#2900
- Loaded with Olympian talent and wrapped with
movie-star looks, a Californian motorcycle racer named Swede Savage
roared onto the unsuspecting American auto-racing scene in the late
'60s. In March of 1973, just his second trip to Indy, he tested his
unpainted Eagle Offy wrenched by George Bignotti, and unofficially
became the first driver to cover the bricks at an average speed of
200 mph. But on the 59th lap of the rain-delayed 500 that May, while
fighting for the lead, Swede's car mysteriously continued its arc
off the fourth turn right into the infield wall with fiery violence.
Amazingly, though on fire when the medics reached him, he was
conscious. He joked with them, asked for a cigarette, as they
extracted him and rushed him to the hospital. But his injuries were
massive, and 33 days later the 26-year-old with a world of promise
ahead of him, passed away. Photo from
SAVAGE ANGEL: Death and Rebirth at the Indianapolis 500, by
Ted Woerner. (Paul Castagnoli Photo)
a
#2899
- Jim Massey out of Mebane, NC, was a NASCAR performer from
the mid-'50s to the mid-'60s. He entered 51 Grand National events
with a highest finish of 13th, amassing career earnings of $14,974.
In 1956, he hopped into a convertible, swept the show at
Martinsville, and Big Bill France presented him with the hardware.
Sure looked like Massey was unimpressed.... From DUST TO GLORY
by Morris Stephenson.
M
#2898 - That's the late Eddie Flemke Sr., East Coast
Modified racing's revered professor. Although a skilled constructor
on his own part, for a period in the early 1970s, Eddie took legion
partners to the dance floor. Among them were Art Barry's ride,
Richie Evans' team car, the Mills Welch #79, and the Garuti Brothers
#14. He was up front in all of them, but perhaps his most impressive
partner was the Garuti-Arute Special, shown above. Owned by Ray and
Richie Garuti and sponsored by Jack Arute, owner of Stafford (CT)
Speedway, the pretty three-window was powered by a honking aluminum
big block. The music was not to last for long, however, as NASCAR
outlawed the engine, and the Garutis retired from the sport.
(Coastal 181 Collection)
a
#2897 - When Lee Petty came in
for this pit stop back in the early days of Martinsville, the
atmosphere was reminiscent of a casual fill-up at a gentlemanly ESSO
station. I suspect Kevin Harvick's visit pit-side at Las Vegas in
2020 - a record at 13.816 seconds - would have appeared a bit more
caffeinated. Photo from FROM DUST
TO GLORY, by Morris Stephenson.
m
#2896 - The late, great Sheldon
Kinser came east for the 1983 USAC Silver Crown opener at Nazareth
National. Aboard the spiffy Leyba #12, he qualified 9th with a time
of 32.180, but dropped out on lap 14 of the 100-lapper with
mechanical issues. Gary Bettenhausen nipped Billy Pauch at the line
for the win. At season's end, Bettenhausen was crowned champion,
followed by Ken Shrader, Chuck Gurney, and Kinser. (Mike
Feltenberger Photo)
m
#2895 - All in a day's work? Here's Bentley
Warren: "In 1978 Glenn Donnelly, who promoted Super DIRT Week at
Syracuse, ran a World of Outlaws Sprint Car race the day before his
big Modified show. They allowed Supermodifieds to run...and I knew I
wanted to be in that event. I had actually run some exhibition laps
at Syracuse a couple of years earlier, and broke the track record on
the morning of a Modified race. Running a Super around that mile
dirt track was a thrill.
There was a
lot of talk about the track being too fast, and we were definitely
hauling the mail there; Don MacLaren broke his back when he caught a
wheel and flipped his Super down the backstretch in practice. And I
guess some of the Sprint Car drivers didn't like it, maybe because
they hadn't seen many mile tracks. But it seemed to me that the
really good guys didn't have much trouble. I remember running close
with guys like Keith Kaufman and Smokey Snellbaker, two of the top
Sprint Car drivers from Pennsylvania, and you could just see the
talent they had. We ended up winning that race, and it's definitely
something I'm still very proud of.... Just a few hours after that
car won at Syracuse, it was destroyed at Oswego. The left-front
wheel fell off going into the first turn, and I hit the wall
unbelievably hard." Quote from
WICKED FAST: Racing Through Life with Bentley Warren, as
told to Bones Bourcier. (R. Nelson Photo, Dick Berggren Collection)
a
#2894 - How about that 58-year-old, non-stop smilin' Dave
Blaney? Here he was winning one at Santa Fe back in 1986, 35 seasons
past. He was already a shining star, 1984 USAC Silver Crown
champ. And last weekend, Sept. 11, he thrilled the crowd at Sharon,
OH, Speedway, his family's track, by outgunning all 410 entrants in
the Apple Festival Nationals, the final event of the year. (Bradley
Poulsen Collection)
M
#2893 - "Ferrari team mechanics push Dan Gurney
out to practice at Reims for his first Formula One race, the 1959
French Grand Prix - heady stuff for a 28-year-old rookie with no
more than 20 race starts." Quote and Photo from AMERICAN GRAND
PRIX RACING, by Tim Considine. (Dave Friedman Collection)
a
#2892 - We were so sad to hear that "Our Man from Amsterdam"
passed away on Tuesday the 14th. Smiling Dave Dalesandro, 68, shown
here at an EMPA convention, served folks with special needs in
upstate New York. He was also a gifted racing photographer and a
faithful contributor to these "Photos of the Day." (Mike
Feltenberger Photo)
a
#2891 - Mario Andretti: "Let's face it, when you first get
with 'the Beast,' you still don't have the confidence of it. You've
got to get away with a couple of pretty close calls, and feel, 'Man,
this baby is saving my ass.'" Quote and Photo from SPEED! Indy
Car Racing Photographs, by Chet Jezierski.
A
#2890
- That's Wendell Scott (straw hat) and crew at Charlotte. He
recalls, "I had raced in Atlanta when I was driving Sportsman cars.
That particular time I had to go before the city council to get to
race. That Sunday they wouldn't let me go out on the track to
practice until the ambulance from a black funeral home got there.
They had a white ambulance for the white drivers, and they had one
ambulance for me. That Sunday they had a terrible wreck, and a boy
got hurt real bad. The guys in the white ambulance had been running
the radio and the battery was dead, so they had to use the black
ambulance to take him to the hospital. I often wondered, if I had
had a wreck and the black ambulance wouldn't start, would they have
taken me in the white ambulance?" Quote and Photo from DIRT
TRACKS TO GLORY: The Early Days of Stock Car Racing as Told by the
Participants, by Sylvia Wilkinson.
m
#2889 - The LaDuc Family up there in the Green Mountains sure
is into their racing. Back in 1967, when car design was the province
of the individual builder, the family patriarch, Charlie LaDuc was
tearing it up on the dirt at Devil's Bowl in West Haven, VT, and on
neighboring venues in a Henry J-bodied Sportsman. A couple of years
ago, his son Don decided to build a replica of that car and began
scouring the countryside for parts. Soon he realized that bits are
pieces were getting really tough to find - and, in his words, "I
didn't want to be criticized if the lug nuts weren't
period-correct." So, rather than a replica, Don built a tribute car.
It sure has the look at his dad's car, but, after some very creative
planning and shaping, the body sits snugly on a contemporary TEO
chassis. It created quite the stir last Saturday, parked at the race
car show at the North East Motor Sports Museum. Don's brother Tim
also honored his dad on Saturday, hustling his own Sportsman to a
feature win back at Devil's Bowl. (Coastal 181 Photo)
A
#2888 - On November 4, 2019, Tony George of Hulman &
Company announced the sale of the Brickyard and the IndyCar Series
to Roger Penske. It certainly appeared to be an emotional moment for
George. Photo from
INDY SPLIT: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing,
by John Oreovicz. (Chris Owens/IndyCar Photo)
M
#2887 -
Yup. It was
that Cale Yarborough. Even while growing up on a 50-acre tobacco
farm in Timmonsville, SC, young Cale seemed to need to test his
bravery. He rode bulls, wrestled alligators, and roared about
standing on the seat of a motorcycle. By age 15, he had a '35 Ford
stock car he drove to school. He worked on it between classes, and
on weekends it was off to the backwoods tracks in the area. At 17,
he built this one and by year end had wrapped up the South Carolina
State Championship. Photo from AUTO RACING - Magazine of the
World's Greatest Sport, February 1968.
M
#2886 - John Paul Jr.:
"I was racing for Rob Dyson when I
first knew something was wrong. James Weaver, my teammate,
saw it. He said, 'You're
coasting through the turns.' He
knew it before I did. 'You're
lifting early, John, and not putting on the brakes.
Something is wrong.' It was
terrible when he said that. Somebody I respected. My Dyson
teammate. The first thing that Huntington's
does to you is separate your actions from your brain. The
simple part of driving a race car or driving any car is
putting on the gas when you want to go and the brake when
you want to slow down or stop. Turning the steering wheel
when the road curves. Simple stuff."
#2885 - "Back when dirt
Modifieds starting looking like cookie-cutter cars, Bob Dini came up
with something altogether different. He designed and built this unit
for the 1982 Eastern States 200, and it drew quite a bit of
attention from fellow competitors and fans alike. Some liked it and
others were just plain nasty. When I asked him Bob what kind of body
it was to resemble, he said 'a Dini.'" (Quote and Photo from Mike
Feltenberger)
m
#2884 - Good Lord! Dave Darland, Brady Short, Mike Brecht, and
Darren Hagen were among the starring wreckers at Eldora in June of
2008. Tracy Hines managed to avoid all the mischief in Tony
Stewart's #21 and won the USAC 30-lapper.
Photo from
MODERN THUNDER: The Illustrated History of USAC National Sprint Car
Racing, 1981-2017, by Dave Argabright, John Mahoney, and
Patrick Sullivan (John Mahoney Photo)
M
#2883 - We just received a note and the photo above
from Pete Wohlers, a celebrated wheelman from Kelly Lake, MN. Pete
had read the
"Tearoff" about Ed Sanger on our website, which was reprinted
from Speedway Illustrated
magazine. He says, "In 1988, early in my racing career, we came
across an old Ed Sanger chassis that I think I bought for $200-$300
from a fellow racer who had it laying around. Long story short, over
three seasons we went on to win 47 main events, four track
championships, won the Hibbing Labor Day Shootout (2), Superior
Northern Nationals, Bemidji Stampede, and claimed the Wissota
national championships in 1990 and 1991. After reading about his
career and how hard he worked, it makes me feel even better to have
had the success we did with his chassis. We were always low-budget
and outworked everyone until the money and technology caught up to
us." We hooked Pete and Ed up and trust they had quite the
conversation! (Pete Wohlers Collection)
m
#2882 - Walt Faulkner, the
diminutive 5'4" Californian originally from Tell, TX, was known as
"the Little Dynamo" since his early days on motorcycles. By 1946 he
had switched to Midgets and is shown here at San Diego's Balboa
Stadium in a Ford 60. He was in the midst of an incredible
decade-long win streak. In 1950, he meandered out to Indy to take in
the show - and he sure did. Somewhat surprisingly, Johnny Mantz did
not show up to pilot J.C. Agajanian's Kurtis/Offy, and, very
surprisingly, J.C. put Faulkner in the seat. He had never strapped
in to a Champ car before. Not only did he stick it on the pole, the
first rookie to do so, but he set both one- and four-lap track
records. Needless to say, the railbirds' heads were spinning, and
the chant heard round the Brickyard was "Who is that guy???"
Unfortunately the race itself did not go all that well, nor did the
1950s in general. He did grab two wins at Milwaukee (1950 and '51) -
and he did himself proud at the Mexican Road Race, but that was
about it. Then in 1956, at age 35, he perished while qualifying a
USAC Stock Car at Vallejo, CA. (Photo from URA MIDGET AUTO RACING
YEAR BOOK, 1946)
A
#2881 - Sam Posey in a Ferrari
512 M at Le Mans, 1971. He recalls, "The Ricordeau was a justifiably
celebrated restaurant about a half an hour from the track. After the
race we went there for a lunch. The meal lasted at least three
hours. I don't know how many courses appeared, but somehow we were
never full. It was the quintessential French day, under the soft
French skies. I had the girl of my dreams beside me. I was 27, and
I'd just finished third in the world's greatest race. It was pure
happiness." (Quote and Photo from
SAM'S SCRAPBOOK: My Motorsports Memories,
by Sam Posey with John Posey.)
M
#2880 - Like it or not, the
roadster-ending European invasion of Indianapolis sparked a whole
lot of innovation. How about the frontal aspect of one of Mickey
Thompson's rear-engine entries into the ill-fated 1964 500? Eddie
Johnson drove this one and was able to avoid his teammate Dave
MacDonald's fatal crash and fire. However, he dropped out soon
afterwards with fuel pump issues. (Photo from RACE CAR RACE CAR
by Richard Hough)
m
#2879 - If
you've ever wanted to run somewhere different with your Modified,
check out what Ian Cook does - and tighten up your shoulder harness.
