lensman John DaDalt, writes: "All is good here in Connecticut, but I'm thinking about state fairs and champ cars."

#2623 - Kenny Weld: "I don't have a modulator valve on my temper. I enjoy beating Jan (Opperman) more than anybody. He's deviled me so much. I wasn't used to a person who would bump you even before the green." Quote from AARN's Auto Racing Monthly, September 1974. (Ace Lane Jr. Photo)

#2622 - Kansas City's Junior Parkinson had a riding companion in the USAC Sprint Car races at the Indiana State Fair in May of 1977. Mickey had a rough go of it, losing an arm and an ear, but not his smile. 1978 Hoosier Sprints Official Program. (Dave Knox Photo)

#2621 - Pawtucket, Rhode Island's Roland Oliver, 78, spent many years behind the wheel of a race car. A popular but underfinanced journeyman performer, he ran Novice, Sportsman, and Modified cars, Sports Cars, Midgets, and Minis. Along the way he managed to pull out two sensational wins. In 1964 at the 50-lap midseason Seekonk Sportsman championship, he blew a tire in his coupe in the heat and had to borrow $50 to buy a spare. But, after the feature, he was $1300 to the plus, having whupped the track's heavy hitters. Then in 1974, seemingly out of the blue, he decided to travel way out to Fulton, New York, and ran away with the National Mini Stock Championship. Roland says, "That's 50 years gone by and it's still something! I'm pleased and still bragging." (Photos, Don White Collection)

#2620 - Competing in the World of Outlaws in the early days must have been a thrill, but it was a long, tough road. Ask Rick Ferkel. (Photo from Carl Hungness' Racing Cars, Volume One, Number Four.)

#2619 - The stories, both blissful and sad, about the Boehler Ole Blue Modified racing at Thompson, CT, Speedway over the last 65 years seem unending. No question, though, one of the happiest moments was when 21-year-old Bobby Santos went upstairs and trounced the field in the 2007 World Series. He's shown here with his mom, Ellen, sisters Erica and Sarah, and dad, Bob. Photo from THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue, by Lew Boyd. (Dick Ayers Photo)

#2618 - That was Michael Andretti's wife Sandra and their son Marco at Indy in 1989. Wonder what’s gonna happen this Sunday... From THE 1989 INDIANAPOLIS 500 YEARBOOK. (M. Binkley Photo, IMS Collection)

#2617 - Marco joins his grandfather Mario by snagging pole position to lead the field to the green at this year's Indy 500, looking to reach the checkers first and that splash of milk in Victory Lane. (Quote and Photo from Dave Dalesandro)

#2616 - Last year at the parade of vintage cars at Pocono's Indy Car weekend everyone's favorite, Gary Gollub, took the restored Weikert #29 out for a ride. Word has it that a torrential downpour stalled the car down in turn one and no one saw Gary stranded. Finally security was notified, and a liquified Gary was pushed back to the pits. No problem, he said. He's just always wanted to be in that car. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2615 - The board track era in the early 1900s was certainly dramatic - and lethal. Perhaps the most treacherous of all of them was the two-mile venue in Tacoma, WA, active from 1912-1922, shown here with the Duesenbergs of Jerry Wunderlich (often spelled Wonderlich and in this photo Wanderlich) and Harry Hartz. Tommy Milton, a big winner there, wrote, "As vividly as the day I quit, I can feel the wind roaring in my face, the thrill of the speed, the ecstasy of triumph, the joy in the power of a roaring engine, the hurtling, screeching, rocketing flight that sent the blood through my body in a fierce, tumultuous glory of accomplishment." Quote and photo from BOARD TRACK: Guts, Gold, and Glory, by Dick Wallen,

#2614 - The California Jalopy Association sure offered up some kind of shows back in the 1950s and early '60s, replete with hundreds of cars, huge crowds, fetching trophy girls, and big crashes. On March 6 1960, one of their top wheelmen, Art Atkinson, took a flyer in his square top. He's shown catching some air in the midst of six flips in one of the most reproduced images from the CJA era. He ended up sprawled on the track, but, after a night's rest at the local crash house, he was ready to go again. From MEMORIES OF THE CALIFORNIA JALOPY ASSOCIATION, by Thomas D. Luce, Foreword by Parnelli Jones.

#2613 - "After his accident [at Syracuse] Gary Bettenhausen returned to action five months later with his own midget sponsored by Howard Linne. He drove Linne's car in the Turkey Night race at Ascot at the end of November '74, and ran half a dozen races for Linne early in 1975, winning indoors at Ft. Wayne in January. 'We put a six-cylinder Porsche engine in that car and Gary won at the Fairgrounds with it,' Merle Bettenhausen says. 'We bought the engine at a junkyard. There was no dyno testing or anything. Trying to get the carburetion right was the most difficult thing. We ran it twice. Then USAC told us to take that $20,000 engine out of the car. They said it would cause a revolution.'" Quote and Photo from TONY BETTENHAUSEN & SONS: An American Racing Family Album, by Gordon Kirby with Merle and Susan Bettenhausen. (RMA/Reel)

#2612 - Now there's a push! That's Eddie Sachs arguing with the Cheeseman Offy at Reading, PA, on October 14, 1956. From THE EASTERN BULL RINGS: The History of the Eastern Big Car Championships, 1945-1960, by Buzz Rose. (Bruce Craig Photo)

#2611 - That's Irish Jack Murphy in flathead days before the cutdowns at Oswego, NY. A popular racing fashion statement - especially in those days before Musco lighting - was to put an identifier on the top of the roof. In some cases it was the car number, in other cases a colored light, or even a toy animal. Another little bit of light-hearted funkiness lost over the years. (Jeff Ackerman Collection)

#2610 - Three great racers being racy. That's Jimmy Sills leading Ron Shuman and Lealand McSpadden at the Hoosier Hundred on the Indy Mile in 1993. From LIFE WITH LUKE: Jimmy Sills (aka Luke Warmwater), by Dave Argabright

#2609 - Notes on the back of this photo indicate that it was Vern Cannon at St. Paul, MN, in 1966. The #51 sure had some interesting angles.... (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2608 - This incredible pre-season publicity shot was taken at California Speedway in early 2001 as young New Zealander Scott Dixon joined the PacWest team. He would still be three months shy of his 21st birthday when he won at Nazareth Speedway in April, the youngest driver to win a top-level race in American open-wheel racing. From the brand new TIME FLIES: The History of PacWest Racing, by John Oreovicz.

#2607 - "Kenny Gritz (Larry Snyder 12) battles with Curt Houge (Larry Conyers 43) and Dick Sutcliffe (29) in 1969. Gritz was killed on September 1, 1969 at Lincoln, Nebraska, just 16 days after winning the Knoxville Nationals. His death led to the end of cageless sprint cars." Quote and Photo from NEBRASKA DIRT: A Century of Racing in the Cornhusker State 1901-1999, by Bob Mays. (Roger Arndt Photo)

#2606 - Our Man from Amsterdam captured the Modifieds congregating at Grandview (PA) Speedway for a Freedom 76. (Dave Dalesandro Photo)

#2605 - "Shown here in the k33 is Keith Kauffman, 'The Man from Mifflintown,' lining up with Jay Myers during an early season race at the old Reading Fairgrounds. Kauffman, who recently turned 70, amassed over 300 wins (and 11 track championships at Port Royal Speedway), driving his way right into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame." (Photo and Caption by Mike Feltenberger)

#2604 - When we sent a copy of THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue to David Crane, our friend and former Modified teammate, he sent us this story. "Something that caught my attention: in the background of the photo on page six of Lenny's #75 is a cut down #55. I'm quite sure that's the car that my friend Bill Readon and I owned. We bought the car from a guy nicknamed 'Longy' who ran a stable of cars out of Beverly and was dying of cancer. Bill was away in the Air Force, and I took it to Seekonk Speedway down near Rhode Island a couple of times. I had another friend try driving it with notable lack of success. An old time driver - I believe his name was Tex Hill - took it out in a heat and came back swearing his head off and walked away. It was really loose. One of the veteran mechanics came over and looked at the car and offered some help. The car had no jacking bolt and I'd never heard of such a thing. He went over to his tool box and found an old piece of leaf spring and explained to me that it was a wedge and that's how they did it in the old day. We loosened the U bolts, hammered in the wedge, and I was introduced to 'shimming' the front end. My friend took the car out in the consolation, again with little success. I remember we took the car to Westboro where the throttle stuck and it went through the first turn wall. Shortly after that we parked it. We couldn't afford tires. I've attached is a picture of it the way it looked without numbers and before I took it to Seekonk."

#2603 - "In the NEMA Midgets feature at Monadnock Speedway Paul Scally #30 put up a hell of a fight to hold onto the lead for 25 hard laps against seven-time Champion Randy Cabral #74. But, with five laps to go, Scally got loose in turn three and allowed Cabral to make a pass. 'Twenty years ago on this same day, I won my first Boston Louie Memorial race, and my first victory. To win the Iron Mike (Scrivani) Memorial on the same weekend is unbelievable,' said Cabral. Randy has more consecutive seasons with a victory than any other driver in the 68-year history of NEMA." (Photo and caption by our esteemed webmaster, Norm Marx)

#2602 - That's an image of the late John Andretti and his racer son, Jarett, from his just-published memoir with Jade Gurss. "In the midst of my second full stint of chemotherapy treatments, I was still going to the race track as the crew chief for Jarett. Here we are checking out the track at Kokomo, Indiana, during the USAC Indiana Sprint week in 2017.... I've kept a full head of hair, which is an odd kind of curse. People assume that I must be feeling OK because I look 'normal' on the outside. Believe me, they have no idea what is going on inside my body." Photo and caption from RACER by John Andretti with Jade Gurss. (David Nearpass Photo)

#2601 - Some of the best times we’ve had with Coastal 181 over the years came at the Chili Bowl where we used to set up. We met so many people. Consider this gaggle: R-L, Jimmy Oskie, Jimmy Sills, Johnny Rutherford, Cary Stratton and me, and the ring leader, Shane Carson. In the past, the Chili Bowl would typically run the week before our biggest show, Area Auto Racing's Motorsports near Philadelphia, and with some hustle, we could do both. Recently, because of the way the calendar falls, they are on the same weekend. We go Motorsports, as it is so much closer, but the whole time we’re thinking about what must be going on at the racy clay oval in that huge building in Tulsa. (Boyd Adams Photo, Shane Carson Collection)

#2600 - One of the great ones. Ray Lee Goodwin checks out the downstairs at Des Moines in 1961. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2599 - Smokey Yunick: "In March of '57, I quit Chevy and go to Ford. Paul (Goldsmith) comes with me, and we don't win too much, but we sure give it hell till we crash or blow. By now Curtis (Turner) and I have completed Paul's training as a NASCAR racer. We taught him about drinking, partying and chasing wild-wild women, and also how to fly. (He really did learn the "wild women" part fastest). I think right now would be the place to say Paul was the most natural born racer and pilot I've even seen." Quote and Photo from BEST DAMN GARAGE IN TOWN: My Life and Adventures, by Smokey Yunick. (Norman Poole Photo)

#2598 - Over his 22-year driving career, Chuck Engle drove just about anything - stock cars, Sprinters, Supers, and he did it well. He even took a shot at the Brickyard in 1963. He will be remembered, though, for a creative but unsuccessful venture - the "Super Beatnick." He designed and built the radical Super with Art Field. He has this to say about the experience: "The design really wasn't bad. The second axle added weight, and it was underpowered. The basically stock engine never let us find what the potential was. We could have improved on it, but I liked to race, and spending too much time in the shop limited the amount I could spend at the track." Photo and quote from EARLY SUPERMODIFIEDS - and Other Early Racers, Vol 4, by Gerald Hodges

#2597 - Bill Poehler has penned quite the book, THE BROWN BULLETT: Rajo Jack's Drive to Integrate Auto Racing. He delves into the incredible life of Dewey Gaston ("Rajo Jack") who in the 1930s emerged as one of the first black auto racers in the country. He was fast and respected by his fellow drivers, but he had problems with officials and fans. He was never able to compete in AAA or to attempt Indy because of his color. Whenever he won - which was frequently - his wife Ruth would have to step in as trophy girl so that a while woman would not have to greet him. His final wins in his Big Car came in 1950; he died in 1957. Photo from THE BROWN BULLETT: Rajo Jack's Drive to Integrate Auto Racing, by Bill Poehler.