On Sunday, August 15, Cook pulled up to the starting line of the
celebrated "Climb to the Clouds" at the base of New Hampshire's
Mount Washington. Since 1904, thrill seekers have tempted fate in
terrorizing timed runs up the 7.6-mile guitar string of a road
winding up the highest peak in the Northeast. Cook, in a NASCAR
Modified formerly raced at Stafford Speedway, took to the course
with a vengeance, as you will see in the video. You will notice that
as he powers up towards the top, there is no vegetation to hide the
frightening drops off the side. There are no guardrails. You will
notice that - mercifully - he does slow at that point. That's
because, to make things even more challenging, the pavement ends,
the surface becomes dirt - and Cook's #44 is outfitted with pavement
slicks. Nonetheless, he motored on and ended up a stunning eighth
place among the 44 recorded runs. He was barely a minute slower than
the winner, none other than Travis Pastrana. (Joel Constance Photo)
A
#2878 - He was not a big winner at
the infamously intense Reading Fairgrounds. In fact, Mohnton's Dick
Quallio, "The Rapid Roman," struggled at first driving for others
and came close to hanging it up. But then in 1974, aboard his own
homebuilt car, he finally came to his own. Quite remarkably, in the
final five years of the track's operation, the ever-smiling Mohnton
resident nailed down 118 top-ten finishes and emerged as one of the
track's most popular competitors. His solo win came in 1976 after a
stirring battle with Walt Olsen, and fans and crewmembers joyfully
hoisted him on their shoulders in celebration. (Mike Feltenberger
Photo)
A
#2877 - In 1958, an encounter with flashing blue lights
accelerated Hubert Platt's transfer of his technical and driving
skills from moonshining to drag racing. That worked out better for
the "Georgia Shaker" because in 1986 he enjoyed a more friendly
greeting: his induction into the NHRA Hall of Fame. Along the way,
Platt was unendingly creative in his mastery. In 1972 he put
forward-facing headers on his Pro Stock as seen above, and that sure
had the troops buzzing. Would they trip the finish lights before the
front wheels? They were outlawed quickly by the NHRA. From HUBERT
PLATT: Fast Fords of the "Georgia Shaker," by Allen Platt.
(Photo: georgiashaker.com)
N
#2876
- Here's a cool shot from George Calloway in AUTO RACING
PHOTO GREATS, published in 1970. The caption: "The most unique,
dramatic view of a fuel dragster's launch from the starting line
finds Tom Hoover carrying his wheels waist high as 26 inches of
rubber grip the asphalt. Heat waves heighten the effect of 1500
horsepower catapulting the Minnesota star without wheelspin."
z
#2875
- What could possibly be more infrastructurally American
than country fairs and dirt cars? Bob Mays captured this high-drama
moment as Silver Crown wheelmen lined up for the 100-lapper on the
mile at Springfield, IL, in 2013. A. J. Fike was the winner. Photo
from
ROLLING THUNDER: 50 Years of USAC Silver Crown Racing 1971-2020,
with Bob Mays, Richie Murray, Patrick Sullivan, John Mahoney.
M
#2874 - A full page ad from the
1956 United Racing Association year book.
n
#2873 - Here's a pre-race publicity photo for the first
Spring Sizzler open-comp Modified event held at Stafford, CT, in
1972. It's the business end of a coupe driven by Ernie Gahan, 1966
NASCAR National Modified Champion. Ernie's cars always had an
industrial look. He preferred black spray paint over chrome on his
"horn," but, as you can see, that was probably just as well.
(Coastal 181 Collection)
m
#2872 - In Victory Circle at the National 500 at Charlotte
in 1967, Buddy Baker sure had the look of the cat that ate the
mouse. A happy wife at his side, for a change he could contemplate a
full wallet, a great big trophy...and a kiss from Miss Firebird. It
hadn't come easily. He recalled, "When you're running as an
independent, it's easy to lose your confidence. Sometimes in those
days you could have bought all the confidence I had for two
cents....I was discouraged many times, but somehow I always felt I
could get the job done if I had the chance. It's like a feeling
that, whatever it takes, do it. I'll do it. I think it's desire that
keeps a guy going, and you've got to have it. Anybody who has played
sports knows what I mean, you've got to have the desire to keep
coming back. And, after winning the National 500, all those years of
struggling now seem like a very short time." Quote and Photo from
AUTO RACING - Magazine of the World’s Greatest Sport, February
1968.
m
#2871 - That's Cowpens, South Carolina's Mike Duvall,
"the Flintstone Flyer," in a big hurry. Mike was 15 years old,
working on his uncle's race cars, when he was offered the chance to
take one out for warmups. After a few laps, in he came. The driving
part was not for him, he said. Instead he would concentrate on the
shop - and on football. He even had aspirations of the NFL, until it
was all ended by an on-field knee injury. He decided to give driving
another try...and that was a bad day for every dirt Late Model
competitor in the Southeast. Photo from
RED CLAY AND DUST: The Evolution of Southern Dirt Racing, by
Gary L. Parker. (Nick Nicholson Photo)
AA
#2870 - In 1969 Humpy Wheeler, as manager of the
Southeastern Racing Division of Firestone, was part of the
development of a physical conditioning program for NASCAR racers.
Here Bobby Isaac and Pete Hamilton prepared for a game of handball,
long considered a great way to improve responsiveness and endurance.
From AUTO RACING - Magazine of the World's Greatest Sport,
June 1969
M
#2869 - Hail Parnelli Jones, who
celebrated his 88th birthday last week. Back in 1968 Sports Illustrated
writer Bob Ottum introduced him this way: "Rufus Parnell Jones, he
of the thinning crew cut and beautifully chiseled Mount Rushmore
face, the master mold from which all American hero-image drivers are
cast." Quote and Photo from
As A Matter Of Fact, I AM Parnelli Jones,
with Bones Bourcier. (Jones Family Collection)
m
#2868 - Three-time Formula 1 driving
champion Ayrton Senna of Brazil died while leading the San Marino
Grand Prix. Dario Franchitti writes, "Senna raised the level of the
role of the Grand Prix drivers beyond belief, which is why he is
revered to an almost mythical status. His sheer determination,
self-belief, and single-mindedness became a blueprint for drivers.
The guy was a legend even before that awful day at Imola in 1994.
Watching from the sidelines, that imposing yellow helmet was almost
like a statement of shark-like intent. It screamed 'I'm coming to
get you, like it or not.'" Quote and Photo from ROMANCE OF RACING,
by Dario Franchitti. (Michael C. Brown Photo)
m
#2867
- "Wendell Scott's mother, Martha, at 76, is
a sprightly, alert, and cheerful woman who still frequently goes to
watch her son race. Whether she goes with him or not, she is in the
habit of going into her backyard and picking clovers with four or
five leaves to give her son good luck for the race. One leaf is for
the highway, another for a safe race, the third is for the money,
and the last is for a safe trip home." (Quote and Photo from
STOCK CAR RACING magazine, January 1968)
m
#2866
- This shot is from a Kokomo heat race. Jason
McDougall gets the wheels up while Kevin Thomas Jr. sticks
to the bottom and Chase Johnson searches a higher groove.
Thomas finished third that night in a rain-shortened
feature. Thomas was winless for the seven races but
consistency won out as he finished in the top ten all seven
nights on his way to the series championship. Interesting
that for the fourth year in a row the Indiana Sprint Week
champion did not win a feature. (Caption and Photo
from John DaDalt)
a
#2865 - "Car owner Bob Weikert had great drivers in his
cars over the years such as Kenny Weld, Doug Wolfgang, and Bobby
Davis Jr. But his favorite might have been hard charger Paul Pitzer,
a local driver from PA, not one brought in from the outside. Pitzer
is pictured smoking the right rear of the 'Mr. Beef' #29 on the mile
at Syracuse (top) and after a dirty win at Flemington." Quote and
Photo from Lenny H. Sammons'
LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, and FACES, Pictorial 1970s and 1980s(Len Sammons Photo)
a
#2864 - How about that young Max Dolliver? (See
Photo of the Day #2831). He sure seems to have the moves. On Friday
July 30, he was at the third-mile paved Claremont Motorsports Park
in New Hampshire for the NHSTRA Battle for the Belt. He picked up a
ride in one of their racy, teched-out out Street Stocks and blew
every one off in the 50-lapper. Next night he was back at Vermont's
Bear Ridge Speedway, a tricky quarter-mile dirt track tucked up in
the mountains. It didn't matter that this was just a few shows into
his rookie year in a top class, on dirt, and in a center-steer
Modified. He cleaned everyone's clock there, too. (Alan Ward Photo -
Dolliver Family Collection)
A
#2863 - It was September 2, 2017 when our friend 74-year-old
Denny Soltis ran and hid from the all the Big Block Modifieds at New
York's Lebanon Valley Speedway, thrilling the Labor Day Crowd. It
was Denny's 15th win on the racy, high-banked half-mile, and he took
it in stride. "I'm always active and always have been, but I don't
do formal exercise other than I do sit up to watch television rather
than lie down. I don't worry too much about things like what I eat,
because I'm like a lot of race car drivers - I can't afford
food anyway." Quote and Photo from
MODIFIEDS OF THE VALLEY: A History of Racing at Lebanon Valley
Speedway, by Lew Boyd. (Mike Petrucci Photp)
a
#2862 - A.J. with Jim and Diane Gilmore at Michigan in 1974.
Foyt was focused on winning his sixth National Championship, and the
50,000 in attendance took notice. He passed leader Johncock on lap
four, and that was the name of that tune. He averaged 158.907 mph
for the 200 miles, picking up his 53rd Championship Trail victory.
Photo from
SEVENTIES CHAMPIONSHIP REVOLUTION: American Racing Championships,
by Dick Wallen. (Wallen/Torres Photo)
A
#2861 - "Graham Hill confers with Colin Chapman during a
bittersweet 1968 for Lotus. The team lost talisman Jim Clark at
Hockenheim in April, but five weeks later Hill won the Spanish GP -
the first of three victories that would help him secure a second
world title." Quote and Photo from 1960s IN FOCUS: Rare and
Unseen Photographs From a Golden Age of Motor Racing, Damien
Smith, Editor.
a
#2860 - It's not always just the drivers who seem a
little nuts. Here's Jimmy Sills giving rides in a two-seater at
Calistoga, California. He recalls, "Andy Forsberg's wife, Candace,
rode with me at Calistoga one night when the track had a big
cushion. Candace insisted that she wanted me to flip during her ride
so that she could experience what happens to Andy when he crashes. I
laughed and told her that, no, she doesn't really want that
experience, especially at this track. We rolled out and had a
beautiful lap going until I caught the curb and tossed the front
wheels toward the fence. With the car's long wheelbase, it took some
doing to get it to turn left again, and the fence was coming closer
and closer. I was full on the gas to avoid contact. Luckily it
worked out and, when we finished the ride, I informed Candace that
she was awfully close to getting her wish." Quote and Photo from
LIFE WITH LUKE: Jimmy Sills, by Dave Argabright.
V
#2859 - It may have been 50 years
ago, but rail birds still remember the seven years of TRANS-AM
racing as beyond incredible. Mike Joy, currently a competitor in
historic Trans-Am events, says simply, "It was bigger than
NASCAR." The peak year was 1970, and Parnelli Jones was champion and
particularly so at the October 4 finale at Riverside. "In a race
Jones regards as 'my best drive ever,' he clawed his way back
through the field to victory. Fans and drivers alike recall the
spectacular sight of Jones drifting through Riverside's famous
esses, clipping apexes at every turn, and intentionally striking the
curbing to bounce his Boss 302 onto its outside wheels to turn it in
for high-speed corners. Here Jones (15) prepares to pass Gurney
(48). It was the last time either driver would race against each
other." Quote and Photo from
TRANS-AM ERA: The Golden Years in Photographs 1966-1972,
by Daniel Lipetz (Robin Robin Photo)
M
#2858 - Glen Andrews may have been the youngest
driver at Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway when it opened in 1950. All
of his family supported him, even his Mom who did the welding on the
car. Maybe they somehow knew he would have the moves of a
experienced wheelman. Speeding off the fourth turn ahead of 14 other
cars on a Sunday afternoon, he saw that Roger Elliott, the starter,
had been struck by a race car and that fans and mechanics were
actually running onto the track for a closer look at what had
happened. Andrews, who knew he couldn't slow down in time,
purposefully rolled his car to help stop himself - and, as it turned
out, those behind him. He ended up dosed with hot oil, but quite
likely saved a lot of further injuries to multiple people. Elliott,
substituting for Stan Dodge, the regular starter, survived in the
hospital until autumn when he passed away from complications from
pneumonia. (Oxford Plains Speedway: The First Three Years
1950-1952)
a
#2857 - (Top photo) that's Waterloo, Iowa's
hardball, nonstop Modified racer, Corey Dripps, after yet another of
his legion wins, this one at Boone in 2017. Dripps just has to be
one of the Midwest's all-time strongmen. Coming home on the night of
May 12, he swerved to miss a deer, and his right rear dug into some
soft pavement on an access road. He cartwheeled. He broke both
rotator cups and his shoulder blade, banged his head repeatedly on
the side windows and the mirror, breaking bones in his neck and
back. He says, "I knew I was hurt, but I've been through it before,
so I decided to walk home. The next day I stopped by the doctor's
office because I couldn't move my arm. He was impressed."
Bottomline, if he behaves, he will be out of the race car until next
season, allowing his neck to stabilize and then heal. But that
didn't mean that he wasn't back at work building race cars the next
Monday morning. He's also in his second full season promoting the
races at Benton County in Vinton. He's all over it, even having
learned to do all the track prep with former crew chief, Doug
Rinnels. And it's paying off. Just recently he hosted Vinton's best
night of all time, with 155 cars and a full house. (See lower photo)
(Top, Speedway Illustrated; bottom Corey Dripps Collection)
a
#2856 - That's
Charlie Mincey with his early "skeeter" at the Moonshine Festival in
Dawsonville in 2009. He was a terror back in the day all over the
Southeast in the 1950s. He says, "I was big for my age and was able
to get a driver's license when I was twelve. My first encounter with
fast cars was when I was about fourteen. I hauled a little moonshine
around Dawsonville for about five years. I usually drove a '39 or
'40 Ford. I ran at least once a night seven days a week, making
about one dollar a gallon. I liked to carry it in cans because you
could get two hundred gallons in one load, where if it was in mason
jars, you couldn't get more than one hundred and twenty gallons in a
car. At two o'clock in the morning, if you see another car's
headlights, it was either another moonshiner or the police. I used
dirt and paved roads to get to Atlanta. I'd run down Highway 9,
which was paved. When I'd get jumped, I'd cut off one of these side
dirt roads and get away. So doing this I was getting experience on
both asphalt and dirt. That's how I picked up how to race. I started
racing up at Rome, Calhoun, Dalton, and a whole lot of small dirt
tracks. Then I went to the Peach Bowl, and then onto the one-mile
track in Lakewood. I raced for thirty-three years." Photo and Quote
from
SOUTHERN SUPERMODIFIEDS And Other Early Racers, Vol, II,
by Gerald Hodges.
K
#2855 -
Not unlike the Allisons, Pettys, and
Earnhardts, the racing genes ran rampant in the Bickle family in
Wisconsin. "By age two, Rich Bickle was already listening to rock
and roll records and had his own helmet in preparation for his
career as a stock car driver." Quote and photo from BARNYARD TO
BRICKYARD: The Rich Bickle Story, with John Close (Jackie
Bickle Collection)
A
#2854 -
"The N.W. Super Dirt
Cup at Sky Valley and Skagit Speedways was the first
time the N.W. fans were treated to
real 'outlaw dirt tracing!'
A close wheel-to-wheel race with #0 Rick Ferkel, #71 Sammy
Swindell, #56 George Patterson, and dash winner #21 Jimmy
Boyd at the 1977 [Skagit] show in June."
Quote and Photo from Canadian American Modified Racing
Association Yearbook 1977.
m
#2853
- On April 7, 1957 Sprint Cars poured into Williams Grove from
hither and yon for a USAC Eastern Championship show. Local favorite
Tommy Hinnershitz, "The Flying Farmer," was ready, pounding the very
top of his favored agricultural groove. He sure looked to be gutsy
up there, three-deep to Bob Tattersall and Ralph Liguori with
strikingly divergent grooves of their own. (Photo from USAC
Yearbook 1957, National Speed Sport News Photo)
A
#2852 - Back in the 1950s and '60s, there was a
rather glamorous set in sports car racing, including a number of
perky - and pretty - women drivers. Starring among their number was
Denise McCluggage, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Mills College. She
started out as a sports journalist in California and worked her way
up to the New York Herald Tribune.
Befriending Briggs Cunningham, she subsequently hopped into an XK
140 Jag and began competing at New York's Montgomery Field. She was
hooked and commented, "I get 15 cents a mile from the paper - and I
just drove 15 miles, so I'm a pro." Over the years, sporting by her
polka dot helmet, she had wins from Sebring in a Ferrari 250 GT to
Monte Carlo, calling it quits in the late '60s. A terrific skier,
she co-authored THE CENTERED SKIER,
on the psychology of skiing. She also was instrumental in the
founding of AutoWeek,
where she was a Senior Contributing Editor until her death in 2015.
Photo from FAST WOMEN: The
Legendary Ladies of Racing, by Todd
McCarthy. (Bahama News Agency Collection)
n
#2851 - Who among us doesn't love a good shop photo?
It's a glance behind the curtain, a view that even diehard race fans
rarely see. And when the image transports us back to a place that is
no longer there, that inside peek feels doubly special. This
photograph, from the winter of 1979-80 (we think), was shot in East
Hartford, CT, at the original location of the pavement
Modified-building enterprise known as RaceWorks. In those days, the
business was a collaborative effort between the late Ed Flemke and
his son, Eddie Jr., who churned out some of that era's sharpest and
fastest ground-pounders. In the shadows at the far right, Steady
Eddie appears to be in the middle of a chat/interview with Bob Echo
of Speedway Scene. (Bones Bourcier caption, Howie Hodge
photo)
m
#2850 - There was a lot to like about the Foxwoods 301
weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. For those of us at the
North East Motor Sports Museum, the headline was the father of New
England drag racing, Jack Doyle, holding court with drag race fans
as they all huddled around the Funny Car that was driven by Jungle
Jim Lieberman so many years ago. Jack has been a driver, builder,
car owner, General Manager of New England Dragway, stock holder of
Dragway shares, and he remains a big supporter of everything drag
racing in New England. His role in the sport is best defined by a
photo of a sign in an otherwise empty field that read, "The Future
Home of New England Dragway. For information, call Jack Doyle,"
followed by his phone number. Doyle was there at the very beginning
and he is still found either in the museum or at the Dragway most
days. (Dick Berggren caption and photo)
a
#2849 - He was born in the Azores in 1925, grew up in
Merced, California, and emerged as one of the most memorable of all
Golden State warriors. Along the way, Al Pombo racked up some 600
features, seven NASCAR State Championships, and motored his way
right into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. He is shown here
manhandling the Peat Bros. #3 Super in Gold Cup action at Sacramento
in 1971, his final season behind the wheel. Photo from
SACRAMENTO: Dirt Capital of the World, by Tom Motter. (Lew Lewis
Collection)
m
#2848
- In his book, I WAS A NASCAR REDNECK,
Will Cronkrite discusses his first time out on a superspeedway. It
was at Atlanta in the #77 car. He simply was unable to get
comfortable, as the car always seemed to dart high up on the
straights. Afterwards Harry Gant advised him that it was probably an
aerodynamic situation - that the shape of the car's nose and tail on
the right side can change when passing from a solid-block guard wall
to a guard rail used as a gate. Gant told him about an earlier bull
session with drivers discussing the aero impact of a new guard rail
at Dover. He writes, "It was met with varying responses after which
Dale Earnhardt said, 'I ain't gonna like it.' 'Bullshit' said one of
the older drivers, and Dale's response was, 'I'm so good a noticing
those little changes in aerodynamic issues that I can tell when the
fat lady in the third row at the end of the Darlington backstretch
gets up to buy a bag of popcorn.' Eyebrows were surely raised, but
no one spoke up to challenge him." Quotes and Photo from
I WAS A NASCAR REDNECK, Recollections of the Transformation of a
Yankee Farm Boy to a Southern Redneck in the Golden Era of NASCAR
and Beyond, by Will Cronkrite.
a
#2847
- When Tim Flock in the Kiekhaefer Chrysler
brought the field to the south turn at Daytona on February 26, 1956
and proceeded to win the race, you would have thought he had a
pretty good deal. But, apparently, the surface wasn't telling what
the deep water knew. In Flock's words, "Kiekhaefer brought six
Chryslers to Daytona in 1956. He had Speedy Thompson, Buck Baker,
Frank Mundy, I don't remember all the other drivers. He had a black
driver named Charlie Scott driving one of the cars. I think when he
showed up with those six drivers, including me, six crews, and big
transports to carry the cars, which nobody had ever seen, he made
NASCAR real mad at him. He rented a whole motel in Daytona, 80
units. He put all the drivers on one side, and all the wives on the
other side, and he had a room in the middle. No sex the night before
a race... I won the Daytona race and a few months later, in April,
after I won Wilkesboro, I quit. I was down to 130 pounds and I had
an ulcer. The old man had about run me crazy. He got so bad I just
couldn't take it anymore." Quote and photo from FULL JEWELLED:
Stock Car Racing 1951-1956, as told to Russ Hamilton. (Photo
Rose Smiljanic Collection)
AA
#2846
- Over the years we have awarded the Coastal Cup to
winners of certain significant short track events. This one was at
Lee, New Hampshire, when Cary Stratton presented ISMA hotshot Chris
Perley with silver for his feature win. On July 30 we will be at
Stafford, Connecticut for the 80-lap Modified Open. We love the
concept of an 80-lapper - still a sprint race, but allowing someone
sporty far down back a little extra distance to get to the front. It
should be a doozy. (Dick Berggren Photo)
a
#2845 - A classic, but unfortunately
unidentified, image from the days of open sky, Cromwells, and tee
shirts. (From Jerry Santibane's collection)
A
#2844 - NEMA,
the Northeastern Midget
Association, the oldest pavement Midget organization in the
nation, seemed curiously into age and loyalty in the 1970s. No small
number of their wheelmen back then were gray beards, and some
favored cars were, too. Case in point was long-term NEMA entrant
Dick Gallagher. He purchased a 25-year-old Kurtis previously known
as the Gus Mutter Offy, famous for being paraded from show to show
on a trailer sided with plexiglass. Dick installed a SESCO and went
racing. He had quite a day at Thompson in 1974, when he tangled with
Butch Walsh, exited the place high above the sand banks, and landed
upside down in the swamp below. Sonny Seagrave is said to have run
down and lifted the rear of the car such that Dick would not drown
before more help arrived. The car was rebuilt, and Dick returned to
run in the top ten five times the next year. Like some others, he
was intent on running a "real Midget" as contrasted with the
Formula-like chassis some were developing. (Photo from NEMA MIDGETS
1976 - Pictorial Review and Diary)
a
#2843 - The 1950s and '60s were a golden era for
Supermodified racing at Olympic Stadium, a former baseball field in
downtown Kansas City. The Sunday night shows featured many great
wheelmen such as Gene Gennetten, Ray Lee Goodwin, Bob Williams, and
Junior Hower. But likely the most famous of all over the years was
the Weld Family, known as the Kansas City Mafia: Kenny, Greg, Jerry,
and Taylor "Pappy" Weld. Here are their mounts in the 1960s. Greg
wheeled the #92, Jerry the #93, and Ken/Pappy the #94. In the photo
below are L-R, Kenny, Greg, Jerry, and Pappy. From
THE HISTORY OF KNOXVILLE RACEWAY and the Marion County Fairgrounds,
Pre-1954 to 1970, by Bob Wilson. (Top Photo Bob Mays
Collection)
n
#2842 - The late Bobby Unser won the Indy 500 three
times, in 1968, 1975, and 1981. His three winning cars are shown
here. It's amazing how quickly the technology was advancing. Photo
from
INDY SPLIT: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing,
by John Oreovicz. (John Oreovicz Photo)
a
#2841 - Two thoroughly talented Fonda Speedway
champions, Dave Lape and Kenny Shoemaker, contemplate the nature of
the universe. In the glory days of the '50s and '60s, Shoemaker,
always firmly on the pedal, was THE MAN on the New York state
half-mile. As a young Dave Lape entered the picture, like everyone
else, he was aware of the possible consequences of approaching
Shoemaker out on the track. He recalls, "One night I was running up
front, second to him, and there was a restart. We came down for the
green, double file, me on the outside, and I actually beat him to
the first turn. You see, I had the advantage of a four-speed while
he had only three. Right away, there was another restart, and I
could feel the tension. I could see the grandstand rocking, everyone
standing up to see what would happen now. I could also see that
Kenny was really wound up. Coming down for the green this time, he
gave no room at all. I scraped his nerf bar on one side and the
guard rail on the other, but I never lifted and somehow made it
through. I beat him again. That was the night 'The Shoe' took notice
of me." (Photo, Keith Shoemaker Collection)
A
#2840
- Urb Stair speaks about dialing in his Hal-powered Sprinter
back at California's Oakland Speedway in the late 1930s. "Here we
are making a 'smokey pass.' If the exhaust was too light, it meant
the mixture wasn't rich enough. During qualifying, we would jump out
onto the track after the car went by and look straight into the
tailpipe as the car sped away. If the smoke obscured the pipe, we
were running just right."
Quote and Photo from AUTO RACING MEMORIES: Stories and Pictures
of Racing in the 1930s and 1940s, by Urb Stair.
#2838
- Niki Lauda: "But from the driving seat of the pursuer it
looks like this: I must above all try and irritate the man in front.
For lap after lap I have been studying him, I know the strengths and
weaknesses of his car, know whether it is under- or over-steering,
know what his top speed is. From these factors a particular point
along the track will crystallize for me - but that does not mean
that I will not feint attacks at other points as well. I must keep
bobbing up at different points in his rear mirror, sometimes on the
left, sometimes on the right, then left, then three times on his
right and left again and then next time right out of his field of
view: I have to give him something to worry about all the time."