#2596 - Here's another one from Bear Ridge Speedway, up on a mountain in Bradford, Vermont, and run by Butch Elms and April May Preston. It is most certainly the little track that roars. In a barnburner last Saturday night, Walt Hammond #88, Josh Ruel #28, and Wayne Stearns #1D made a three-deep charge for the lead in the Sportsman-Modified feature. But it's the last lap that counts - and that's when Jason Gray was on top for the third time this year. (Alan Ward Photo)

#2595 - John DaDalt sent us this neat shot of our mutual friend, Jeff Horn, most definitely one of the good guys. Jeff, who turned 75 on July 6, has raced and won seemingly in everything on dirt and asphalt. Here he is last Saturday night, debuting for 2020 at Bear Ridge Speedway way up in Bradford, VT. He won his heat handily in his DMA/USAC Midget. (John DaDalt Photo)

#2595 - Aging Pop Lloyd of Lloyd Racing Enterprises was in constant search of something new and speedy. In late 1981 he launched this version of their familiar #56 with a different wing design, a lowered, tapered hood, a streamlined injector cover and an enclosed cockpit for their racy driver, Smokey Snellbaker. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2594 - Dick Berggren just found this incredible shot he took of Lenny Boehler in his rather unique garage with his Ole Blue coupe at the turn of the 1970s. The bad news is that it just wasn't in time to be included in our brand new book THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue. The good news, though, is that the books came from the printer today, and we are starting to ship! (Still free shipping for orders through July 31.)

#2593 - Shirley Muldowney, originally from Vermont, moved to upstate New York and had her share of success running her Double Trouble Top Gas Dragster through 1971. The twin 327 Chevy engines were built by her teenage son John. (Photo from CHEVY DRAG RACING 1955-1980, by Doug Boyce. (Photo Courtesy of Paul Sable)

#2592 - In his book 67 - TRICKLE AND REFFNER Father Dale Grubba writes about the times in the 1970s when Dick Trickle and Tom Reffner each won 67 features in a season. Reffner, shown here with his head mechanic, Peter Haferman, gave a clue about the relationship among the top performers. "Dick, Marv Marzofka, Jimmy Back, and I respected one another. We looked out for each other. We were going from track to track. Larry Detjens started running with us. Larry took it a step further. We'd all take advantage of each other if we came up on a lapped car. That was legal. We all did it. Then Larry, when someone would get up beside him to pass him and get wiped off by a lapped car, he would wait and let the other guy get right back up there. He did that to each of us guys. So, we started to do that, too. We thought long and hard about it. Some of the guys never did. Some of the guys who ran at other tracks would never return the favor. So, we wouldn't give them that favor either." Photo and Quote from 67 - TRICKLE AND REFFNER, by Father Dale Grubba.

#2591 - Our buddy Shane Carson was lookin' pretty cool back in the day, don't you think? Here's what he recalls: "My black #11 was a hand-me-down from my brother Scott when he got back from Vietnam. I got into that #11 after Moto-Cross in 1973, when I met the minimum age my dad's promotion company MAR-CAR required. When I started, there were about 75 cars in that division. They had a 100' wheel base, a transmission, and were self-starting. I carried a "rookie" classification that put me in the back of the pack until my sixth race, but I did manage to secure the Rookie of the Year award for the Modified Division at the Fairgrounds Speedway at OKC." (Shane Carson Collection)

#2590 - On August 1, 1981, Larry Detjens of Wausau, WI, died after slamming into the infield guardrail at the backstretch entrance of Wisconsin International Raceway. It was a tremendous loss for the Wisconsin racing community, as it was thought that Detjens would be the next of their members to enter NASCAR superspeedway competition. The 37-year-old, shown here at the Milwaukee Mile, had already won 22 features that summer. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2589 - In her neat book about her racing family, Joyce Standridge writes about her husband Rick, a prodigious winner for decades, who is known more for his success in Late Models than in Sprinters. However, he had some sensational runs in the open-wheelers, and, quite likely, the most impressive one came in Frank Siciliano's car at Illinois' Crawford County Fairgrounds. Joyce recalls, "Rick rode up over a detached front tire and flipped all the way down the backstretch. It was the only time we ran that track. It's a long way down that backstretch if you are flipping. Rick was fine. The car was not. Because Rick's bell was rung, I drove home. All 136 miles flat out. When I blew through the second red stoplight in Taylorville, Rick thought maybe I should be the one to going to the hospital for a checkup." Photo and quote from FOUR AND MORE: The Standridge Brothers: Big Wins, Big Wrecks, Big Fun, by Joyce Standridge. (Photo Standridge Family Collection)

Note: The answer to the question on yesterday's Photo of the Day is R.A. Silvia of Warwick, Rhode Island, New England auto racing's historian emeritus. Our winner is Don Rounds, of Rhode Island's racing family. Thanks, Don - free book coming your way!

#2588 - The image of this mighty bomber was taken on the first day of Spring, 1963. It doesn't look like much, but it launched the racing career of one of the most respected of all the New England Auto Racing Hall of Famers. Its owner claims it was race-ready, but, given that rear bumper, that may be a bit of an overstatement. We will disclose the name of the owner in tomorrow's Photo of the Day. However, if you know his name before then, send it to us at info@coastal181.com. The first person with the right answer will receive a copy of our new book THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Bohler's Ole Blue. (Photo - Owner as yet undisclosed)

#2587 - The late Teddy Christopher spins a yarn for an attentive Bobby Santos. Though they chose different directions for their careers, they emerged as two of the finest wheelmen ever out of the Northeast. (Dick Ayers Photo)

#2586 - "Afternoons in August can be hot ones, and Irv Janey (left) of Grand Rapids, Iowa, and 'Big' John Moss of Iowa City cool off after a grueling afternoon at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on August 19, 1972. Janey won, and Moss was second in a 200-lapper. Moss holds a cool one and lights a cigar for the winner." Quote and Photo from TWO LANE ROADS AND COUNTRY FAIRS: IMCA Stock Cars Brought Thrills to Generations of Race Fans, by Bill Haglund. (Beetle Bailey/IMCA Photo)

#2585 - The vintage Modifieds thunder down Fonda New York's backstretch during
their July 4 event under the Buck Moon. (Photo by Dave Dalesandro, Our Man from Amsterdam)

#2584 - "To chase the magnificent record of Mario and Michael Andretti, two of the three most successful drivers in Indy car racing history, is a very tall challenge to say the least. But that's what Michael's son Marco set for himself when he decide to pursue the same career as his famous father and grandfather.... Marco (center) enjoyed a great relationship with Tony Kanaan (left) and Dario Franchitti, who served as mentors as well as friendly teammates. Their maturity and experience provided a big help to Marco, both on and off the track." Marco's record at Indy included 14 starts with five top fives, including one runner-up. Photo and Quote from Joe Freeman and Gordon Kirby's amazing book, SECOND TO ONE: All but for Indy. (RMA/Webb Photo)

#2583 - Michigan's square-jawed Sammy Sessions was the picture of an open-wheeler back in the day. Nicknamed "Little Tiger," he actually got started on the water. Following a couple years in hydroplanes, he landed a stock car ride and soon after was in a Super. He became one of the Michigan drivers so successful at New York's Oswego Speedway, especially aboard the Bingo #151. He then joined USAC, running Midgets, Champ Cars, and Sprinters, taking the Sprint Car title in '72. He had ten starts at the Brickyard with a fourth as the highlight. His life ended on the snow. In 1997, at age 42, he sought extra change during the winter months racing snowmobiles. He died after hitting a tree in a heat race in Alexandria, MN. (Competition Photography)

#2582 - A real man's race car. Driver - Gordon Herring, somewhere in Colorado, 1959. (Bradley Poulsen Collection.)

#2581 - This was the scene after the first three turns of the Small Block Supermodified feature a week ago at New Hampshire's Star Speedway. That's Mike Netishen in the #55, too close for comfort with Nick Pappadeas. Nick's right-front and nerf bar did a number on the top of Mike's engine compartment. That's his power-steering filler cap flying off to the left. Mike and his team disassembled the engine to remove broken carburetor parts. (Rich Hayes Photo)

#2580 - This photo was taken at Pocono in 2018. Robert Wickens' career and life almost ended a day later as he careened off the tunnel turn wall and fence, resulting in injuries that left this promising racer a paraplegic. He continues his therapy work in hopes of walking and racing again. (Quote and photo by Mike Feltenberger)

#2579 - Folks were very busy heading into that first turn at the 2014 Gamblers' Classic at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2578 - "Doug Wolfgang (Bob Trostle #20), came of age in 1977, winning 45 main events across the country including two at Lincoln (NE). The second day at Lincoln, Wolfie blew an engine and Trostle swapped it out in about 20 minutes. Then Wolfie went out and won the main. The car was a super lightweight special built by Trostle. Ralph Blackett told "Speedy Bill" Smith, "If it doesn't break in half on the way to the track, he'll probably lap them all." Quote and caption from Bob Mays' way-cool, brand-new book NEBRASKA DIRT: A Century of Racing in the Cornhusker State 1901-1999.