Quote and Photo from THE ART AND SCIENCE OF GRAND PRIX DRIVING,
by Niki Lauda.
a
#2837 - The Earl Pollard family of Victoria, British
Columbia, sure made an impression on the racing community back in
the day. There were many wins - and some other noteworthy
activities. Consider what Earl's son Larry said about one of them:
"One of our craziest moments - Tom Thumb Night at Western Speedway
when I was thirteen years old (1967). Dad and I would drive around
the track for two laps, and Roy Brydon would have one foot on each
car. He held onto a rope wrapped around the A-pillars like a rein on
a horse. Dad would put his arm out the window to hang onto my car so
if I slowed or sped up, he could keep pace. Roy started out with a
carrot in his hand and swung it around as he went. We got going so
fast that the tires were squealing, while Roy hung on for dear
life!" Quote and Photo from
EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT: The Racing Legacy of Victoria's Earl Pollard
Family, by Bob Kehoe.
A
#2836 - "Racers today - as a whole - are less respectful than
we used to be. I feel like if you've got the guts enough to run the
outside, people should respect that. I have stood up at countless
drivers' meetings over the years, trying to explain that concept. I
say, 'When I take a risk and work my way alongside you on the
outside, you owe me the respect of conceding the battle. When I pin
you down in the corner, I've beaten you fair and square. It's done.
You have to concede, because if you continue to push the
point, we're both going to wreck." Quote and Photo from
LIFE WIDE OPEN: Dave Dion - the Northeast's Most Popular Late Model
Driver, by Dave Moody, with Dave Dion. (Tom Gallo Photo)
a
#2835 - "And then came the spring race at Talladega (in
1993). By then Rusty [Wallace] had won four out of eight races, and
we had clawed our way from 32nd all the way to the point lead.
Today, that race - or at least the last couple of seconds of it - is
NASCAR folklore. Rusty had led a bunch of laps until rain brought
out the red with two laps left. When the track dried, the race was
restarted. It was madness coming down to the flag, with 15 or more
cars banging on each other at 195 mph. Rusty and Earnhardt got into
each other and Rusty got airborne - again (like the one at Daytona)
- and this time flipped probably 10 times. It was frightening. Rusty
ended up with a seriously fractured wrist, and was fortunate that
injuries were limited to that. He actually finished sixth after
somersaulting across the finish line with about 10 feet of air under
the car." Quote by Buddy Parrott from MILLER'S TIME: A Lifetime
at Speed, by Don Miller with Jim Donnelly. (Jeff Robinson Photo)
A
#2834 - That's the always exciting
Robert Ballou looking almost like he is posing for lensman John
DaDalt. But he wasn't. He was wheel-standing his way to the series
championship of last week's USAC Eastern Storm show at the newly
renovated Bloomsburg (PA) Fair Raceway. He took it by one point over
Brady Bacon. (John DaDalt Photo)
a
#2833 - "In the 1940s old time Midget owner/driver Marion
Roberts lived on the second floor of a home with three apartments
not far from the Buffalo Civic Stadium, at the time a Midget hot
spot. Above and below were two budding drivers, Dick McCrossan and
his brother-in-law Roy Graham. McCrossan described Roberts as a
'certified maniac' with the nickname 'the Demented Squirrel.' He
remembers how Roberts compressed the cockpit sides of his car so
that he had to wedge a section of 2x4 between them in order to
squeeze into place. When the 2x4 was removed, the sides caved, and
he was held in as tight as a vice. This is how it was done before
there were seat belts. The living quarters were apparently
noteworthy, as well. Roberts' rat pack mentality was so advanced
that there was a V-8-60 engine on the bed. But, most remarkable of
all, was the scene when Roberts finished up a winter project. He had
built a complete Midget (including the engine) in the living room,
and it was lowered through the second-floor window to terra firma
with great difficulty, leaving the building intact to the relief of
all who watched." Quote and photo from
DAREDEVILS OF THE FRONTIER, by Keith S, Herbst. (Russell
Fleetwood Collection)
a
#2832 - An enormous crowd at the 1980 Super Dirt Week was
becoming more and more riled up as Gary Balough easily dismissed the
efforts of otherwise formidable competitors Mike McLaughlin (#z-8)
and Tommy Corellis (#57) - and all others to boot. Balough's victory
in the radical Kenny Weld-designed "Batmobile" was extremely
dominant and equally unpopular. In his book
HOT SHOE, Gary wrote, "Kenny Weld's mind works at the genius
level....Most people look at a rule book and see what's on the page.
Kenny instantly saw what wasn't there....For example, rules included
a minimum roof height because DIRT didn't want a contest to see who
could build the lowest, sleekest car, but they never thought to
think about a maximum height rule.....Anytime I ever see something
different at a race track, I think it's cool....If you're into
racing, how can you be down on that?" Quote from
HOT SHOE - A Checkered Past: My Story, by Gary Balough with
Bones Bourcier. (MRF Photo from STRAPPED IN magazine)
n
#2831 - That's a young Max Dolliver
on the inside, proving that still today the apple falls close to the
tree. Max is grandson to the late Jerry Dolliver who stealthfully
wheeled whatever he had to victory, whether a Coupe, Cutdown, or
Sprinter. A New England Hall of Famer, he was known to have won over
100 feature events with a single flathead engine. Jerry's son Bryan,
too, was steady and upfront, especially at the old Rumney and Canaan
tracks in New Hampshire. Max proved right away that he also had the
seeds. He scored widely in Streeters and dabbled competently in
Sportsman cars on the asphalt, but he was not content. This season,
he and Bryan bought a used Bicknell, and it was off to the dirt at
Vermont's tight and competitive Bear Ridge Speedway. Here he is on
just his fifth time out. He's won the heat race, setting fast time
along the way. When the checker flew in the main, he was bridesmaid
after again setting fast time and engaging in a thrilling duel with
winner Richie Simmons. (Alan Ward Photo)
N
#2830 - "In Comp Eliminator, the year [1966] pretty much
belonged to Pete Shadinger and his straight-8 Buick-powered
D/Dragster. 'Little Daddy' was a winner at the Springnationals and
the Nationals, and his 10.38 came within a whisker of defeating the
dual purpose Willys of Virgil Cates at the World Finals. With a
flair for the unique, Shadinger won his first national event, the
NHRA Nationals, way back in 1962 with a flathead-powered dragster."
Quote and Photo from DRAG RACING IN THE 1960s:
The Evolution in Race Car Technology by Doug Boyce.
(Photo courtesy Forrest Bond)
n
#2829 - Back in the summer of '57, CNE (the
Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto was red hot, drawing crowds
typically topping 16,000 for its Tuesday and Friday night stock car
shows. Also hot at the time was Don Fleming ("the Whitby Flash") who
steered Howie Purdy's 312-powered coupe. One night Fleming was
caught up in a wreck early in the 20-lap main. He was so respected
that a swarm of competing crewmen ran onto the track and literally
lifted the #33 off the track so it could be repaired. Fleming
acknowledged their deed by jumping back in, restarting down back,
and weaving his way onto the podium, bridesmaid to Ted Hogan.Photo from
THE GOLDEN YEARS OF STOCK CAR RACING IN TORONTO, 1951-1966,
by "Honest" Nate Salter
a
#2828 - "We talk about all-arounders, but no-one will ever
come close to what John Surtees did: winning world titles on two
and four wheels. Oh, and make that "Sir" John Surtees,
please....John won just about all there was to win on bikes, and
only began racing cars after his Italian bike boss Count Augusta
tried to restrict him to just championship races, which wasn't
enough. And so began a career in which he won the '64 F1 world title
for Ferrari. John was also an owner/driver in F1and F2 and, during
the 1970s, that was no easy task." Quote and Photo from ROMANCE
OF RACING, by Dario Franchitti (Photo Popperfoto)
a
#2827 - In the summer of 1959 Jim Hurtubise with his buddy
Parnelli Jones were terrorizing the countryside with their IMCA
Sprint Cars. That came to a recess following a wicked crash at Cedar
Rapids. Elmer George, who was married to Tony Hulman's daughter,
offered up his race car garage at the Brickyard as a place Herk
could repair his car. Herk's recollection: "I'd never seen the
Speedway before and I really didn't know what to make of it. The
Indy guys sure didn't know what to make of me. Just some Sprint Car
guy with his eyes all purple from flipping, working on his tore up
race car. Well, they started telling me about how to drive the
Speedway. 'Never use your brakes here. Back off early for the
corners. Let the engine compression slow you down.' Now, I had never
driven a lap at Indianapolis, but I knew they were all crazy.
'Listen,' I said, 'This is a long track. It's a fast track, so you'd
better use your brakes. Screw all that backing off and letting the
engine slow you down. Just stand on the gas!'" (Quote and Photo from
Herk/Hurtubise, by Bob Gates, Photo Hurtubise Family
Collection)
a
#2826 - Our friend Blake Shepard is a
different kind of smoke. He's busy - the ultimate dad to his three
kids, a Vice President of Fidelity Investments in Boston, and a
multi-sports athlete. But somehow he got interested in dirt tracking
and often came with us, back in the day. One time I offered him the
chance to take the car out during packing laps at a track up in New
Hampshire to see what it was like. He got a good view: they ended up
throwing the green flag, and he came back in covered with mud but
with a smile breaking the sides of the helmet. Soon he managed to
pick up a center-steer Modified of his own and began learning the
ropes. With his schedule, the most he can do is to compete a couple
of times a year, but he just keeps going. Last Saturday, he drove an
eventful one at New Hampshire's RumTown Speedway. About halfway
through, he was leading, but was drilled from behind and dispatched
to the infield. But back he came and won it, earning a great big
kiss from his comely wife Ericka, a pharmacist with CVS who is known
as "the Dzus Queen" on certain weekends. (Photo courtesy RumTown
Speedway)
a
#2825
- Jay Blake was at work as a transportation company
head mechanic in May 1997 when the tire and wheel of a nearby
forklift blew and the debris hit him in the face. He was just 31
years old with most of his life ahead of him. But in a flash, his
life changed forever. His injuries were massive, costing him his
sense of taste and smell but most importantly, he completely lost
his sight. Now, 25 years later, his attitude is positive, he smiles
a lot, and he takes care of a race-winning Funny Car. He can put the
majority of a disassembled dragster back together and says, "It's
amazing what we can do with our eyes closed." He's also responsible
for the team's management, operations and its community outreach
program. In part, he uses his hands to see. "Through touch, you can
build a picture in your head," he explains. As a crew chief he has
won national events including Pomona, the World Finals, and the
Gater Nationals. He's often booked as a motivational speaker and
dreams of find a sponsor who would allow him to have his own team.
His never-give-up attitude is inspiring. (Photo and Caption by Dick
Berggren)
N
#2824
- "The somewhat revolutionary Spintron machine earns its own
special shed in the back of Ed Iskenderian's main shop so valvetrain
testing can continue without disturbing anything on the production
floor. Note the aluminum NASCAR engine bolted to the back of the
machine. The technician has been operating this machine for years
and feels it's 'priceless' in the development of efficient,
low-resistance valvetrains; the engine has no carb, no exhaust, and
no pistons inside because the engine does not actually run; it is
turned by an instrumented electric motor that measures power draw
within the engine."Quote and Photo from
ISKY: Ed Iskenderian and the History of Hot Rodding, by Matt
Stone. (Matt Stone Photo)
3
#2823 - The 53rd running of the much celebrated Snowball
Derby at Pensacola, Florida's Five Flags Speedway will run this
December 2-5. The event's history is as rich as it gets. How about
1984, when a stunning purse of $60,000 was at stake, and Butch
Lindley romped off with the winner's take with a Chevrolet V-6. The
track record stood in the high 16s at the time, but, in an
exhibition run that day, Randy Sweet stunned the crowd by hustling
this radical wedge spaceship to a 14.11 around the paved half-mile.
Photo from
FLORIDA MOTORSPORTS RETROSPECITVE PICTORIAL, Vol 1, 2nd Edition,
by Eddie Roche.
a
#2822 - Justin Grant
entered the Silver Crown 100-miler at the Illinois State Fairgrounds
in Springfield last October 18 with a 22-point lead over the mighty
five-time champion Kody Swanson. Grant led the first ten laps and
trailed Kyle Larsen for the next 85 rounds. He then began to close
in on Larsen, but tangled with a lapped car with five to go. He
managed to maintain control and finish up in third, good enough to
give make him champion. Grant, 29, from Lone, California, had last
won a title at the Bay Cities Racing Association in a Midget. In
2009, he moved to Indiana, low on dollars but full of beans. He must
have felt good driving home from Springfield. There can be no
question that he was fast, but he had faced some issues sewing up
point chases. He had been fourth in USAC Sprint points in 2107 after
leading most of the year and was runner-up in 2020. In Silver Crown
he had been runner-up in 2018 and 2019. Photo fromROLLING THUNDER: 50 Years of USAC Silver Crown Racing, 1971-2020,
by Bob Mays, Richie Murray, Patrick Sullivan, and John Mahoney. (Bob
Mays Photo)
a
#2821 - "Don Branson's successes came
late in his career. He was a 39-year-old rookie at the Speedway in
1950. His fine career included six championship victories and, in
1961, a start in Indy's front row. Although Branson was a skilled
driver on any surface, it was dirt where he excelled. 'Don could be
a gruff old bastard,' commented Mario Andretti, 'but he was better
on dirt than anyone I ever saw.' Here a joyful Branson is seated in
the Wynn's Friction Proofing Special following a win at Terre Haute
in 1964." He died at Ascot, California in 1966, just before he had
planned to retire. Quote and Photo from FEARLESS - Dangerous Days
in American Open Wheel Racing, by Gene Crucean. (Harry Goode
Photo)
A
#2820 - These days and years, Stewart Friesen is
the man to beat in center-steer big block modifieds. For those
looking for his magic, look no further than this photo of Stewie at
Fonda on May 29, 2021, Dave Lape Night, when he won both 22-lap
features from the very back. In one moment, in one turn, he passed
one car way up high, then scooted between the car he just passed and
his next victim - who was on the bottom - and shot under the second
car with just inches to spare. Our photo shows how far on the ragged
edge this guy drives, but he almost never wrecks. (Dick Berggren
caption and photo)
a
#2819 - "It wasn't until the seventh race of the 1965
season that Johnny Rutherford even got a [USAC Sprint Car] ride. He
hooked up with Steve Stapp at the June 13th (IN) Terre Haute show
and proceeded to win..." Here Rutherford buckles up at the closer at
Ascot on November 13. "By now he was leading in points, but he was
doing all he could to hand the title to Greg Weld. Both qualified
poorly and had to run the semi which Rutherford won. Weld took the
fifth and final transfer spot. In the feature, Rutherford lost a
wheel twice and finally finished 13th. Weld, usually tops on dirt,
suffered through a frustrating 10th place finish. The final points
were tabulated, and Rutherford had won the war by 2.5 points." Quote
and Photo from USAC SPRINT HISTORY, 1956-1980, Carl
Hungness Publisher. (Photo by Vintage Photo)
a
#2818 - On May 29, Fonda Speedway honored one of its
greatest ever, Dave Lape of Canajoharie, New York. Over 50 seasons
Dave won 99 features at the intense, uniquely shaped "Track of
Champions." Some (such as I) would say it was actually 100
because there was also a B feature victory along the way! In any
case, he achieved enormous - almost cult-like - popularity with fans
and earned profound respect among competitors and officials. A huge
crowd assembled for the emotional event, and it surely brought
smiles to Dave, with wife Jackie and daughter Jessica very much at
his side as he recovers from throat cancer. (Dick Berggren Photo)
a
#2817 - That's Tony Lavati at Hollywood, FL, with a
four-wheel drive, rear-engine super built by Mobile, Alabama's
master, Bill Hite. It was one of several Hite assembled in the
mid-1970s, and they were rocket ships, especially with astronauts
like Armond Holley, Rat Lane, and Lavati at the controls. Author
Gerald Hodges writes that there was a fly in the ointment, though.
"The half-shafts are what drove them. The biggest problem they had
was either breaking half-shafts or twisting the U-joints. What they
did before every event was to check the U-joints and paint the
shafts white with fresh glossy paint. When they first saw a wrinkle
in the paring, they knew the shaft was about to break and they would
replace them. They used Chevrolet engines that were set in
backwards, and with all that engine torque, they had a tendency to
twist either the shafts or U-joints." Photo and quote from
SOUTHERN SUPERMODIFIEDS Volume II, by Gerald Hodges.
A
#2816
- David Hobbs knocked off the 1971 championship for the
mighty Formula 5000 cars in a McLaren entered by Carl Hogan's
team. The next year they switched over to Lola T300s (as above) and
scored the second time out. Photo from
LOST IN TIME: Formula 5000 in North America by John
Zimmermann. (RMA/Shane)
A
#2815 - Two great East Coast Modified stylists of the
1970s, Merv Treichler (inside) and Charlie Jarzombek, get it done on
the short track at Pocono. (Zellers Photo from STRAPPED IN magazine)
a
#2814 - Legend has it that May 15, 1938, may have been
the day that hot rodding came of age. During the cold previous
night, over 300 stripped-down and hopped-up cars assembled on
California's Muroc Dry Lake for a speed-timing event unlike anything
ever seen before. Car clubs from around L.A. had met and decided
that such an event could demonstrate that theirs was a respectable
hobby. The S.C.A.T. (Southern California Timing Association) was
formed and sanctioned the event. The top photo was a timing marshal,
replete with a switch that triggered when front wheels crossed the
wire. Below a modified class entry with a two-speed differential
lined up ready to go. From WHEN THE HOT RODS RAN, by William
Carroll.
A
#2813 - "Langhorne, PA, June 14, 1970: Some
drivers like Bryan, Hurtubise, Mays, and Nalon had loved the old
one-mile dirt circle near Philadelphia; some drivers like Rodger
Ward hated it. No one loved the D-shaped paved mile built over it in
1965. However, there were 25,960 fans to see what would prove to be
the last race there. Urban sprawl, not lack of attendance, would
bring racing to an end after nearly a half-century. Here Bobby Unser
leads Al Unser to the checkered flag on the last lap. Bobby led 64;
Al led 86." Quote and Photo from
SEVENTIES CHAMPIONSHIP REVOLUTION: American Racing Championships,
by Dick Wallen. (Wallen/Torres Photo)
A
#2812 - In early 1936, one of our country's greatest
wheelmen, Rex Mays, pulled into Readville, MA, with his Big Car. As
usual, he was seriously on the hammer. He diced for the lead with
Vern Orenduff through billowing clouds of dust when a lapped car
ricocheted off a post. Mays collided with it and was subsequently
hit by both Orenduff and Harry Angeloni and was tossed sky high. It
was Mays' worse accident ever - crushed chest, broken jaw, loss of
front teeth, and multiple other injuries. Despite his aches and
pains, Mays still insisted he had been better off without a seat
belt. The car was a total mess. Rex is shown outside a hospital with
an orderly that August. From
POLE POSITION: Rex Mays, The Life of America's Most Popular Race
Driver and a Long Look Back at American Auto Racing and Life Circa
1931-1949, by Bob Schilling. (Mays Family Collection)
a
#2811 - Glenn Fitzcharles, one of
URC's ultra-winners, proved that the hair-on-fire approach to racing
doesn't always bring the best results. In 1987 alone he added 21
features to his tally. From THE
HISTORY OF THE UNITED RACING CLUB: America's Oldest Sprint Car
Organization 1978-2005, by Buzz Rose
and Jim Chini. (Steve Kolerar Photo)
A
#2810 - Jimmy Bryan and car owner Al Dean (right) and
noted mechanic Clint Brawner (left) may have just won Las Vegas, but
clearly they had to wait to be interviewed while Chris Economaki was
enjoying his interlude with actress Esther Williams. Photo from
LET 'EM ALL GO: The Story of Auto Racing by the Man Who Was There,
by Chris Economaki
with Dave Argabright.
a
#2809 - Sooner or later
most everyone has to brace for a wall shot. This time in 1990 at
South Boston, VA, it was Roy Hendrick's #11 headed for a jolt after
being tagged by Richard Landreth's #12 and Stacy Compton in the #16.
Photo from SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY:
The First Fifty Years. (Photo Joe
Chandler, Gazette-Virginian)
A
#2808 - "After coming oh-so-close to winning the Indy 500 in
1952, Bill Vukovich returned [in 1953] with a vengeance. First, he
captured the pole position and then trounced the field in the race,
coming home more than three laps ahead of runner-up Art Cross. On
what was considered to be the second hottest day in race history,
Vukovich needed no relief whatsoever and pretty much taunted
everyone in Victory Lane: 'If you think this is hot, you ought to
try driving a tractor in Fresno during the summer.'" Quote and photo
from
500 on (the INDY) 500: Tales, Facts, and Figures on "The Greatest
Race in the World," by Rich Shaffer. (Photo, First Turn
Productions Collection)
A
#2807 - It was a very tight turn at Monaco in 1963. The great
New Zealand driver Bruce McLaren, on his way to a fifth place,
actually looked quite comfortable while tightly compressed between
the Ferrari of Lorenzo Bandini and the Lotus of Australia's Paul
Hawkins. (Photo from RACING CARS, RACING CARS, by Paul
Hamlyn)
a
#2806 - As Dave Darland recovers from his recent medical
incident, his wife, Brenda, has started taking orders for his "50
years of racing" tee shirt. Check it out on FACEBOOK. Dave himself
has a million races to rerun. Here's the start of one he'd never
forget - his win in the final Silver Crown 100 held at the Cal-Expo
mile in Sacramento. (Dennis Mattish Photo from SACRAMENTO, Dirt
Capital of the World, by Tom Motter)
a
#2805 - Bones Bourcier described the late East Coast
modified magician Gene Bergin as "just loaded with natural ability
and talent." But in Gene's words, "Gain the respect of your
competitors. That's the way to race. Now, we all make mistakes. When
you're driving in close competition, that's going to happen
sometimes. I spun out Fats Caruso at Thompson (Connecticut) once,
and that was a stupid mistake. Fats was one of my closest friends in
racing - I just loved that man - and on this Sunday afternoon he had
the feature won easily. I was running second, and I could have raced
my heart out all day and never caught him. I noticed him backing
off, as if to say 'Come on, Gene, get up here. We'll have some fun
and put on a show.' So I closed in on him, but with a couple of laps
to go, I got too close and I hit him. He spun out and I won the
race. Now Fats was one tough guy, and, when I saw him walking toward
me in the pits later, I thought he was going to wallop me. Instead,
he just looked at me. That was terrible. I wish he had hit me right
between the eyes, or stuck his foot in my butt, or something. I
would have felt better." Photo and quotes from
STEADY EDDIE: Memories of Ed Flemke, Modified Racing's Fastest
Professor, Edited by Bones Bourcier. (John Grady Photo)
A
#2804 - That's Jim McGee pushing Mario Andretti out to
qualify for the 1969 Indy 500. They won. "McGee, the most successful
chief mechanic or team manager in the history of Indy car racing,
commented, 'One of my policies at Indianapolis was: You've got to
think, not react. You want to slow down a little bit. That set the
tone for my whole career, really. Reaction is a bad thing in racing,
and thinking was a good thing.'" Quote and photo from
INDY SPLIT: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing,
by John Oreovicz. (Dave Friedman/LAT Images)
a
#2803 -
New
England's late Ollie "Quick" Silva was fast in anything he drove,
but put him in a rocket ship like John Halloran's #64, and it was
history. (John Halloran Collection)
a
#2802 -
I guess we would have to admit to being
somewhat partial to Ole Blue, the iconic #3 Ole Blue
Modified campaigned since the world was young by the Boehler
Family in East Freetown, MA. This is Matt Swanson waltzing
it to the pole in this year's
Spring Sizzler on April 30. Forty-nine years ago, Dick
Berggren, Bruce Cohen, and I were desperate for funds for
our race cars, so we promoted the first Spring Sizzler at
Stafford Springs, CT. When the checkered flew that
day, on top was an Ole Blue coupe built by the family's
patriarch, Lenny Boehler, and wheeled by Fred DeSarro. Ole
Blue has just kept on humming over the seasons, including
capturing six national championships. And then last year we
got a call from Michael Boehler, Lenny's
son, asking whether it might be time for a book. We went
ahead and produced
THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's
Ole Blue, one of the most enjoyable projects we have
ever done. Wouldn't it just be
something if the boys from East Freetown could add to their
hundreds of victories with a win in the 50th Sizzler...!
(Dick Ayers Photo)
A
#2801 - In his autobiography, the late Smokey Yunick
admitted filling in the land on which he built what he named, "The
Best Damn Garage in Town." After his passing, the land was sold to
become the site of five giant condo buildings. Two condo buildings
was as far as the project got before the still-vacant land for the
other three was put up for sale. When the town built a park on part
of Smokey's former land, they named the road to the park "Smokey's
Way," which was appropriate. He was a genius, an independent man who
dodged the customary in favor of something new that might work
better. Smokey built winning stock cars, Indy cars, experimental
engines for several Detroit car companies and remains an icon on a
pedestal to many. (Photo and Caption by Dick Berggren, North East
Motor Sports Museum)
A
#2800 - As Larry Rice once said, the late "Great GP" [Gary
Patterson, the Californian Outlaw, who died at Calistoga on Memorial
Day weekend in 1983] "just did and said what he wanted and if people
accepted it that was okay, and, if they didn't, that was okay, too."