#2577 - That's Karl Fredrickson in a Coastal 181 coupe at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Karl is the energetic honcho behind Speedway Illustrated magazine. Denny Zimmerman, a former Indy Rookie of the Year, was offering him tips about handling the massive horsepower of the 181 on the mile. We think Karl is working too hard. He is a joyful - and winning - driver. We think he should be racing more. Next time you see him, tell him we said so. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#2576 - "Two of USAC's finest, Brady Bacon and Chris Windom (#5), power their Sprints off turn two at Williams Grove." (Photo and Caption from Strapped In Magazine, December 2018)

#2575 - In the late 1950s, Harry and Lou Spanier were concerned that things weren't going well at the half-mile dirt track on their farmland alongside Route 20 in West Lebanon, NY. Knowing they had to do something spectacular to survive, they heard a rumor that NASCAR was planning to build a huge, high-banked track to replace the former beach-course races in Daytona. They liked the idea, figuring it would make their oval very distinctive and racy. Off to work with the bulldozers they went; when done, they installed lights for night racing. Almost immediately Lebanon Valley Speedway became a popular destination. By the mid-1960s, the Spaniers' nephew, Howie Commander, took over the reins of the facility, and it continues to operate very successfully today. Big Block Modifieds and the touring Sprint Cars sure make hay on those high banks. (Hertha Beberwyk Collection)

#2574 - Whenever and wherever this was, it was very cool. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#2573 - Things looked pretty racy at Seymour (WI) Speedway back in the '80s.
Wisconsin author and historian Joe Verdegan tells us the warriors were Randy "The Meat" Tracy in the #42 and Jerry "The Bear" Priesgen aboard the #71.
(Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2572 - In the autumn of 1962, pioneering West Coast racer Jack McCoy prepared for an open-competition show on the half-mile dirt in Clovis, CA. He installed a Chrysler 318 with three carburetors, a huge gas tank, and made a curious selection of tires. He went out to mud-pack, and all seemed fine. But on the very first hot lap, his throttle stuck. In his book, he wrote that a Dr. Kirkeguard was his general physician organizing the surgeries that followed: "I got to know and love that man." Photo from RACING'S REAL McCOY: Sharing the Road with the Pioneers of the Wild West, by Jack McCoy. (Montgomery Collection)

#2571 - Bugsy Stevens was on top of his game in the late 1960s in Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue. In a four-year span, they racked up the National Modified title three times and had a runner-up. On this day at Thompson, CT, however, Bugsy needed a new nose. Look at that push. (Dick Berggren Photo, North East Motor Sports Museum)

#2570 - Jerry Smith and his pleasing moment after winning the USAC show at Wisconsin International Raceway in 1966. Wonder if she had to kiss all of them. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2569 - Fred Lorenzen hitting his marks early on his journey - at Milwaukee in 1959. (Stan Kalwasinski & Bradley Poulsen Collections)

#2568 - Butch Linden and Bob Weyrauch, busy at Chicago's O'Hare Stadium in 1966. (Stan Kalwasinski & Bradley Poulsen Collections)

#2567 - Ouch. Mark Letcher blew up going into turn one on Super Dirt Weekend, October 10, 1987. Piled up here were Bobby Barzee #8, Steve McKnight #28, and Doug Saunier #22. (Robin Hartford Photo, North East Motor Sports Museum Collection)

#2566 - Everyone called Bobby Brack "King of the Late Models in Florida", except Bobby! He's shown here in 1969. (Bobby (5x5) Day Photo, Coastal 181 Collection)

#2565 - Bob Russell with his Mercury-powered flathead races Glen Majors with Hudson Hornet power. It was on the 1/3-mile dirt of Englewood Speedway in Sheridan, CO, in 1949. (Leroy Byers Photo)

#2564 - Chuck Booth. The definition of brave. (John Mahoney Photo)

#2563 - National Jalopy Association action at Hudson, NH, on May 21, 1950.
(Coastal 181 Collection)

#2562 - Entering Chilton (Wisconsin) Fairgrounds and the Calumet County Speedway in August 1966. Please let me drive it. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2561 - Thanks to our friend Steve McKnight for this photo and caption. "On a wet Saturday afternoon, Lightning Larry Wight helps navigate one of his Gypsum Express drivers that had just delivered a SuperDirt Week packer truck through the pit area at Oswego Speedway Larry knows all about the Oswego clay, as he lays it down, races on it, and takes it all back up!"

#2560 - "Bobby Rahal leads Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti at Gateway in 1997." From CHRIS POOK and the History of the Long Beach GP, by Gordon Kirby (RMA/Swope Photography)

#2559 - Trans-Am at St. Jovite in 1970: "In Wednesday practice, Swede Savage crashed the second 'Cuda built by AAR. The car rolled and cart-wheeled multiple times before landing back on its wheels. Amazingly, Savage was dazed but unhurt - thanks in part to the 'Cuda's very modern (especially for that era) roll cage structure. AAR manager Tarozzi recalls the crash as simply a driver's error: 'Swede pushed just a little bit too hard, although he would never accept that.' This was the 'Cuda Savage had driven at Laguna Seca, Lime Rock, and Mid-Ohio. It was destroyed and never raced again." From TRANS-AM ERA - The Golden Years in Photographs: 1966-1972, by David Lipetz. (Bob Tarozzi Photo)

#2558 - Jimmy Sills: "The Hoosier Hundred at the Indy Mile, 1992. We were leading with six laps to go when a bolt broke on our tie rod, costing us a $23,000 win. Disappointment like that stays with you a while." Photo and Caption from LIFE WITH LUKE and Other Exciting Racing Adventures, by Jimmy Sills with Dave Argabright.

#2557 - Eventual Silver Crown race winner A.J. Fike gets pressured by Brian Tyler in the early stages of the 2012 100-miler at Springfield. (Photo and Caption by Mike Feltenberger)

#2556 - Our friend Duane Brown in Tampa was lucky enough to have seen some of the IMCA Winternationals at Plant Field. He writes, "I don't have any info on who was driving but I do know that I was all of 5 years old back then in 1964. I do remember the guy was coming out of turn two when he crashed and barrel-rolled through the corrugated metal fencing, taking a lot of it down. Wow those were such great races!" (Duane Brown Collection)

#2555 - This rather murky photo was taken from a mid-1970s Speedway Scene newspaper. At that time driver Fred DeSarro and car owner Lenny Boehler were red hot at Stafford Springs, CT, with their beefy #3 NASCAR Modified known as Ole Blue. Lenny was being kind of outrageous at the time, doing things like purposefully making his car absolutely as unsightly as possible, much to the track management's dismay. The announcer was our friend Bill Welch, a gentleman through and through. Judging by the look of Freddie, you can only imagine what Lenny was saying.

#2554 - Saturday night. The way we were. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#2553 - Reutimann rarely stops. This time Buzzie was crewing for his son David at Syracuse Super Dirt Week. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2552 - How would you have liked to take that machine out for a few laps?!? That's Baldy Baker, the great runner in the 1960s and '70s from Strasburg, Ohio, who starred weekly in Supers at Oswego, Sandusky and elsewhere. He passed away in November of 1979. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2551 - Jimmy Gordon was pictured here with his dad, Jack, at West Capital Speedway. It was right before a 100-lapper for Supers and Winged Sprinters on October 25, 1970, slated as the final event on the State Fair track in Sacramento. That day will be remembered as the most tragic day in West Coast racing history. Ernie Purssell of Sacramento and Walt Reiff of Nevada City died in mishaps in the preliminary events. Gordon, so popular for his dashing good looks and incredible driving ability that he was known as California's shooting star, was killed in a fiery flip in the main event. Photo from RACING'S REAL McCOY, an incredible 550-page volume on California racing by Jack McCoy and Keith Sellers with Richard "Sterling" Haggerty.

#2550 - Illinois native Rex Easton, shown here at Williams Grove in 1951, was a legendary USAC and AAA champion. He may have been nicknamed "Squeaky" for his high voice, but you wouldn't have wanted to mess with him and have to take a left hook. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2549 - Midgets at Milwaukee! Would you have loved to see that? (Armin Krueger Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2548 - Did it ever get racier than Paul Pitzer at Syracuse? (John Judge Photo, North East Motor Sports Museum Collection)

#2547 - That's Billy Duesenberry in a nifty little number he was running in Burlington, Iowa, in 1988. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2546 - John DaDalt sent us this neat shot of the late Bubby Jones at Eldora on October 9, 1977. (Mike Halling Photo)

#2545 - "One night during Super Weekend at Springfield (Illinois Speedway), Randy (Standridge) tangled with Dean Shirley and flipped all the way down the back stretch. 'The roll cage was held on by a quarter-inch of the pipe... on one post. The other three were broken off,' says Randy. He didn't immediately go the hospital. 'I was sitting on the trailer (afterward), and they re-fired the cars,' Randy remembers, or maybe somebody told him this later on for reasons that will become clear. 'Hey, how come we're not out there?' Randy asked John Livingston, the car owner. After a moment, John replied, 'I think you had better go to the hospital. Come and look at the car.'" From FOUR AND MORE: The Standridge Brothers: Big Wins, Big Wrecks, Big Fun, by Joyce Standridge. (Marvin Scattergood Photo)

#2544 - On July 24, 1965 Billy Greco (L) teamed up with legendary Jocko Maggiacomo Sr. for the 500-lap team race at the old Riverside Park in Agawam, MA. Over the years, Billy won seven of them, all with different partners. This one was particularly challenging. Maggiacomo took over the first portion of the event, but fell ill after just 100 laps. That left Billy to run 400 times around the tight, flat quarter mile. He won anyway. From THE NUMBER 43: The Life and Legacy of Billy Greco, by Sarah Greco. (Greco Family Collection.)

#2543 - "It's November of 1968, and Gary has just captured what he still calls 'one of the hardest wins of my entire career.' It happened at Tampa's Golden Gate Speedway. When his Marty Handshaw team overcame mechanical adversity and Gary held off a fierce challenge from Will Cagle to capture the Governor's Cup." From HOT SHOE: A Checkered Past, MY Story, by Gary Balough with Bones Bourcier (Gary Balough Collection)

#2542 - In the first attempt to start the ill-fated 1973 Indy 500, Salt Walther got into the wall and his car literally exploded. Wally Dallenbach was aboard Dan Gurney's #62 AAR Olsonite Eagle. He spun the car, stopped, and rushed over to help the firemen turn Walther's car upright and extract him. Walther suffered burns to his hands, and thirteen spectators were injured. From WALLY DALLENBACH: Steward of the Sport, by Gordon Kirby. (IMS-Dallenbach Family Collection)

2541 - "Despite the background motif, Jim Clark never really had a love affair with Monaco. The Scot is pictured in action during the 1962 Grand Prix, when he qualified on the pole before retiring his Lotus with clutch trouble. For all his unquestionable speed, he never once graced the principality's podium. His best result at the track? Fourth, in 1964." Quote and Photo from MOTORSPORTS COLLECTORS' SPECIAL: 1960s in Focus. Rare and Unseen Photographs from a Golden Age of Motor Racing.

#2540 - In the late 1960s, Freddy Adam, "the Kutztown Comet," was engaged in Pennsylvania/New Jersey wars wheeling the Bullock #76. So, the seat in his own coach was often available to others. It became a popular place to sit at the races. Bobby Bottcher, shown here, was in it so frequently that his name went on one side of the roof. Red Coffin claimed the other side. (Mike Feltenberger Collection)

#2539 - A song of the sixties! Casey Mitchell with his winged square top at the legendary Kearney Bowl in Fresno. Gotta love those suicide front ends! (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2538 - The Del Mar Fairgrounds, 15 minutes from San Diego, held six IMSA shows between 1987 and 1992. They drew great crowds. Photo by Jutta Fausel from Racemaker Press' seriously beautiful new book CHRIS POOK and The History of the Long Beach GP, by Gordon Kirby.

#2537 - Triumph and tragedy on the victory podium at the Citizen Grand Prix of South Africa in 1977. It was the victory that marked Niki Lauda's return from near death, but he is being told of the horrifying death of driver Tom Pryce. On the 20th lap, a fireman ran over to help extinguish a minor fire in Renzo Zorzi's Shadow and was hit and killed by Pryce. The worker's fire extinguisher became a bullet, striking Pryce in the head and killing him instantly. Pryce's own Shadow proceeded driverless down the track at full speed before hitting Jacques Laffite's car and the retaining wall. Lauda poured out sadly the contents of the champagne bottle and walked back to the shelter of his garage. (AUTOCOURSE - The Finest Grand Prix Annual in the World 1977-78)

#2536 - Back in the 1950s a trophy dash for heat race winners was a popular filler part of a night's program. Here Russ Smith grabbed one at the Reading, PA Fairgrounds. There were no power assists to help wheel those flathead coupes back then. Note the size of Smith's arms and the T-shirt he's wearing. Plenty of room to put his number on the sleeve. (Mike Feltenberger Collection)

#2535 - Jeff Strunk tosses his Modified into turn one on a hard track at Hagerstown, MD, during the 1994 Octoberfest. (Photo and Caption by Mike Feltenberger)

#2534 - The poor girl! Yup, it was dirt. Here's what the Des Moines Register had to say in June of 1953: "Ernie Derr, 31-year-old auto parts store manager of Keokuk, spent another profitable weekend, this time in Des Moines, winning the 125-mile stock car race at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The slender stock car pilot, who races only on weekends, picked up the $625 in cash in wheeling his 1953 green Oldsmobile around the 250-lap course in the record-breaking time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 37.34 seconds." Photo and clip from TWO-LANE ROADS AND COUNTY FAIRS - IMCA Stock Cars Brought Thrills to Generations of Race Fans, by Bill Haglund.

#2533 - Social distancing by nerf bar... (Coastal 181 Photo)

#2532 - What a sight in Denver back in April of 1963. That's Don Wilson with his nattily prepared - and apparently fast - square top. He was looking trim and fit, as the trophy girl certainly was. It even looks like he lent her his coat. Too bad about the cigarette. (Bradley Poulsen Collections)

#2531 - Somewhere in the Midwest. If that were my roll cage, I would certainly put some clothing over it. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2530 - Just imagine the next lap.... Elmer George #12 and Don Branson #1. Allentown, PA. 1960. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#2529 - This one is from Mike Feltenberger: "On March 7,1993 at Richmond, Davey Allison won what would be his last Cup race before his untimely passing. I will remember forever seeing Bobby lean over the pit wall in his race team jacket to high-five with his victorious son in the RYR #28." (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2528 - "NASCAR legend "Don't worry 'bout nothin,' 'Nother party's startin' 'bout 15 minutes" -- Curtis Turner. On the race track he got the job done: 17 NASCAR Cup wins, 38 Convertible Division wins, 4 Late Model Short Track Division wins; Daytona Beach Course wins 1956, 1958; Darlington Southern 500 win 1956; Martinsville Raceway wins 1950, 1951; Langhorne Speedway wins 1949, 1950; Lakewood Speedway win 1958. 1948 NASCAR Southeastern Champion. Here he's shown in the Smokey Yunick-Ken Rich #13 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle at the 1967 Daytona 500 where he won the pole position." (Caption by Ken Parrotte, C.R. Racing Memories Photo)

#2527 - A neat photo and caption from our friend Dave Dalesandro: "The apple does not fall far from the tree. A young Max McLaughlin sits on his dad's shoulders at a BGN event at Charlotte. Max now follows in Mike's footsteps, seated in a race car." (Dave Dalesandro Photo)

#2526 - On November 16, 2010, a double rainbow sent wishes for a safe race as the WoO Late Models readied for battle at the Charlotte World Finals. (Photo by Our Man from Amsterdam, Dave Dalesandro)

#2525 - It was the Indy cars at the Tony Bettenhausen 200 on the Milwaukee Mile. That's Jim Clark in Colin Chapman's #92 Watson/Ford and Rodger Ward aboard the Wilkes' Offy-powered Watson roadster. Doesn't it look as though Ward was looking over at the moment, watching as racing's newest technology rushed by. Clark won it, and Ward was fourth, a lap down. (Armin Krueger Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2524 - Someone pretty, someone happy, somewhere in the Midwest in 1962. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2523 - A truly beautiful sight. Bobby Marshman at Du Quoin in 1964. (Rocky Rhodes Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2522 - "Dick Trickle (top) and Bob Senneker (bottom) are ionic figures in the history of stock car auto racing. Somehow after the races in 1973 at Clarke's Motor Speedway (MI) they ended up in each other's car. Alcohol was probably a factor. The photos were taken by Mary Jo Mesereau and have never been out of my parents' basement." (Photos and caption courtesy of racer Rich Mersereau)

#2521 - That's Ricky Craven accepting the Meridian 200 bowl for his 1994 Busch win at Nazareth, Pennsylvania. He recalls, "I had come that day with a fairly poor attitude toward Nazareth. I always considered it among the more difficult tracks because the layout was unique to any other place I had ever competed. Consequently you couldn't reference another track in an attempt to feel comfortable there, or gain an advantage. But I was coming off of my first win in the Bush Grand National Series a month earlier and once I got to the lead I never surrendered it.... I ended up saddened to see the track close years later because I felt it was a true test for drivers in the same way we all view Darlington today." (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2520 - Steve Park, the popular winner in every regional and national NASCAR series he entered, really was speedy. (Dave Dalesandro Photo)

#2519 - That's Martin Truex before he moved up to Winston Cup. He's shown winning his first Busch Grand National title for DEI Racing at the Darlington Southern 500 weekend in 2004. (Caption and Photo by our Man from Amsterdam, Dave Dalesandro)

#2518 - What a shame that Penn National Speedway in Grantville, PA, did not last. Journalist/announcer Bruce Ellis called it "one of the most beautiful and modern dirt facilities in the country." Built similarly to the old Reading Fairgrounds, it was a flat half-mile with imposing grandstands, and the racing was primo. Here Scott Purcell #9, Ronnie Tobias #100, Doug Pannepacker #117, and Ray Swinehart grab some bite off the fourth turn. The track's final program was on September 1, 1996. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2517 - Here's a very cool shot of our friend Frank Grimaldi back in August of '64. He says, "The photo was taken from the top of the Uphill at Lime Rock, Connecticut. The car got very light at the crest, but never really actually left the ground. A year later I crashed and burned this car at the Thompson Speedway Road Course." Frank, a Director of the North East Motor Sports Museum, is still very much at it today. (Photo by Action Ltd of Wisconsin)

#2516 - Rookie Sam Sessions during practice at Indy in 1967 aboard master innovator Mickey Thompson's front-engine, four-wheel drive, four-wheel steer, stock block Chevy V-8, three valves per cylinder, Wynn's Spit-Fire Special (!). Sessions, an up-and-coming driver out of the ranks of the Saturday-night warriors, won three Supermodified feature races in a row in 1964 at Oswego Speedway. He would go on to collect trophies on all the famed dirt tracks - Ascot, Eldora, Knoxville, Terre Haute - and on the wild and crazy fast, paved, high banks of Winchester and Salem. (C.R. Racing Memories Photo, Ken Parrotte Collection)

#2515 - You can bet Ron Silk would remember this ride at the Thompson (CT) Speedway's Icebreaker a few seasons back. The popular event usually runs the first weekend in April, but the tentative schedule for this year is that the ice will be broken on May 15-16. (Dave Dalesandro Photo)

#2514 - Here's one from Dave Dalesandro to stir up some memories in New England. Alpha dogs the late Teddy Christopher (13) and Bugsy Stevens lead the pace lap at Stafford.

#2513 - Best be mindful of social distancing... (Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2512 - This is the win that resulted in Richie Evans being suspended by NASCAR in 1969. The May 28, 1969 edition of the Oswego Valley News reported on the Sunday night, May 25, 1969 Fulton Speedway feature race won by Richie Evans over Maynard Troyer and Dutch Hoag. At the time, Evans normally raced NASCAR at Utica-Rome Speedway, but Utica cancelled their race for the third Sunday in a row. Former racer Cliff Kotary presented the checkered flag to Richie Evans with his winning #6 coupe. Richie had raced with car #109 in 1967, then switched to number 6 for 1968 and 1969. After that, it was #61, Big Orange. (Photo and Caption thanks to Ken Parrotte)

#2511 - It was drivers' introductions at Dover Delaware for a Cup race in 1998. Bill Elliott was absent, attending his father's funeral, and a 26-year-old former champion from Wisconsin's Slinger Speedway stood up in his place. Matt Kenseth did so with style. His sixth-place finish was the third-best debut in Cup history. He went on to become Rookie of the Year in 2000, to win the title in 2003 - and the Daytona 500 in 2009 and 2012. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2510 - Looks like Kenny Brightbill had the cash to pay for his dinner order after the Keystone Pretzel 50 at Susquehanna (PA) Speedway back in the early 1990s. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2509 - Really, Brett! (Photo by Dave Dalasandro, Our Man from Amsterdam)

#2508 - These two gems were sent to us recently by customers, both of whom love old-time racing. The photo is from Bradley Poulsen in Wisconsin. Bradley has a fabulous collection of images he has generously shared with us. "Unfamous Heroes" is an excerpt from a group of poems, full of racing wit and wisdom, by Indiana's Mike Bontreger.

#2507 - Here's one of our favorite racers, Dave Darland, greeting a young fan through the catchfence at Salem Speedway. We don't know who took the photo or when, but it's a beauty - and that's why they call him "The People's Champ." Thanks to our friend Roger Zellner for sending it along.

#2506 - The eyes of all the racing world were on Steve "King" Kinser, but this was the one venue where the color green did not work for him. (Photo by Dave Dalesandro, "Our Man from Amsterdam")

#2505 - The late Tom Curley prances along the "Widow Maker," the much-impacted wall at his beloved Thunder Road Speedway in the Green Mountains of Vermont. He raced the place with ferocity early on, earning the nickname T-Bone Tom. In later years he ran it with equal ferocity, famous especially for his sassy drivers' meetings. Today, under new ownership, the track continues to thrive, a true New England pearl. (Speedway Illustrated Collection, Mike Adaskaveg Photo)

#2504 - That old Moody Mile at the Syracuse Fairgrounds was really something, especially during Super Dirt Week. It was sometimes soaked with rain, but it always soaked up every competitor dollar possible. In 1992 three teams hauled in with three cars, and Lebanon Valley-based owner Adam Ross was one of them. Here he noodled with driver Matt Quinn. (Mike Adaskaveg Photo, Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2503 - MODCAR was a modified touring group in the early to mid-80s in the Middle Atlantic. Here Billy Pauch (L) is challenged by Roger Laureno during a visit to Lincoln, PA, Speedway. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2502 - The annual Amelia Island Concourse event honored Roger Penske on March 6, 2020 with an afternoon seminar that drew an audience that filled every seat of the huge ballroom, with hundreds standing in the back. As a driver in his younger days, Penske was named Sports Illustrated's 1961 Driver of the Year. He won nearly half of his starts. As an Indy car team owner, Penske has won 18 Indy 500s, far more than any other owner. As a NASCAR Cup team owner, he has won two championships, most recently in 2018 with driver Joey Logano. As an entrepreneur he controls an empire of auto dealerships. His Penske Leasing company has thousands of yellow trucks on America's roads. And at age 82, he recently purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy car series. Most important, however, is the affection and admiration those who know him feel for the guy they call "Captain." Beginning in business as a young man, he bought old cars that he fixed and sold. His interest in racing began when as a young boy his father took him to the Indy 500. Auto racing is fortunate that Penske liked what he saw that day. He continues to be an inspiration to many in auto racing. (Photo and caption from Dick Berggren)