Here GP was inspecting the aftermath at All American Speedway in
Roseville, CA. His cars had peace signs on them, and when once asked
what that was all about, he answered that it was the number one
with crutches because he was so damn fast that it needed them to
stay upright when he raced. Quote and Photo from EARLY
SUPERMODIFIEDS, Vol. V, by Gerald Hodges. (Patterson Family
Collection)
aa
#2799
- Yikes! "In the world of unusual wheelstanders, Dick
Harding's Back Up-Pick Up was one of the oddest. The 1965 Ford was
powered by an injected 427 FE Ford, which recorded a best of 9.49 at
138 mph. To ease the front, I mean back end, up, the chute pack was
filled with lead." Quote and Photo from Match Race Mayhem by
Doug Boyce. (James Handy Photo)
A
#2798 - On Sunday May 30 the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
will work its way back to the full monty with a 40% capacity for the
105th Indy 500. Wouldn't it have been cool if there were a 25-lap
Roadster Race on Legends Day, on Saturday the 29th. Here the Dean
Van Lines Kuzma-Offy, assigned to Jimmy Bryan, was on its way in on
the back of a very posh transporter in 1956. Photo from
INDY CARS OF THE 1950s, Ludvigsen Library Series.
a
#2797 - Green Bay, WI, runner Scott Hansen recalls,
"After the Shawano races Saturday nights, we'd bring our race car to
this carwash...on the west side. Steve Marler was a local insurance
agent. He had sponsored some race cars and he would take his
Mercedes to get it washed there. His office was right by the
carwash. He saw me one day and said, 'You know, I really don't like
all this dirt and clay when I come trying to wash my car. What's it
going to take to keep you guys out of here?' Before you knew it, my
crew guy Richie Wauters... convinced Steve to buy me an asphalt late
model.... When we got it, [we] drove to Dick Trickle's shop in
Wisconsin Rapids. While Dick and I drank a 12-pack of Pabst, Richie
copies all of Dick's setups and such from the tracks out of Dick's
notebook. Dick was more than willing to share his success with a new
guy like me. That's almost unheard of these days. Dick was a class
act top to bottom when it came to that." Everything seemed to work
out. Soon Hansen grabbed a significant Budweiser sponsorship and by
1989 was really on his way, racing full time and becoming ASA Rookie
of the Year. Quote and Photo from WISCONSIN INTERNATIONAL
RACEWAY: Where the Big Ones Run, by Joe Verdegan. (Peter
Veracauteren Photo)
A
#2796 - Greg Zipadelli was a huge influence on Joey Logano's
meteoric career. Zip orchestrated his first win, which came through
advanced fueling strategy at Loudon (NH) in 2009, when Joey was
barely 19 years old. Here, says photographer Mike Feltenberger, Zip
was calming Joey down after a sub-par qualifying effort at Pocono.
(Mike Feltenberger Photo)
a
#2795 - Mike Waters of Birmingham, AL, recalls, "My uncle
Vic Geisler, raced from the early 1950s to the early 1960s.... From
an early age Uncle Vic could build and drive or pilot anything. He
had a motorcycle in his late teens, but was hit by a car running a
stop sign and suffered a compound fracture of his left knee and leg,
almost resulting in his leg being amputated. Not long after that, he
was piloting his own airplane and dropping a note to a girl in
Blountsville, Alabama, when the plane struck a telephone wire and
cause the plane to crash into the second story of a two story house.
Again the left knee and leg were broken. He walked with a pronounced
limp all his life. He joked that it didn't matter because he used
the right leg for the throttle in his race car." He apparently used
it well. On the first night at Crystal Springs Speedway in B.
Dixon's '34 Hudson adorned with three Strombergs he set a new track
record qualifying and annihilated the field. Then he went to
Clements, Mississippi, for a weekend slate of races. They made him
start 40th in each of the three features, but he won 'em all. Quote
and photo from
SOUTHERN SUPERMODIFIEDS and Other Early Racers, Volume II,
by Gerald Hodges.
J
#2794
- "Bobby Ball was one of Arizona's 3 Bs of Ball, Bryan,
and Bisch. Bobby began his career by racing hot rods, working his
way up to become Arizona's midget king in 1949 and 1950. Bob moved
into Indy cars for the 1951 Indy 500. The skinny, little guy was an
overnight sensation after his 5th place finish. Bob was seriously
injured in a midget crash at Carrell Speedway in Gardena,
California, on January 4, 1953. He remained in a coma for 14 months
before passing away on February 27, 1954. Bob and his pal Jim Bryan
are buried close together in Phoenix."
Quote and Photo from RACERS AT REST: The Checkered Flag
1905-2008, A Celebration of Life and Tribute to Those Who Perished
in Open Wheel, Open Cockpit, Oval Track Racing, by Buzz Rose,
Joe Heisler, Fred Chaparro, and Jeff Sharp. (Fred Chaparro Photo)
a
#2793 - "AJ Foyt manhandles Howard Linne's bucking
midget during the 1975 running of the Hut Hundred, a premier event
on the USAC calendar. Although Foyt's midget racing activities were
rare of late, he returned with a vengeance, setting fast time in
qualifications and running with the leaders until his car gave up.
This was Foyt's final USAC midget race. His remarkable performance
that day is yet another chapter in the book of his storied career."
Quote and Photo from FEARLESS: Dangerous Days in American Open
Wheel Racing, by Gene Crucean. (Vern Plotts Photo)
a
#2792 - The late Eddie West, known as "the Golden Bear,"
was a star for years in New England Super Modified racing. He had
started out with very modest success in a full coupe before sliding
into his first #61 Jr Super. He never seemed to leave and became
known as an especially clever, trouble-free, and winning
wheelman. In 1976, however, he took on a tangent, accepting a ride
in a Modified built by Jack Halloran and crew. It was lightning
fast, most especially the night at New Hampshire's Star Speedway
when the throttle stuck. Eddie escaped with injuries to one foot and
to his right hand. He had been slapping his hand to the right,
trying desperately to reach the kill switch where it was on his
Super. But in the Modified, the switch was on the left. (John
Halloran Collection)
A
#2791 - "Dave Hollamon personified what the
360s were all about in the beginning. He started with an old car and
ran as hard as he knew how, gradually improving his
equipment. He was the self-described 'King of Scrounge' in those
early years. Tony Porto tabbed him for the ride in his Runza Special
in 1993, and Hollamon rewarded him with a track title at I-80
Speedway in 1993. At the end of the season, Dave picked up his
helmet bag and walked away from the sport." Quote and Photo from
NEBRASKA DIRT: A Century of Racing in the Cornhusker State
1901-1999, by Bob Mays. (Joe Orth Photo)
A
#2790 - "People like Gary Patterson were
good to Californian Jimmy Sills when he struggled, so Jimmy has
always tried hard to give back to racing. Using the two-seater from
his driving school, Jimmy took quadriplegic Shawn McDonald for a
ride. They couldn't get a fire suit to fit, and they had to tape
Shawn's helmet and hands in, but then Jimmy did the best thing he
possibly could have for Shawn - he opened that baby up and took him
for a real ride!" Quote and photo from WIN IT OR WEAR IT: All
Time Great Sprint Car Tales, by Joyce Standridge. (Photo Jimmy
Sills Collection)
a
#2789 - "Dale Earnhardt, wife
Teresa, and team owner Bud Moore walk back to the garage after
winning the opening twin 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona
International Speedway. The 1983 Speedweeks events were laced with
controversy for the Kannapolis, NC, throttle stomper. Earnhardt
repeatedly ignored a black flag in the Busch Clash and was involved
in a multicar crash in the final lap. NASCAR officials fined
Earnhardt $10,000, a tariff that later was reduced
significantly. Explaining why he ignored the black flag when NASCAR
officials noted smoke seeping from his car, Earnhardt said, "I don't
give a (expletive). I listen to Bud Moore, not to NASCAR." From
NASCAR: The Complete History, by Greg Fielden.
a
#2788 - "Making himself a name in sprint
car racing, Tanner Thorson is a force, and seen here in a major
power slide at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, IN, during the
annual USAC Speed Weeks. Thorson has become one of the drivers to
beat in recent times." (Quote and Photo from
Paul Oxman 2021 Sprint Racing Calendar, Dave Nearpass Photo)
a
#2787 - Nineteen-sixty-five was a
tumultuous year in racing in the Northeast. Rules were changing,
allegiances threatened, and, in the midst of it all, Bob Bonser
decided to build a race track beside his nudist camp in Lee, NH. To
say that the place was rudimentary on opening day would be an
outrageous understatement. There were no stands, no pavement on the
triangular layout, and no fencing. But there were lots of cars. The
track became stable when owners/promoters Red and Judy MacDonald
came in and over the years transformed the facility into a spiffy,
speedy, a high-banked paved third-mile oval. A couple of seasons
back they sold it to racer Norman Wrenn, who has continued the
improvements with energy, hosting multiple NASCAR divisions on
Friday nights. (John Halloran Photo)
n
#2786 - Along with his friend and collaborator, R.A.
Silvia, quite likely Ric Mariscal has done more to save the legacy
of racing in Southern New England than anyone. Back during his big
hair days (top), Ric was an aspiring racer, fast in both sports cars
and stock cars. Over the years he founded ProNyne Motorsports
Museum, which he runs full-time today. Ric is also very active with
the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame and a Director of the North
East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon, NH. ProNyne's down-homey - and
VERY full - facility is located just off interstate Route 95 in
Pawtucket, RI. Go to its
Facebook page for directions
and hours of operation. (Photo top, ProNyne Museum Collection, Photo
bottom, North East Motor Sports Museum Collection)
a
#2785 - Johnny Roventini, an energetic bellboy from
Brooklyn, NY, and 47 inches high fully grown, by chance emerged as
the living version of Phillip Morris' trademark ad ("Call for Philip
Moe-rrees!") - and what a national impression he made. "Johnny
Phillip Morris" became so popular that then other "Johnny Juniors"
were on the road, on radio and TV, extolling the virtues of tobacco.
And in 1955, one appeared at Seekonk (MA) Speedway. Here seasoned
starter Jimmy Costello jumps in to protect a "Johnny" guest starter
from an anxious field of cutdowns. (Howard White Photo, ProNyne
Motorsports Museum Collection)
A
#2784 - Happy days, but who knows when or where?!?
(Completely unidentified photo from ProNyne Motorsports Museum
Collection)
B
#2783 - That's the way they'd add a few pounds to their
right-rear knobby back in the day, even the great ones like the late
Emmett "Buzz" Barton. A former railroad worker from Oklahoma, Barton
snatched that state's title in 1948 for John Zink before moving on
successfully to AAA and then IMCA until his retirement in 1973. He
was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2001. (Jim
Chini Photo, ProNyne Motorsports Museum Collection)
a
#2782 - That's Eddie Crouse, in 1960 the first-ever Modified
champion at South Boston (VA) Speedway and NASCAR National Modified
champ in 1962 and 1963. Known as "Modified Man," the hard charger,
quick to the point, was once queried about just what a Modified was.
His answer: "It's a Saturday-night brawl in a gutted-out coupe with
a souped-up engine." Quote and Photo from SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY:
The First Fifty Years, by South Boston Speedway Fiftieth
Anniversary Committee, 2007.
n
#2781 - There's a definite resurgence of interest among
racing aficionados these days in the board-track era around the
1920s. Understandably so. It must have been just incredible. This
shot is of the 1 1/8-mile in Kansas City, Missouri. Built over a
mire with over 1,000,000 two-by-fours placed on end, its bankings
reached a dizzying 35 degrees in the turns. On October 21, 1923,
this field - consisting of completely unprotected single-seaters
with wire wheels - lined up for a 250-miler. Tommy Milton, on the
outside pole, had the fastest qualifying lap, a mind-boggling
122.800 mph. Harlan Fengler won it in a Miller, averaging 113.25
mph, and taking home $9,000. That would be $138,714 in today's
dollars. No one died. That day. Photo from
BOARD TRACK: GUTS, GOLD, & GLORY, by Dick Wallen. (Wilbur &
Associates Photo)
a
#2780
- This didn't happen very often, not, at least, to the
late Frankie Schneider, the East Coast's revered Modified "Old
Master." After an inspiring afternoon at Flemington (NJ) Speedway in
1947, he went racing with an Olympian energy and passion for 30
years, weaving his way to a win total believed to be over 750 main
events. (Bob Zeller Photo, Strapped In magazine)
a
#2779 - The normally supercharged
Bugsy Stevens sat pensively in one of Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue
Modifieds at a memorial celebration for Lenny held at Seekonk
Speedway in Massachusetts in 2001. Four decades earlier Stevens and
Boehler, hotter than two-dollar pistols, made the East Coast their
personal playground. On a shoestring budget, but powered by enormous
talent, technical savvy - and beer, they romped up and down Route 95
like a yoyo, capturing three NASCAR National Modified Championships.
Photo from
THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue,
by Lew Boyd. (RA Silvia Collection)
a
#2778 - "Chris Economaki wrote, 'Of course, the best driver
in midget racing history, in my view, was Bill Schindler.'