#2501 - "A group of MGs heads toward the long straightaway at Thompson (CT) Speedway's road course in one of the track's earlier versions. There were no crash walls and trees were perilously close to the racing surface. That long straightaway and the curve leading to it remain in today's iteration of the facility." Quote from A HISTORY OF AUTO RACING IN NEW ENGLAND: A Project of the North East Motor Sports Museum. (Photo Courtesy International Motor Racing Research Center)

#2500 - Rainout! Mari Singer shields husband Howard's helmet at Five Mile Point Speedway in Binghamton, NY in 1990. (Mike Adaskaveg, Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2499 - A sad glimpse of two of the greatest in NASCAR Modified history, Corky Cookman and Richie Evans dicing at Stafford Springs, CT. The two, both congenial and yet different in so many ways, died behind the wheel during that strangely savage period for pavement Modifieds in the mid-1970s. (Mike Adaskaveg Photo, Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2498 - Everybody's friend Dave Lape retired a few years ago as one of the foremost legends in New York dirt tracking. He was no slouch on asphalt either. Back in 1971 he decided to go on the road. It was a struggle, and he needed all the help he could muster, including soliciting Bugsy Steven's guys to rebuild the #22's rear end in a motel bathtub in Martinsville. It ended up as a successful tour, though, with a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Modified point standings. But after that David had had it with the long distances, and he settled in for four more decades towing around the Empire State, picking up with hundreds of wins. (From THE HOME OF HEROES: Fifty Years of Racing at Utica-Rome Speedway, by Bones Bourcier. (John Grady Photo)

#2497 - Back at the turn of the 1960s, the Golden State was known for racing - and surfer girls. Here's how they did it with the hardtops. That's Clyde Prickett at Fresno with his breathy Flathead. (Don Stevens Photo, Bradley Poulson Collection)

#2496 - Popular Deo Loney of Montrose, Iowa, celebrates with the guys after sweeping the feature at Knoxville Raceway on June 10, 1961. But the merriment went away two weeks later when Loney rode out a spectacular end-for-end off the second turn, after which he plowed into a government grain bin. Along the way he was showered with scalding radiator water, and the car caught fire on landing. He suffered burns over 50 percent of his body. And the savagery of that mid-summer night evening was not over. In the consi, Les Turner of Des Moines hit the wall with enormous impact and flipped. He died of head injuries a week later. Photo by Ed Cole from The History Of Knoxville Raceway and the Marion County Fairgrounds, Volume 1 Pre-1954 to 1970, by Bob Wilson.

#2495 - Brave men and fast cars. "At the USAC Championship season opener in March [1964] on the new Phoenix International Raceway paved oval, Bobby Marshman finished seventh driving Hopkins's Epperly roadster." Quote and Photo from An American Racer: Bobby Marshman and the Indianapolis 500, by Michael Argetsinger. (RMA/Chernokal Photo)

#2494 - Dick Berggren sent us this update from the southlands a couple of weeks ago: The February 2020 Beach-Road Parade in Daytona was the ninth and most successful running of the event. The event traces the route taken by early racers: south on the paved A-1-A highway, then turn across the dune and race two miles north before turning back onto the paved highway. Organized by the owners of the North Turn Restaurant, which is on the site of the old racing north turn, this year's event drew many big names, none bigger than Jim France, NASCAR's CEO and Chairman. France drove to the parade in a 1950 Nash Ambassador he found in Mexico. NASCAR founder, Bill France Sr., Jim France's father, drove a car that might have been this one, with co-driver Curtis Turner in the famed Mexican Road Race. Jim said he remembers at age six jumping up and down on the passenger seat. The car's graphics surely appear to have been applied more than 60 years ago, so this may be the real thing. France is pictured getting into the car at the start of the parade. His passenger was former Crew Chief and former Cup Series Director, Gary Nelson. The event, with speeds of 10-20 MPH, had been threatened with closure by misguided local politicians, but the enormous popularity of the parade led to its continuation. Some of those politicians are no longer in office. (Dick Berggren Photo and caption)

#2493 - The Alka Seltzer moment! Ken Parrotte, the esteemed racing historian from West Monroe, NY, in the Indy garage area after the race in 2016, watching Alexander Rossi's winning car make its way through tech. Upon completion, an official smiled and said to one of the Andretti team members, "Congratulations, you have just won the Indianapolis 500." They reached out to shake hands, and Ken snapped the photograph. (Ken Parrotte Photo)

#2492 - Red Droste looked to be working hard on the banks of the half-mile at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Hamline back in 1976. The SHUKEI 29 sure had something short of a modern aero package. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2491 - Here's a racy group from California back in the day. L-R, Hank Gendusa (AMA official, Fresno), Jim Murren (#108R, San Diego), Sandy Clark (Tulare), Clyde Litch (#94R, San Gabriel), Beverly Bradshaw (Fresno), and Al Gunter (#3, Los Angeles). (Don Stevens Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2490 - Do you think Andy Jankowiak was amped up after winning the Gambler's Classic TQ feature at Atlantic City on January 31 - for the second consecutive year? (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2489 - Here is a photo and caption from one of our favorite racing gurus, Butler, Pennsylvania's Walt Wimer: This was victory lane from my first ever NASCAR race. Palm Beach Speedway in Florida on January 20, 1952!! I was all of 12!! The winner was Tim Flock of Atlanta driving a 1951 Hudson Hornet. Richard Petty's dad, Lee, was second in a Plymouth and Tim's brother Fonty, was third in an Oldsmobile. All of the top five have since passed away, the last being New Jersey driver Frankie Schneider, who went on to be a Modified legend and passed away last year around 90. Flock went on the win two NASCAR championships in the '50s and was my favorite NASCAR driver growing up. And Schneider was a NASCAR Modified champ. The netting above was to keep the Florida sun off the spectators. The grandstand was not covered and their weekly shows, which were also NASCAR for the coupes, were run at night, not the afternoon as this race was. Flock's car was a light powder blue with red numbers. I have a 43rd scale diecast of it from about 1953 when the numbers were a bit different. Great old memories!!!

#2488 - Jack Hewitt attacks the turn at Lawrenceburg with a just tad of aggression. June 4, 1988. (John Mahoney Photo)

#2487 - Ready for the feature? (Details unknown, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2486 - Bet she's thinking he's gonna be awful upset after the race.
(Speedway Illustrated Photo)

#2485 - Yikes. Jim Smoker works the Holynski Engineering Offy at Allentown, PA, in 1963. It was the first USAC sprinter to sport a cage - and a curious one at that. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2484 - Denver's well-appointed Lakeside Speedway must have been quite the place. The paved 1/5-mile was a popular destination for its four-decade existence, and as the photo shows, the racing was hardball. The facility was closed for good in 1988 when a car hit the light pole that broke and fell into the stands, killing one spectator, maiming a young girl, and injuring several others. (Duncan Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2483 - That's Brexton Busch flyin' through the air after a victory toss by his dad, Kyle, celebrating his June Pocono win. Brexton doesn't seem to mind a bit. Little question that some edginess is in the genes. (Photo from STRAPPED IN magazine, December 2019)

#2482 - It was five wide at Reading - and that didn't happen too often with this talented group. They would be Dick Tobias, Gerald Chamberlain, Jimmy Horton, Dave Kelly, and Kenny Brightbill, who, as a group, shared over 1600 wins according to photographer Mike Feltenberger. He said that actually the bottom four of them came blasting down the front stretch four abreast. Just before the photo was taken, a caution was thrown, and Kenny Brightbill, who was in hot pursuit, ducked to the far outside. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2481 - Here's a nifty little number. Floyd Matter at St. Paul, MN, in 1966. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2480 - Coming to Daytona for the races in February? If you're a veteran of the area but don't live here, try the new hot spot on Granada Blvd. in Ormond Beach. Called the Ormond Garage, it's the namesake of the place where the land speed racers hung out in the early days of speed on sand. These days, it's a great place for burgers and craft beer within a racing décor. Old racing movies are on TV and you can see a replica of the Stanley Steamer that set the world land speed record of 127 MPH back in 1916. Despite the signs on the building, you can't get tires, lube or Goodyear tires at the Ormond garage any more. Just good food and cold beer

The other new spot to hit is Crabby's on Atlantic Ave. in Daytona. Dogs are welcome in the outdoor area, the place is direct ocean front and the food is terrific.

If you're coming to Daytona for the first time, be sure to check out the Streamline Hotel, just north of Crabby's on Daytona's Atlantic Avenue. It's where NASCAR was formed in 1947 and after a re-do, it is just grand. Enjoy a rooftop beer with a city view amid photos of the first NASCAR meetings.

Museums to take in include the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum at the Speedway. Race cars, boats, plans...all of it. On Daytona's Beach Street, take in the Halifax Historical Society museum. No cars but lots of interesting artifacts and constant historic videos. The Museum of Arts and Sciences on Nova Road in Daytona has the Sumar Special race cars that raced Indianapolis (including the rebuilt Streamliner) and on the nation's dirt tracks in the 1950s. (Photo and caption/travelogue by Dr. Dick Berggren)

#2479 - Multi-talented Chuck Ciprich out of Sayre, PA, could wheel anything. He was aces in Modifieds, dirt and asphalt, Supers, Silver Crown, and even took a shot at CART. In February 1977 he was in Daytona for the infamous Modified road race in the Schutt Monza. The time they apparently spent in the body shop getting all tricked out was to no avail. He blew a head gasket and ended up 31st. (Racing Postcard Handout)

#2478 - Notes on the back of this image indicate that this signage promoted a show at Heidelberg Raceway in Pittsburgh, PA, on August 2, 1958. It would have been fun to be there, but did the sign painter get his East and West a bit mixed up (and his spelling)? (Mike Ritter Collection)

#2477 - There is so much buzz about declining race attendance these days. Many feel that promoters should offer ancillary entertainment beyond just the heats and feature. They sure used to get it done at Allentown, PA, in the 1960s, especially during fair dates. (Mike Ritter Collection)

#2476 - The way it was at Circle M Speedway in Auburn, PA, active from 1955 through 1957. Is it possible that someone was so worn out after digging holes for all those infield tires that there was little time to focus on the guard rail? (Mike Ritter Collection)

#2475 - Two flatheads wend their merry way to Rhythm Inn Speedway, a third-mile dirt oval just off Rt. 2 in Miller's Falls, MA, in 1959. After the races, the payoff was made at the adjoining Rhythm Inn, a bar and strip joint. Rene Charland told me the owner/
promoter was pretty clever: that way he got most of his money back each night. ( Mike Ritter Collection)

#2474 - It may have been back in 1991 that Midi Miller won the Area Auto Racing's Ms. Motorsports competition, but she was still stirrin' up heart throbs at the show this year. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2473 - This is from the 1970s, the high-noon era for small-block Modified racing in Connecticut. There were lots of cars, and things got pretty competitive. Mark Ferris' team worked their rear ends off. (Mike Adaskaveg Photo, Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2472 - Keokuk, Iowa's ace, Ramo Stott, scored big-time at Des Moines in 1968. But it probably would have been a good idea if fire suits were mandatory that day. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2471 - Those old-time Milwaukee-style Modifieds always seemed so cool. But how curious that they so often featured frames squatting towards the rear. Here, back East, the concept of the day was to build in forward rake, especially towards the left front. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2470 - How would you like to have been starting next to Steve Kinser at Super DIRT Week at Syracuse? (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2469 - We showed our pal Shane Carson this photo, and he came back with the following: "Here's the deal on this one. I still had a bad concussion from a few days before after a crash at Devil's Bowl in Dallas and I was out of the Speedway Motors #4x. The same week Doug Wolfgang had left Bob Trostle's #20. Bob showed up at Belleville (KS) without a driver, and I got in that. It felt great till the right front wheel fell off at full speed at Belleville and killed the car and almost me. If you notice on the side of the injector box Doug's name had been rubbed off, and Bob had not even put my name on it yet. We skipped a week letting me recover, and Bob put the car back together. That was the week that Roger Larson and Darryl Dawley both got killed at Knoxville at the flag stand coming for the green flag. It was also the first time I'd ever sat in the grandstands...." (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2468 - Our webmaster, Norm Marx, took issue with our snowy Photo of the Day from Elko, MN, last Friday. He points out (graphically) that Down Easterners can do it, too. It cost him quite the cold, but here are some shots he took on January 4 from Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway. Not even a challenged hood could keep that #21 Caravan of Adam Lovejoy out of victory lane. (Norm Marx Photos)

#2467 - It sure feels pretty wintry in northern Massachusetts these days, but maybe not as cold as snow racing in Elko, MN, in 1966. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2466 - Racer and Late Model specialist at Lane Automotive Rich Mersereau writes, "It was one roller-coaster year for me in 1999 when this picture was taken. Racing is a tough sport, and it's rarely about the money. You know, it's really all about time - and, if you don't put every second into the race car, you will not win. On July 1 of that year, I paid the price for doing just that. I came home to an empty house, a racer's nightmare. At least she left my stereo. The late Randy Sweet was there for me. He taught me about racing and life, helped me back into the groove. It was stuff you cannot buy or learn on the internet. Thank you, Randy." (Rich Mersereau Collection)

#2465 - Jack Hewitt at Paragon Speedway in 1996: "The really smart racer knows when to go where. I just didn't have that gift, so I ran the top, regardless." Quote and Photo from HEWITT'S LAW, by Jack Hewitt with Dave Argabright.

#2464 - Here's a neat shot from the Iowa State Fairgrounds in 1963. It represents kind of a threshold moment as the Supermodifieds were morphing into Sprint Cars. So far, with the good services of Chad Meyer, Tom Schmeh, and Bob Wilson, we have been able to identify Danny Richardson in the gold #104, Johnny Babb in the #10 with the rather abrupt roll cage, and Norm Galpin in the #7. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2463 - Back in 1963 in Des Moines the Supermodifieds were hot, and experimentation seemed the theme of the day. In this case the builder appeared to be researching altitude. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2462 - The great, late Walt Breeding, mid-Atlantic racer/fabricator extraordinaire in his offset Kenny Weld machine. "I wanted to stay in (the car-building) business after I retired from driving. I really started to think about that after I got hurt in a race at Delmar.... Normally when I was in the car I was pumped up and hyper-focused on what the car was doing and where I was going to go next, but that incident put things in perspective for me. I never planned on it, but I was racing at Delmar one night and the caution came out for a wreck and, as I drove around the wreck, I just said to myself, 'You know what, I don't need to do this anymore,' and I just pulled the car into the pits and quit." Quote and Photo from the new Legends Of Delaware Auto Racing, by Chad Wayne Culver. (Photo Courtesy of Becky Reed)

#2461 - It was Allentown, PA, and the big dogs had swung East - Don Branson in the #1 and Elmer George. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2460 - Here's Earl Wagner grooving on yet another win, this one at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1971. When Wagner passed away in 2002, Tom Savage wrote in Knoxville Racing News: "Earl assaulted cushions - he always ran up top seeking or building his own cushion. He has always been laid back about his racing accomplishments with an aw-shucks-weren't-nothin' attitude. But, indeed, he was one of a very, very few gifted men who could manhandle a sprint car with the finesse of a brain surgeon. A sprint car fit him like a glove. He could interact the steering by throttle response, could 'read' a quickly changing dirt surface, adapt his technique and never ever breathe the throttle." (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2459 - Two of the most accomplished Midgeteers ever, both in the National Midget Hall of Fame. Bill Schindler (L) was a prodigious winner and once president of the AAA and later the ARDC. He had three runs at the Brickyard, the last in 1952. In September of that year, he perished in a Sprint Car at Allentown, Pennsylvania. Johnny Pawl (R) was stung by racing when he watched "The Crowd Roars" in 1933. A former riding mechanic at Indy, Paul opened a shop in Indiana and built top-shelf chassis. In 1955 he purchased Frank Kurtis' business and continued to supply all manner of racing parts for years and years. He passed away in 2002. (Photo from Worthy of Honor, a National Midget Hall of Fame booklet)

#2458 - Tiny Lund (left) and Curtis Turner (right). "Tiny had a few run-ins with Curtis", says Wanda Lund Early, "but Tiny liked Curtis. Curtis could throw a hell of a party." From THE LAST LAP: The Life and Times of NASCAR's Legendary Heroes, by Peter Golenbock. (Daytona Racing Archives Photo)

#2457 - How cool is that? Spotted in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1966. An early Rat Rod? (Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#2456 - Our friend Tom Motter, who has written great books about old-time open-wheel racing in California, sent this along: "Here is a copy of my latest (and last) complete, ground-up restoration of my 1948 Kurtis Kraft midget. This was a car that my Uncle Earl Motter raced back in the mid-1950s and that I had admired for years as a kid. I found the car some 10 years ago and have finally finished it....exactly as it was in 1954. The color photo is how it looks today (my son, Robert sitting in the car) and the black & white photo is back in 1954 at the Orange Show Speedway (San Bernardino, CA) with Earl Motter sitting in it." (Motter Family Collection)

#2455 - It was getting' a little racy out! (Speedway Illustrated Collection, Mike Adaskaveg Photo)

#2454 - A feature documentary, Blink of an Eye: From Triumph to Tragedy, directed by Paul Taublieb, has just been released. It follows Michael Waltrip, his journey to a complex victory in the tragic 2001 Daytona 500, and his star-crossed friendship with Dale Earnhardt. Waltrip is shown above with Dale, getting last minute wisdom/strategy as they walk to their cars for that final start. (Photo by photographer/our esteemed webmaster Norm Marx)

#2453 - "“At Daytona in my overalls. My daddy wore overalls, so I did too, except mine hung a little differently than most." Quote and Photo from LINDA VAUGHN: The First Lady of Motorsports, by Linda Vaughn with Rob Kinnan.

#2452 - A beautiful thing. In 1974 traveler Jan Opperman did some USAC racing in the infamous Bogar's Special. He was tall on speed - won Eldora on March 31 - but he remained noticeably short on chrome. From SEVENTIES CHAMPIONSHIP REVOLUTION: American Championship Racing, by Dick Wallen. (Wallen/Torres Photo)

#2451 - It's been a quiet issue for a long time and it shouldn't be. At this point quite likely Dale Jr. knows as much about the impact of concussions in racing as anyone. Here he is at Homestead-Miami on November 17, 2017, his final cup race. From RACING TO THE FINISH: My Story, by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Ryan McGee (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

#2450 - "The nearly completed interior (of Dyno Don Nicholson's 1984 Oldsmobile Pro Stock) gives a good feel for how the inside of a Pro Stocker used to look. The clutch on the Olds was set up similar to a line-loc and could be controlled electronically. Push a button and release the pedal; when the tree turned green, you released the button." From DYNO DON: The Cars and Career of Dyno Don Nicholson, by Doug Boyce. (Photo courtesy Ray Cunningham)

#2449 - In 1952 Mickey Thompson stunned Bonneville when his home-made, twin flathead Austin Bantam reached 192.76 mph, becoming the fastest coupe ever built. The next year he replaced one of the flatheads with a blown Chrysler. He had originally purchased the engine for $40 and the 4-71 blower for $10. The car is considered the grandfather of today's nitro-hemi dragsters. From Tom Madigan's way cool new book MICKEY THOMPSON: The Lost Story of the Original Speed King in his Own Words.

#2448 - What is it about that 80-year-old Father Grubba, America's favorite racing priest? Is his spirituality some kind of ethereal nitrous oxide? Last December he suffered a massive heart attack and in August he faced major back surgery, but his lap times never dropped a tic. Along the way he missed only one weekend of holding mass at his extremely active parishes, launched his weighty book, 67: TRICKLE & REFFNER, and began planning for the ballet he is promoting in Wautoma. "Wonder what Humpy Wheeler would think of that?" he says with a grin. And that was hardly all. He never stopped training for his 79th marathon, this one hand-cycling the 26+ miles of New York. No question he is on the hammer. Five years ago a brake cable broke, and he flipped at 40mph coming off the Verrazano Bridge. This year, as shown above, he cruised smooth and fast, ending up 40th in a field of 69 hand-cyclists. He was the oldest of the bunch by 9 years. (Fr Grubba Collection)

#2447 - Heart-throbbingly beautiful. The start of the Silver Crown 100 at Sacramento, CA, on June 4, 1989. George Snider romped home alpha dog. From SACRAMENTO: Dirt Capital of the West, by Tom Motter. (Dennis Mattish Photo)

#2446 - As presented so beautifully in the new film "FORD vs. FERRARI," scrappy Ken Miles had such high hopes for a win in Le Mans in 1966. His focus was understandable. Aboard Carroll Shelby's Ford Mark II, he had already won Sebring and, as shown above, the 24 Hours of Daytona, teaming with Lloyd Ruby (left). No question Miles was the alpha dog in France, the class of the field, right down to the finish line, but he ended up being thunderously disappointed. Photo from the book FORD vs. FERRARI: The Battle for Supremacy at Le Mans in 1966, by John Starkey. (Photo Courtesy Ford Motor Company, John S. Allen Collection)

#2445 - There’s not a whole lot written about Jim Hurtubise in the seat of a Midget, but he sure was fast on this day. There was a 100-lap USAC Midget event held at the State Fair Park Speedway in Milwaukee on August 12, 1961. Herk ended up second, while his teammate Len Sutton followed him home in third. Both were aboard Bob Wilke's Leader Card machines. Photo from The Milwaukee Mile by Brenda Magee. (Mark Wilke Collection)

#2444 - You just never know! A quote from Bowling Green Stock Car Racing by Larry Upton and Jonathan Jeffrey: "Ralph Martin stands with his 1934 Chevrolet. At one race, Martin bragged that with his new engine he was going to 'clean everyone's plow.' During the time trials, the car was fast but emitted a strange smell from the exhaust, and, as he opened it up for lap two, there was smoke and a loud explosion. The car coasted to a stop. Later Martin admitted that he had put lacquer thinner in his gas tank." Huh?

#2443 - A parade lap for a heat race at Lincoln Park Speedway during Indiana Sprint Week 2015. You can bet everyone’s eye was on that tire.... From MODERN THUNDER: The Illustrated History of USAC Sprint Car Racing 1981-1917, by Dave Argabright, John Mahoney, and Patrick Sullivan.

#2442 - It was Labor Day weekend 1973, the Champ Cars were at Du Quoin, and the Viceroy boys were smokin' hot. Mario Andretti (#15) won it, with teammate Al Unser (#2) coming home in fifth. From SEVENTIES CHAMPIONSHIP REVOLUTION: American Racing Championships, by Dick Wallen. (Photo Wallen/Torres Collection)

#2441 - In my view this is quite possibly the best description ever of the mentality of a professional open-wheel racer. Jimmy Sills (shown on the hammer in Sacramento in 1997) speaks about a discussion with his wife, Karen, following an incident at Knoxville that delivered up one of his many concussions:

"The next thing I remembered was being awakened by Karen in the middle of the night

'Where are we?' I asked.