Schindler's 15 years of elapsed time in midgets should be reduced to
ten to account for war time and out for injury. That considered,
Schindler prevailed in over 300 mains in just ten years, and 15 of
them came at the [Buffalo] Civic Stadium. 'Bronco Bill's'
performances at the Stadium were so outstanding that Frontier fans
came to adore him. One night a group of them got together and
presented him with a dog that Bill accepted gratefully and
immediately named 'Buffalo'. He brought the dog, already devoted,
back to his home in Freeport, Long Island." Quote and Photo from
DAREDEVILS OF THE FRONTIER, by Keith S. Herbst. (Marty
Himes Collection)
N
#2777
- Mike Feltenberger captured this shot at the
start of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono in 2015. Josef Newgarden #67,
Helio Castroneves #3, Scott Dixon #9, and Juan Pablo Montoya #2 were
all busy already chasing leader Will Power. But, by the end of the
day, Ryan Hunter-Reay stood somberly in Victory Lane flanked by
Newgarden in second and Montoya in third. Along the way Justin
Wilson had been killed in a bizarre crash. (Mike Feltenberger
Photo)
n
#2776
- "It was Monday evening when I first met the English
racing driver Peter Collins," American actress Louise King told the
Guardian, "and a week later we were married. I knew he wasn't
indestructible, but he knew how to manage the risks. He was a great
driver: When he won the British Grand Prix in July 1958, they said
he might become the best. He was twenty-six. He died three weeks
later." Quote and Photo from F1 MAVERICKS: The Men and
Machines That Revolutionized Formula 1 Racing, by Peter
Biro and George Levy. (Bernard Cahier/The Cahier Archive Photo)
n
#2775 - Our friend and colleague Joyce Standridge, who
designs and does the layout on Coastal 181 books, recently penned a
down-homey but brilliant book,
FOUR...AND MORE: The Standridge Brothers - Big Wins, Big Wrecks, and
Big Fun. Perhaps more than anything we've seen, it presents
what serious racing has really meant to a serious racing family over
the decades. Joyce's husband, Rick, shown here being introduced to a
crowd while racing in England, recalls (somewhat) one night in a
Sprint Car at St. Francois County Raceway in Illinois. "Tubby
[Wright] kind of stuck his wheel inside, and I jumped his right rear
with my left front. I barrel-rolled all the way down the back
stretch. It landed on its cage and the motor was still running. And
I'm still racing. I'm giving it gas like I'm headed down the track."
At that point, Mike Thurman had jumped out of his race car, run
over, and hit the kill switch in Rick's car. Rick continues, "This
was all told to me because I thought I was still racing. Next thing
you know, I'm going into the corner, I'm completely sure, and
there's Zippo [his crewman] looking right at me, about three feet
from my face...'Zippo, what are you doing in this race car?'" He
said, 'Rick, we are in the ambulance.'"
n
#2774 - Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jarrett congratulate Max
Prestwood, Jr. of Lenoir, NC, who had stunningly just captured the
1990 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series National Championship. Once an
underdog, Prestwood pulled it off by concentrating on two tracks:
Hickory and Hudson, NC, and concentrate he did. He grabbed a
record-breaking 35 wins of his 40 starts. From WHERE STARS ARE
BORN: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing, by Paul
Schaeffer. (NASCAR News Archives Photo)
n
#2773 - "Pipe dreaming. Si Sidebotham, in bare frame,
contemplated the coming season and topping 180mph on 25% nitro....
At the strip [the old airport at Sanford, ME, on April 30, 1961] he
had high hopes, but topped out at only 170mph this time." Quote and
Photo from
COOL CARS SQUARE ROLL BARS: Photos and Recollections of Fifties Hot
Rodding in New England, Edited by Bernie Shuman. (Sidebotham
Collection)
#2771 - "Defending USAC Silver Crown champion Jason Leffler
wiped out his brand new Beast against the Indy Fairgrounds first
turn fence during practice for the '99 Hulman-Hoosier Hundred.
Builder/owner Bob East put together a stout car, so, despite the
solid hit, Leffler emerged with nothing more than a minor wrist
injury following the wild ride." Quote and Photo from Bob Mays's
amazing new book
ROLLING THUNDER: 50 Years of USAC Silver Crown Racing 1971-2020,
by Bob Mays, Richie Murray, Patrick Sullivan, and John Mahoney.
a
#2770 - In his brand-new autobiography, Bill
Lester discusses his radical life change. After graduating from the
prestigious University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor of
Science degree, he joined Hewlett Packard and was on the management
track for 15 years. He then gave it all up to go racing. In his
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career, he had seven top-tens and
three poles. In the Rolex Sports Car Series, he had one win and two
poles. His comment: "While I enjoyed exposing my sons [Alex and
Austin] to racing, my wallet is relieved that neither of them was
bitten by the bug." From
WINNING IN REVERSE - Defying the Odds and Achieving Dreams: The Bill
Lester Story, by Bill Lester.
n
#2769 - Bob Pickell with a Cozze Brothers #300 at Reading, PA,
before Nomex when coupes and coaches were largely uncut - and
seriously aerial. (Strapped In Magazine, Bob Zeller Photo)
a
#2768 - The back of this photo had mention of Rockford
Speedway, so we called Kevin Olson for some further
identification. His take: "This was a USAC race, I would guess in
the '80s. That's Lonnie Caruthers, son of Red Caruthers who actually
had the first VW midget and started the era of almost all VWs for
years. Red was Doug Caruthers' brother, so Lonnie was a cousin to
both Jimmy and Danny Caruthers, both USAC champions. Lonnie won some
USAC races in his career, including the 500-lap USAC race at the
Speedrome. Lonnie died a couple of years ago from cancer, I
believe." (Bradley Poulsen Collection)
a
#2767 - That blue and yellow #181 sportsman, built in
the late 1950s in upstate New York by noted racing brothers Ray and
Ron Hedger, was driven by a popular wheelman named Pepper Eastman.
Before he died at Fonda Speedway in 1965, Pepper allowed us to use
his number and colors on our cars. Ron Hedger recalls that, back
when version one was completed, "We used to flat tow. For the first
race of that car, Pepper and I went to Canandaigua, NY, pulling with
his '57 or '58 Chevy pickup. That was when it was a big fairgrounds
half-mile that was eventually shortened. The car was great until
Pepper and Elmer Musclow, his old rival at Monroe County, got
together in the feature and bent it up. You've lived the rest of the
story. We had to fix it before we could tow home again. Needless to
say, we soon began building a two wheel trailer...." (Photo
and quote from Ron Hedger)
a
#2766 - That was Jerry Blundy in 1963 aboard a rather
remarkable-looking early supermodified at Des Moines. (Bradley
Poulsen Collection)
a
#2765 - William "Speedy Bill" Smith was quite the
character, the founder of Speedway Motors, and owner of an unending
list of very fast race cars. In his autobiography, he recalled "I
didn't drive for very long.... As a driver I was out of control...
Pretty soon I drove my roadster through the fence and knocked the
front end off it. This was a problem, because how was I going to get
the car home, some 100 miles away. It got me to thinking: I'm the
chief cook, bottle-washer, mechanic, driver, sign-painter. I did it
all. Now that I'm tearing it up, guess who got to fix it? I began to
figure on getting somebody else to drive it. 87 drivers later...."
Photo and caption from
FAST COMPANY: Six Decades of Racers, Rascals, and Rods, by
Bill Smith with Dave Argabright.
n
#2764
- "Most people would throw this old boat anchor away, but it
is what many big-name 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s drag racers started
out with.... Trackside, the Chrysler Hemi established itself as a
true performer in 1955...immediately turning the NASCAR racing
community on its ear. The main thing with the Chrysler Hemi was of
course its cylinder heads," added the late professional drag racer
Tom 'Mongoose' McEwen. "Those round combustion chambers with the
intake and exhaust valve on both sides and the spark plug located in
the middle - I mean, the breathing was so good with those
engines. From the very beginning, the Chrysler hemi was pretty much
the king." Quote and photo from
THE AMERICAN SPEED SHOP: Birth and Evolution of Hot Rodding,
by Bob McClurg. (Photo courtesy of Don Prieto and Bob McClurg)
n
#2763 - David Taylor of Edwards, MS, recalls this about
his father's 2T back in the day, driven by Lamar Griffeth. "We won
the race one Saturday night at Laurel and made it back home well
after midnight. As Daddy was backing up the trailer with the race
car on it into the garage, my grandpa came in and asked how we did.
'OK,' said Daddy, 'We won the feature.' Grandpa listened quietly,
then said to Daddy, 'Well you know your Mama leaves to go to church
at eight o'clock, so just be sure you put everything back in her
car, so she won't have any trouble getting there.' Bless God, Daddy,
and the fellas had to pull off those borrowed heads and put them
back before they went to bed. They had a long night." (Grandma's car
was a new Impala with high-performance heads.) Quote and photo from
SOUTHERN SUPERMODIFIEDS and Other Early Racers, by Gerald
Hodges
N
#2762 - The young guy sitting on the tire of his KARS
358 sprinter would go on to quietly make a name for himself in the
open-wheel segment of the racing world. His day job as a firefighter
for the city of Allentown, PA, never got in the way of his racing
ambitions. Sean Michael went on to become a two-time URC champion
(1997, 1999), the national 410 sprint rookie of the year. After
hanging up his helmet due to a crash that left him with a bit of a
hitch in his step, he went back to wrenching and building like he
did way back in his micro and mini (basically a chain-drive midget
with a front-mounted 1200 cc power plant) sprint days. He toured
with the World of Outlaws for a few years, even making the
Australian trip a couple of times. His latest quiet accomplishment
was as the builder/owner of the USAC Silver Crown bullet that Kyle
Larson steered to victory in the Hoosier Hundred (8/24/2020) and the
Bettenhausen 100 at the USAC season-ender. Not too bad! (Quote and
photo by Frank Simek, the Guy with the Hat)
a
#2761 - Shown here at the old Westboro Speedway, hard-driving
and hard-partying Mario "Fats" Caruso of Shrewsbury, MA, was aces in
the cutdown era in the late 1950s. When NASCAR came to town at the
nearby Norwood Arena, Fats hopped into a Modified. He continued his
winning career, but it required a lot of right-rear tires. (Coastal
181 Collection)
N
#2760 - That's congenial Jay Maki hustling his pretty
Super Late Model around Hudson (NH) Speedway. Part of a long-time
racing family and a successful racer in his own right, Jay's been
working intensely on that car for three years. It's fast and it's
different - so much so that NASCAR told him he needed to get his own
insurance. It's electrically powered. Development has not been easy.
The controller has been the weak spot, resulting in overheating and
causing failures. Jay has updated for this season and is more
confident about reliability. Jay says It's been interesting to watch
the reactions of rail birds. There is some negative feedback from
younger fans who carry on that there's no smell of gas, no noise.
But, curiously, the older crowd appreciates it much more, realizing
the thought and effort that it takes to be this innovative. (Jay
Maki Collection)
m
#2759 - "Duane Carter seemed to thrive on trying unusual cars
at IMS. He tested the new four-wheel-drive Ferguson Novi in 1964 and
the same year also practiced in one of the most unusual 500 entries
of all - Smokey Yunick's Offy-powered sidecar. The car featured a
rear-mounted Offenhauser placed behind a fuel tank. The cockpit was
mounted on the inside of the chassis and bore strong resemblance to
a sidecar from a motorcycle.... Rookie driver Bobby Johns crashed
the Yunick 'Sidecar' (or 'Capsule Car') on a qualifying attempt."
From
500 on (The INDY 500), by Rick Shaffer. (First Turn
Productions Photo)
N
#2758
- Though little is known about her, pioneering woman racer
Joan LaCosta must have been a real piece of work. We do know that
she was practicing for a women's speed record at Daytona Beach in
April of 1926 when a fuel line let go at 130 mph. The car literally
exploded. She steered it towards the ocean to douse the flames and
was captured by a photographer on the scene as she abandoned ship.
Just a couple of days later, she was back at it in another ride, set
three records and exceeded 138 mph. She is known to have won match
races against some heavy-duty guys like Louis Disbrow, and one of
her last triumphs was at a women's race in Milwaukee in 1928. The
next year she was arrested for armed robbery, stealing jewelry from
a socialite in Chicago. She is thought to have married in 1931 and
presumably settled down.
Photo from
THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLES: Early Drivers of the Rough Tracks, by
Gerald Hodges.
N
#2757 - "Chicago's Wayne Adams was the voice and the
word of midget racing in the Midwest during the post-war years.
Through his Illustrated Speedway News column, "Midwest
Whispers," Adam was the recorder of deeds for all the racing action
in Chicagoland. He was also the announcer for several regional
tracks. With microphone in hand the natty Adams interviewed Rex Mays
prior to the evening's activities at Soldier Field in 1947. Sitting
quietly in May's midget is driver Joe Garson." Quote and Photo from
FEARLESS: Dangerous Days in American Open Wheel Racing, by
Gene Crucean. (Ed Kirshner Photo)
Z
#-2756 - Young guns Freddie Rahmer #51 and
Christopher Bell - somewhat incandescent at the moment - lined up
last June 13 at Grandview, PA. Like so many nights last summer,
though, no one, whether peach-fuzz or gray-beard, had anything for
the high-flying Kyle Larson. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)
a
#2755
- "Karl and Veda Orr [owners of Karl Orr Speed Shop in Culver
City, California] were hot rodding's first super couple....
When it came to racing the dry lakes, the boys had nothin' on Veda.
She was one fast woman driving various cars, including he and her
husband's 1922 Ford highboy roadster that was clocked at 121.62 mph
at El Mirage Dry Lakes. However, Veda's all-time best was 131 mph at
El Mirage in the Taylor-Blair modified roadster."