'We're in Des Moines, and you got hurt tonight,' she explained.

'Who am I driving for?'

'Lenard McCarl.'

'Am I fired for crashing?'

'No,' she explained. 'Lenard thinks you're great.'

Just as I started to ask my next question, she handed me a piece of paper that had the answer to every question I was about to ask. The paper said, 'You drive for Lenard McCarl. No, you're not fired. Yes, you were fast. No, you can't have anything to eat because your stomach is upset from the concussion you suffered. No, we're not going to have sex.'

'How did you know I was going to ask those questions?'

'Because I have to wake you up every hour, and you ask me the same question every time. So I wrote down the answers for you.'"

Quote from LIFE WITH LUKE, by Jimmy Sills. (Photo from SACRAMENTO: Dirt Capital of the West, by Tom Motter, Dennis Mattish Collection)

#2440 - Back in 1980 at East Windsor, NJ, it was four-wide one night coming off the fourth turn for the checkers. The energetic bumping and banging coming down the straight left a bunch of cars seriously disheveled. Howie Cronce smiles with the checkered, but one wonders what the Rio Brothers, the owners of the familiar R-10, were thinking. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2439 - Buster Keller busted 'er up at Dover, NJ, in 1948. (Frank Smith Photo)

#2438 - Larry Moore's rocket ship Late Model in 1983, days light on weight, heavy on Lexan. From ON TOP OF THE WORLD, by Larry Moore with Dave Argabright. (Moore Collection)

#2437 - "Alex Zanardi pays a surprise visit to Toronto less than a year after losing both legs in the German Memorial race in 2001." Quote and Photo from the eye-opening book RAPID RESPONSE: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver, by Dr. Stephen Olvey, former Medical Director of CART. New edition 2019. (Dan R. Boyd Photo)

#2436 - Happy times at Grandview, PA, Speedway with the USAC Midgets, July 3, 1988, Rich Vogler winner. L-R were Billy Hughes, Bob Cicconi, Shelby Snyder (Miss Grandview), Vogler, Jiggs Peters, Ed Darrell, and Len Duncan. (Don Marks Photo, Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2435 - That's Ed Otto standing next to his #7 monster back in the late 1920s. Otto had already quit driving himself. Following a wild accident offering up broken bones and a damaged eardrum, he decided to try promoting. He called AAA and somehow persuaded them to give him a date. Over the next few decades, he would become one of the most famous and productive promoters in the country, at one time owning almost one-half of the stock in NASCAR. From ED OTTO: NASCAR's Silent Partner, by Edgar Otto. (Otto Family Collection)

#2434 - Jeff Horn, one of the Northeast's most popular and enduring open-wheel racers, still wheels USAC/DMA Midgets with the best of them. But who would have predicted that success based on his first day behind the wheel in 1965: "My wife Carmen's dad bought this car many years after his racing days were over. His name was Clarence Rock, but Ken Squier called him 'Cornfield' because of some off-track excursions. Clarence had not raced the car, and I talked him into letting me give it a try. I took it to Catamount Speedway in Vermont where he was to meet me, but he got tied up at work, so I figured it was up to me. I had never raced before, and because it was a flathead, they started me on the pole with J.P. Cabana, Ray Forte and Andre Many behind me. My knees were knocking together so badly I could hardly step on the throttle. After three attempts at a green, the disgusted starter threw it anyway. They pushed me through one and two and dumped me off turn three into the infield. All those Chevy overheads sounded like top-fuel cars to me. Talk about scared stiff! Those guys chewed me up big-time, but it sure got me hooked on racing. Then Uncle Sam sent me an invitation I couldn't refuse, and I went to the University of South Vietnam." (Carmen Horn Collection)

#2433 - "Sterling Cling and Jason MacDougal both went for a wild ride on Thursday. Jason hurt his knee and arm but last I heard he was doing ok." (Photo and Quote from John DaDalt out at the Budweiser Nationals in Perris, CA)

#2432 - The late, beloved Gene Bergin would openly admit he knew only one way to race - as hard as he could possibly go each and every lap. He was able to get away with it because of his Olympian talent. Many consider him to have been the most natural driver ever to come out of New England. He would often bound joyfully through the pit gate walking on his hands. He's shown here at the old Eastern States track in Springfield, MA, with the #M-6 and its towering owner, Beebe Zalenski. Gene seemed to have a million rides, but we was frequently in Beebe's seat both before and after his stint behind the wheel of an Indy car. (Pete Zanardi Collection)

#2431 - A murky moment in Mt. Carmel, IL, in April 1927. It has the look of a scene that Jimmy Rogers, "the Singing Brakeman," might have crooned about. Red and Pop Dreyer were changing a flat on their 'hauler' during the endless miles of the old CSRA (Central States Racing Association) circuit. From THE RIM RIDERS - CSRA, The World's Fastest Racing Circuit, by Buzz Rose.

#2430 - Here is another car from this fall's Pines Speedway Reunion. Just how many of these '49-51 Fords met their demise on race tracks throughout the country back in the day? So often they would be the backbone of a Bomber class, as rookie drivers learned the tricks of the trade. It came easier to some than others. I recall destroying eight of them between 1962 and 1966. (Robert Arcand Photo)

#2429 - That's Bentley Warren (L) and everybody's pal Bob Bergeron at the recent Pines Speedway Reunion in Groveland, MA. They're checking out a mighty missile recently brought back to life by Jim Martel. The #44 was the beyond-radical Modified that brought Bentley great laurels at the close of the 1960s, at the same time as he was making his rapid ascent to Indianapolis. (Robert Arcand Photo)

#2428 - Here's a welcome contribution from a friend and customer in New York state, Mick Fesko. "I'd like to offer up for a Photo of the Day for Thursday, November 7. It will mark the 6th anniversary of the sad passing of probably my favorite local driver from here in Central New York, Jimmy Winks, nicknamed 'The Sassy One.' I was just a kid when I became a fan of watching his craft back in the 70's. He was an amazingly versatile pilot. On a Friday night, he could win in a dirt modified at Rolling Wheels, on Saturday night, he would strap into a Super and win on the pavement at Oswego, and then hop back into the dirt modified on Sunday night at Weedsport." (Photo Mick Fesko Collection)

#2427 - Jim Shampine's return to Supermodifieds at Oswego on August 2, 1980 after a stint in Sprint Cars was inauspicious. However, the late Andy Fusco went so far as to say that Shampine enjoyed "the most spectacular Fall season ever in open wheel racing." Quote from THE PINE: The Authorized Biography of Jim Shampine, the Greatest Open Wheel Short Tracker of All Time, by Andy Fusco with George Caruso Jr. (Photo Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2426 - Jimmy Sills points out this did not happen at Terre Haute. "Western Springs Speedway in New Zealand, 1996. As a part of the Hauka native opening ceremony, if you pick up the knife they have placed on the ground you have accepted the challenge." Dave Darland (left) and Tony Elliott look on. From LIFE WITH LUKE and Other Exciting Racing Adventures, by Jimmy Sills (aka Luke Warmwater), with Dave Argabright.

#2425 - Forty years ago rail birds would have been incredulous about the number of 60-year-olds running Big Block Dirt Modifieds these days. One on them is the ultra-popular, totally centered gentleman and businessman from Pound Ridge, NY, Eddie Marshall. He's been suiting up with success since his college days, largely on the high banks of Lebanon Valley, NY. He says in the book MODIFIEDS OF THE VALLEY, "It does amaze me looking around and seeing the age in the pits. I can only speak for myself about how this is happening. This place still resonates in my soul. So, I take care of myself. I work on the car every night - and in winter I'm at the gym six days a week. I snow and water ski all the time and I honestly think that now at 60 I'm better than I've ever been." (Mike Adaskaveg Photo, Speedway Illustrated Collection)

#2424 - Gary Balough: "What Pete Hamilton brought to our team was a calmness, even a softness. Anyone who knew Pete will understand what I mean. No matter how intense thing got before a race, or even during a race, Pete could get everyone calmed down with just a few words....He also did a lot for me as a driver....He even got me sitting up higher in the seat, so I could see better. That sounds simple, but I had gotten into the idea that I had to sit as low as possible to help keep the whole car's center of gravity down. Plus, it looked so cool. A lot of guys went through that phase for a while. Dale Earnhardt almost had to peep over the door to see the car beside him. Pete used to say, 'Gary, you missed a hell of a race, because you were sitting too low to see it.'" Quote and Photo from HOT SHOE! - A Checkered Past: My Story, by Gary Balough with Bones Bourcier. (Bob Armbruster Photo)

#2423 - The PASS SLM Championship race at Seekonk (MA) was held last Saturday. Here is Norm Marx's recounting of the event: "DJ Shaw scored his 4th PASS North SLM Title....but it wasn't easy. Derek Griffith (#12g) was 8 points ahead of DJ entering the event. Derek gets spun out in his heats and then also gets hip-checked into the wall, resulting in suspension damage and a start at the back of the feature. Three points - two car positions - now separate them since DJ won his heat and got 5 points. Derek comes from the back in 30th and rolls by DJ, who started in 11th. DJ says 'if he's that fast in 25 laps, I can't stay with him for the next 125 laps.' So he pits, and father Dale Shaw and the team take a big swing at the car to get it going better. DJ starts running well and coming from the back after the pit stop.

Derek is driving it hard....and rubs another car racing for position and rips the left rear tire off the #12g. To the pits it was and a fresh tire. He was driving like he stole it. There is a spin in turn four, Derek tries to miss, but nowhere to go and he kisses the stopped car and tears the left side of the 12g off. Derek actually restarts with the debris dangling (see above), but spins out with the rear tire cut. He pits - too early, before the pits open flag - and his championship hunt is done.

DJ ran up to a solid 8th-place finish - a strong performance considering how many great cars were in the race. Meanwhile, Mike Hopkins did a great job coming from deep in the pack to take the win and solidify his run at the 2019 PASS National Championship - to be determined at Lanier Raceway on November 16th." (Photo and commentary by our webmaster and PASS photographer Norm Marx)

#2422 - Sometimes seeing short-track teams with enormous, glitzy haulers designed for national transport to the superspeedways seems just plain laughable. It must be a matter of testosterone - the need to outdo your neighbor. But, having said that, this kind of lavishness has been going on for a long time. Check out the hauler Jimmy Murphy, Joe Thomas, and Eddie Hearne felt they needed to bring their Duesenbergs the 200 miles from Fresno to a race in Cotati, California in 1921. From BOARD TRACK: Guts, Gold, and Glory, by Dick Wallen.

#2421 - Popular Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car wheelman Ryan Smith ("the Kunkletown Kid") may be humble, but he's on the gas. Starting racing at age 12, he has now compiled an impressive record of a couple hundred feature wins. He was on his way to victory lane at the Gamblers' Classic at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in 2007. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2420 - A very cool photo from Jimmy Sills' brand new autobiography: "This was a big day! My first USAC Silver Crown win at Sacramento, June 3, 1990. Jeff Gordon ran third, and Jeff is obviously in awe of my amazing driving ability. Or...maybe trophy girl Leslie Bremer has captured Jeff's imagination." From LIFE WITH LUKE And Other Exciting Racing Adventures, by Jimmy Sills (aka Luke Warmwater) with Dave Argabright, Foreword by Jeff Gordon. (Cyndi Craft Photo)

#2419 - The wired Canadian "Mayor of Hinchtown," James Hinchliffe, had a savage encounter with the turn-three wall while practicing for the 2015 Indy 500. "I remember the start of the day, waking up. I remember getting in the car and getting the program going. I remember running behind Juan Pablo Montoya the lap before my crash, and then the start of that lap is when I lose everything else. The next thing I know I'm under a bunch of bright lights in a hospital with a tube down my throat. People standing around me with tears in their eyes. That's when I figured out that something happened and it probably wasn't a great thing. It took a while to be honest. The gravity of the size of the crash and how lucky I was to be alive was definitely triggered by the kind of reaction and the attitude of people around me. It really took conversations with my family, and my friends and the drivers that came to see me, and some of my doctors, for me to really start piecing together the severity of the situation. It’s just not the guy in the car that's affected. This obviously had a big impact on a lot of people around me." The recovery process was intense and painful, but he suited up and was back in the cockpit in September at St. Petersburg. Photo and Quote from 100th RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE - Official Indy 500 Program, May 29, 2016.

#2418 - "Weighing the opposition: Phil Hill contemplates the Lotus 18 of rookie rival John Surtees at Monaco in 1960." Geez, we used to check the left-rear weight that way on our B-car at Westboro (MA) and Hudson (NH) speedways back in the 1960s. But we would try to lift the right-rear wheel - and we certainly wouldn't have dared doing it on a competitor's car! Quote and Photo from COLLECTORS' SPECIAL: Rare and Unseen Photographs from a Golden Decade of Motor Racing, Damien Smith, Editor. (LAT Photographic Archive Photo)

#2417 - There was a big-time identity crisis at Hudson Speedway last Sunday, that little jewel of a quarter-mile in southern New Hampshire recently brought back to a shine by its new owner, racer/promoter Ben Benkowski. It was a "Run What Ya Brung" 50-lapper, a tantalizing reminder of how cool racing used to be before the fan-numbing advent of cookie-cutter cars. The image above was taken about two-thirds of the way through the main with an asphalt Modified up front, chased by a Super, a side-paneled Outlaw car, two Late Models with panels, and a dirt Modified. Fifteen or so other entries of various flavors followed. John Burke (in the Super) gallantly agreed to start down back, and to watch him dart and dive through the field and then duel with Geoff Rollins in the black Modified without getting wrecked was a real thrill. It was no easy task on those tight Hudson banks. Even a few Street Stocks in the field were surprisingly speedy. Lots of folks went home thinking it was the finest race they had seen all year. (Karl Fredrickson Photo, Speedway Illustrated)

#2416 - Jimmy Bryan (with stogie) and his friend Sam Hanks check out a sports-car engine at Willow Springs Raceway in California in 1956. Bryan commented, "I don't like driving a race car with a big windshield. I have to see both wheels when I drive or I feel lost. The thing about sports cars is that they're too cramped. And you can't tell if your front end is pushing or sticking. They're fun to drive, but not as much as the Champ Cars.... Anyway, a lot of people wonder why I don't race sports cars for a living like Fangio or Moss. They think the money is so much greater. Well, maybe it is. Fangio makes more than a couple of grand each month from Ferrari and Moss makes seven grand from Maserati for each Formula One race he's in. That's pretty good dough. But what a lot of people don't understand is that I don't race for the money. I race for the love of it." Photo and quote from MY HERO, MY FRIEND: Jimmy Bryan, by Len Gasper and Phil Sampaio. (Photo Courtesy Lester Nehamkin)

#2415 - Maine's crusty, old-time racer Dick Wolstenhulme earned ten championships in a long career racing coupes, Supers, and Late Models. He spent his weekdays in a small shop beside the road in Windham, shining hub caps with steel wool for resale. He had thousands of them. As seen in this image from Beech Ridge Speedway, though, he was never too glitzed up at the race track. Understatement. (Walter Newell Collection)

#2414 - One beautiful sight. It was July 20, 2009, and Bloomington (IN) Speedway looked perfectly groomed even in the high heat of summer. Do you think that crowd was soon going to learn something about corner entry? Dave Darland ended up winning it in the Pace Brothers #44. From MODERN THUNDER, by Dave Argabright, John Mahoney, and Patrick Sullivan. (John Mahoney Photo)

#2413 - John DaDalt's incredible shot of Jon McKennedy blistering the ISMA field at last Sunday's World Series on the 5/8-mile Thompson (CT) Speedway. McKennedy dedicated the popular but emotional win to his father, who had died just two weeks before. He commented, "Going into the turns at 165 miles an hour is difficult, but today it was easy." (John DaDalt Photo)

#2412 - Here are a few photos of Nokie Fornoro Jr. from 10 years ago at the 2009 season-ending World Series weekend at Thompson (CT) Speedway. Sweeping his final race, the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) feature, he went out the winner. This winter he will be inducted into the National Midget Hall of Fame. (Quote and Photos by John DaDalt)

#2411 - The late Darl Harrison of Bettsville, OH, was quite the Sprint Car chauffeur when not tending to his business, Harrison's Tavern. He won the Little 500 at Anderson, IN, once in 1967 and again in 1970 and 1976. He looked pleased in this shot after his 1970 victory. Could that have been because of the particularly pleasing Trophy Queen? Could that have been because he just gave her his trophy? (Photo from IMCA YEARBOOK 1970)

#2410 - When Joyce Furlong walked down the aisle with her husband-to-be Rick Standridge, she landed in the first lap of a feature. Her brand-new book, THE STANDRIDGE BROTHERS: Big Wins, Big Wrecks, Big Fun (due October 23), tells it all about one of America's favorite and very successful grassroots racing families. The photo above, from 1982, shows brothers Ron, Randy, Dick (their dad), Rick, and Robbie, all ready to go. And the noise hasn't stopped yet. Robbie just won the 305 Sprint class championship at Jacksonville (IL) Speedway, while bionic Rick will be strapping into his Late Model this weekend. (Allen Horcher Photo, Standridge Family Collection)

#2409 - Three time World of Outlaws champion and Chili Bowl ultra-star Sammy Swindell invaded the Northeast Midget Association this past Saturday at New Hampshire's Lee USA Speedway to take down the NEMA portion of the Octoberfest event in convincing style, winning by nearly four seconds over teammate and point leader Avery Stoehr. Tennessee's Swindell, shown passing Alan Chambers of neighboring Atkinson, NH, kept what is believed to be the longest winning streak of an American race car driver alive with a win in 49 consecutive seasons. (Photo by our esteemed webmaster, Norm Marx, with additional thanks to NEMAracing.com)

#2408 - Last Saturday the 17th annual Pines Speedway Reunion took the green under azure autumn skies at the original site of the track in Groveland, MA. This year the hugely popular event was dedicated to the memory of Russ Conway, promoter, journalist, and co-founder of the New England Super Modified Association. Pictured above is Ronnie Hebert from nearby Methuen, who wheeled the #391 at the track from 1961-1964. It was unimaginably thrilling to watch 24 of these hybrid cars - halfway between cutdowns and early Supers - dice it out for 15 laps on the tight, banked quarter-mile. (Russ Conway Collection)

#2407 - Bobby Marshman was dueling early in the 1963 Indy 500 with Roger McCluskey before making his first pit stop. He purposely spun on pit road, barely missing Jim McElreath, who had locked up a brake. Describing the incident Floyd Clymer wrote, "The two cars gyrated around like a pair of dancers and never touched each other and then pulled up in front of their perspective pits as crews scattered like pigeons." Both cars returned to the action, but Bobby was one lap down. From AN AMERICAN RACER: Bobby Marshman and the Indy 500, by Michael Argetsinger.

#2406 - In August of 1973 Floyd Gilbert (right) outdueled Vern LeFevers to take the $1200 win at Whitewater Valley Motor Speedway. It was the 50-lap State Dirt Track Championship on the 3/8-mile semi-banks in Liberty, IN. Jeez, the trophy queen's 'do' was worth that much! From FLYIN' FLOYD: The Unvarnished Biography of an American Dirt Track Legend, by David M. McGee. (Stan Jeffrey Photo)

#2505 - Wally Dallenbach at Trenton in September 1965. "Along the way, I had to get a USAC license," Wally Dallenbach relates. "I had to give up everything in order to be a USAC Championship driver. I couldn't race ARDC midgets or URC sprint cars.... So I put on a straw hat with a red bandana and I painted a mustache on me. I ran midget and sprint car races as Bob Dunham and everything was going cool until I won a race at Middletown (NY). When you won, you had to stop at the start/finish line, and they would turn the crowd loose. The guys wanted to load the car and one of them said, 'Hey, Wally, come on. We've got to get to Trenton tomorrow.' So we went to Trenton, and the first announcement I heard was 'Will the real Bob Dunham please come to the pagoda?' 'I'm junk', I said. They let me race at Trenton, but they fined me $200 and made me write a one-page forgiveness letter saying I would never do it again." From Wally Dallenbach: Steward of the Sport, by Gordon Kirby. (Walter Chernokal/Dallenbach Family Collection)

#2404 - New Jersey's Old Bridge Stadium had been open for just four weeks on May 16, 1953 when a frightening incident shocked the springtime crowd. Jamesburg's John Perdoni was charging out of turn two when his #14 Sportsman suddenly lit up in a blaze. Perdoni unbuckled, himself afire, and leapt out onto the backstretch. Track workers smothered the flames as he rolled on the ground. Meanwhile, the car continued to motor on, now engulfed, circling scarily around the infield until it finally stopped and burned to a crisp. Perdoni suffered terrible burns to his neck and hands. Years later he told journalist Earl Krause, "I was a young guy with a family. I said to myself 'Okay, I see a message here. It's time to quit." He later became the police chief of Helmetta, NJ. (Danny Rhein Collection)

#2403 - Larry Moore hams it up with Eva Taylor, Miss NDRA. "I'm not sure I can adequately describe how much fun it was to be involved in the NDRA in the late '70s and early '80s. People today talk about 'politically correct.' Well, that wasn't a politically correct time. There was drinking, chasing women, a fist fight every now and then, a lot of cussing, a ton of practical jokes, and general hell raising on a nightly basis. It was great!" Quote and Photo from ON TOP OF THE WORLD: The Life and Times of A Racing Pioneer, by Larry Moore with Dave Argabright. (Wayne Kindness Photo)

#2402 - Levi Jones showcases the form it took to capture his fourth USAC Sprint Car crown in the 2010 point chase aboard the Tony Stewart Racing #20. Photo from MODERN THUNDER: The Illustrated History of USAC National Sprint Car Racing 1981-2017, by Dave Argabright, John Mahoney, and Patrick Sullivan.

#2401 - The promising Billy Foster hard on the pedal at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Rudy Hoerr's Dodge on August 26, 1966. He won the pole, led 15 laps, but at the end faded to 18th. He ended up third in the USAC series point chase. The team, which had performed especially well on the road courses, debuted a brand new Dodge Charger at Riverside, CA, the next January, but it was there that Billy Foster lost his life. Photo from BILLY FOSTER: The Victoria Flash, by Bob Kehoe.