Quote and Photo from
THE AMERICAN SPEED SHOP: Birth and Evolution of Hot Rodding,
by Bob McClurg. (Photo Courtesy Greg Sharp Collection)
a
#2754 - Is that pretty or what? Rollie Beale
sunning himself at Tampa, winter of 1967. (Doug Haack Photo, Bradley
Poulsen Collection)
,,,
#2753 - Indy 1980: "He had been a
contender for the pole until a crash prevented a Pole Day qualifying
run, but rookie Tim Richmond definitely left an impression. He
qualified 19th, finished ninth to claim top-rookie honors and then
hitched a ride with race winner Johnny Rutherford after running out
of fuel on his cooling-off lap." Quote and Photo from 500 on (The INDY) 500: Tales, Facts, and
Figures on "The Greatest Race in the World,"
by Rich Shaffer. (First Turn Productions Collection)
A
#2752 - Come
for a minute back in time when gutsy Billy Deskovick motored
onto the Allentown (PA) Fair Speedway in the 1960s. Imagine
a field of cars each one uniquely creative in its
construction, componentry, and appearance. No onerous rules
and regulation, no cookie-cutter bodies, and none of these
garish, look alike wraps! (Bob Zeller Photo, Mike
Feltenberger Collection)
n
#2751 -
Frank "Rebel" Mundy dices with Allen Adkins (#98) in the Kiekhaefer
Dodge. "With Kiekhaefer's '56 Dodge Convertible, I won seven out of
13 races and I was on the pole nine times.... One time I was driving
the convertible at Kansas City, and I blew a tire going into the
first turn and I went off into the woods. It didn't hurt me, but it
hurt the car pretty bad. When I got out, one of the reporters came
up with a mike in his hand and put it up in front of me and says,
'When did you realize you were in trouble?' I thought for a minute
and I said, 'When I felt the wind hittin' the back of my neck.'"
Quote and Photo from FULL JEWELLED: Stock Car Racing 1951-1956,
as told to Russ Hamilton.
A
#2750 - When Talladega opened in the autumn of 1969 with
the Alabama 500, the track was far faster than anticipated. Many
teams worried that neither Goodyear nor Firestone could offer up a
tire that could withstand the punishment. So, before race day a
bunch of the big names left town, and Bill France filled the holes
in the field with lighter and slower Grand American division
cars. Richard Brickhouse elected to stay and ended up running his
Grand National machine right into racing history. He's shown here on
a pit stop on his way to his one-and-only career victory in NASCAR.
From STOCK CAR RACING: The High-Speed History of America's
Premier Motorsport, by Don Hunter and Al Pearce.
h
#2749 - "Irish" Jimmy McCune and Bob Pratt battle
cageless on the unforgiving high banks of Winchester back in 1964.
Quite understandably, both carry a look of intense concentration....
(Amin Krueger Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)
A
#2748
- Heavy-duty talent. Gary Balough (#112) and Joe Ruttman dice
at an ASA race in Atlanta in the mid-'80s. (Bradley Poulsen
Collection)
a
#-2747 - Brockton, MA, native Steve Chassey, shown here
dancing around Terre Haute in 1980, came back from Vietnam ready to
go racing. In Robin Miller's words on Racer.com, "Following two
years in the infantry on the front lines, Chas was discharged with
honors and headed for Ascot Park to start running his dad's
sprinter. He got a reputation for being brave, but always laughed
when comparing racing to staying alive in the jungle. 'Race cars
can't shoot at you,' he'd always say. And for the better part of the
next 20 years, he was able to make a living behind the wheel as he
went from a winner in USAC to a three-time starter in the Indy 500."
(Bradley Poulsen Collection)
A
#2746 - This was one racy, end-of-the season
open-competition event at Fresno's old Kearney Bowl. The
quarter-mile track, known as the Italian Amusement Park before the
War, seated 18,000 and was finally torn down in 1970. In the lead
was Art Pollard, down from Washington, who had already broken the
track record at San Jose in his early Super. A gentleman and active
in mental-health charities, Pollard was always extremely fast. He
died at Indy in 1973. In the #3 coach was California's no-nonsense
Al Pombo, and it was possibly Hall of Famer Frank Secrist in the
#2N. Thanks to Ken Clapp and Dennis Mattish for the info. (Bradley
Poulsen Collection)
A
#2745 - That's the late Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon in
one of his legion Midwestern Sprint Car wins in the spiffy
#B-4. Cannon was first a terror in Supermodifieds, before advancing
to Sprinters and eventually on to championship racing and
Indy. During the week, he was a barber in Danville, Illinois. Bubby
Jones, whom Cannon mentored as both a barber and a racer, labeled
the place "a tough old river bottom town." (Bubby quote from Dave
Argabright, Photo Bradley Poulsen Collection)
a
#2744 - Our friend Mike Bontreger in Bristol,
Indiana, sent us this caption and photo. "There was a series of
early Supermodified cars built by George Wood (Woody) in the late
'60s and early '70s. This chassis was built under his supervision
before his death and never completed. It has been my labor of love
to finish it. I will be running it with a local group called
Michiana Vintage Racers. These cars ran mostly at South Bend,
Plymouth, and New Paris, Indiana. These were all quarter
miles. Sitting in the car is Eldon Byler, who won 27 Features in a
similar car driving for Woody in 1967. Previous to Byler Dick Good
won many races driving for Woody, including the Little 500 in 1964
and also a 50- lapper at the Sportsdrome in Jeffersonville,
Indiana."
A
#2743 - Here were two of the country's finest
dirt wheelmen, Buck Simmons (#41) and Jeff Purvis, during those wild
outlaw wedge car days of the mid-1980s. They dueled on the high
banks of Tennessee's old Atomic Speedway, once known as the world's
fastest 1/3-mile. The speed on the scoreboard reads 110.34 mph.
Photo from
BUCK SIMMONS: The Living Legend, by Gary L. Parker. (Gene
Lefler Collection)
A
#2742 - "Born during the Great Depression, Herbert 'Tootle'
Estes built a reputation as one of the Southeast's most prolific
winners...Yes, Tootle was known to haul a little moonshine, but what
he mostly hauled was ass...and some accounts claim he had 1,500
victories...One season Estes reportedly won 85 of 104 features while
competing four to seven nights a week...One season he won the same
trophy 17 weeks straight at Greenwood Speedway in South Carolina and
then sold it back to the promoter after each race." Quote and Photo
from THE THRILL OF THE MOUNTAINS:A History of East
Tennessee Auto Racing, by David McGee. (Melvin Corum Collection)
a
#2741 - Shane Carson says, "Tulsa Speedway was a BIG track
across the parking lot from the River Spirit expo building on the
Tulsa Fairgrounds, where the Golden Driller stands and the Chili
Bowl is now run. It was a 5/8-mile state-of-the-art dirt facility
that lasted from 1973 until the late '80s, when the city pushed the
racers out north of town to a 3/8 dirt oval that seated about 4000
people. The Hahn and Edwards families told me that much of the dirt
brought indoors for the Chili Bowl's track came off of that 5/8 and
has been used since each January since 1987. This 1974 picture was
shot by Tim Malone, the official Speedway track photographer at the
time, and it captures the action down Tulsa Speedway's front
straight, with Jerry Holm #08 and me in the #10 Modified in 1974.
About this time the Tulsa Speedway was averaging about 10,000 people
every Saturday night for a weekly program of Modifieds with
six-cylinder engines and the Supermodifieds that ran the V-8s. The
cars themselves were basically the same, and there were about 100
cars per night with just the two divisions. (Photos Shane Carson
Collection)
A
#2740 - One of our very favorite photos among all of the
great images in Rick Shaffer's new book,
500 on (the INDY) 500, is this one of Simon Pagenaud and his
dog, Norman, both howling for joy after his 2019 win. (Dan R. Boyd
Photo)
A
#2739 - In 2004 Art Evans put together a very cool "annotated
scrapbook" on the racing life of the late Ken Miles. Miles was an
extraordinary racer, as shown in the recent film
Ford vs Ferrari. Evans wrote this caption for a photo of the
Examiner Grand Prix held on March 8, 1959 in Southern California.
"The event was sanctioned by the FIA and USAC. A host of heavy iron
and quick pilots entered such as Jerry Unser in Mickey Thompson's
Kurtis-Pontiac, Dan Gurney in Frank Arciero's 4.9 Ferrari, Carroll
Shelby in John Edgar's 5.7 Maserati, Max Balchoswky in Ole Yeller
(#70), Chuck Daigh in Bill Murphy's Kurtis, George Amick in Chuck
Porter's Chevy-powered Mercedes Special, and Jim Jeffords in his
Scarab. Others included Jim Rathman. Lloyd Ruby, Tony Bettenhausen,
Roy Salavdori, Maurice Trintignant, and Count von Trips.
Nevertheless, lap after lap, various favorites dropped out, and at
the end, Ken Miles (#50) crossed the finish line 35 seconds ahead of
Sam Weis in another Porsche Spyder (#55). From
KEN MILES, by Art Evans. (Peter Miles Collection)
A
#2738 - On February 6, 2021, a large crowd gathered to
witness the 10th running of vintage race cars on the same ground
where the top race car drivers of the day competed for prize money
from 1902-1958. The beach/road events moved to Bill France's new
Daytona Speedway in 1959. Beach/road races were promoted by France
Sr., who built those promotions into NASCAR and its Daytona 500.
This year's re-enactment went two miles south from the North Turn
Restaurant on route A-1-A, then turned left across the beach to
low-tide's hard sand where the cars went north for two miles,
following the same course on which racing took place more than 70
years ago. A six-plane fly-over preceded the parade start. This
year's gathering had been in doubt as some locals didn't like cars
on the beach but persistent efforts from the owners of the North
Turn Restaurant, local politicians and the public ensured that the
event continued. Most notable among the entries was NASCAR CEO, Jim
France who drove a Nash his father, Big Bill France, drove in the
Mexican Road Race, which took place over public highways and dirt
roads. Over 50 cars participated in this year's Daytona beach/road
re-enactment. (Photo and caption by Dick Berggren, North East Motor
Sports Museum)
a
#2737 - Last week we ran a Photo of the Day (#2733)
about a radical Supermodified built in 1982 by the late Jim Shampine
and mechanical master Clyde Booth. "The Pine" went on to hustle it
to his final feature win. When Dick Berggren saw our posting, he
sent along the attached photo. The car had ended up abandoned in the
woods in Brentwood, NH, and was about to be scrapped when Scotty
Martel heard about it. Scotty, himself a winner of the Jim Shampine
Classic at Oswego and his dad, Jim, a former Hall of Fame racer and
a Director of the North East Motor Sports Museum, saved it and have
been restoring it in their Ipswich, MA, garage as a Covid project.
To see more photos of the iconic machine, take a peek at their
Facebook page,
Martel Motorsports Restorations. (Photo by Dick Berggren, North
East Motor Sports Museum Collection)
#2735 - The Modifieds in racy formation at Shasta Speedway.
It's a 0.375 semi-banked paved oval at the Shasta District
Fairgrounds in Anderson, CA, operational since 1947. From
A GUIDE TO NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA RACEWAYS,
Photography and Text by Saroyan Humphrey.
a
#2734
- John Andretti, who died just a year ago of colon
cancer, was known as both a talented and versatile racer and a
family man with an unending desire to help others, especially
children who were ill. He also had a twinkle in the eye, even in
difficult circumstances. Here's what he told Jade Gurss about this
incident: "'Dad, go stand in front of the guy who hit me!' Me lying
on the ground after a huge crash with Larry Martin at Eldora
Speedway. I suffered bad vertigo for a few weeks after this one."
From
JOHN ANDRETTI: RACER, As Told to Jade Gurss. (Andretti
Family Archives photo)
N
#2733 - In 1982 Jim Shampine returned
from a successful interlude with Sprint Cars and returned to Supers
and Oswego. He was in a car he built with ex-New Englander Clyde
Booth, and it was considered, visually anyway, the raciest car of
Shampine's career. It seemed full of bugs that year, but it did
deliver up The Pine's final win - on August 14. From
THE PINE: The Authorized Biography of Jim Shampine,
by Andy Fusco.
A
#2732 - The unstoppable Craig
Breedlove poses in the laminate cockpit of his Sonic Arrow
in the early 1990s with fabricators Tina and Tom Threfethen.
Breedlove was the first to go 500 mph, then 600, then 675 when he
crashed. "Even today at age 80 he's still going strong, with plans
for yet another Spirit of America
racer. The ultimate goal: 1,000 mph." From
ULTIMATE SPEED: The Fast Life and Extreme Cars of Racing Legend
Craig Breedlove, by Samuel Hawley.
(Tina Trefethen Collection)
l
#2731 - Sure is cold here in New England...
(North East Motor Sports Museum Collection)
"January's always
bitter, But, Lord, this one beats all- The Winds ain't quit
for weeks now, And the drifts are ten feel tall. I been all
night drivin' heifers Closer to lower ground. Then I spent the
mornin' thinkin' Of the ones the wolves pulled down."
Garth Brooks.
a
#2730 - What a life John Lee Paul Jr led.
His early days particularly were dominated by his devotion to his
father, John Sr., a high-profile racer, a drug smuggler, and a
longtime fugitive from justice. John Jr. took a liking to racing,
and Sr. sent him to Skip Barber's School at Lime Rock, CT, in 1979.
He was deemed hopeless by both the school and his dad. But he kept
at it relentlessly, climbing into whatever he could. Amazingly,
among his many accomplishments were the 24 Hours of Daytona (twice),
the 12 Hours of Sebring, and CART's Michigan 500. Known as lively
and friendly, in 1981 Bobby Unser referred to him as "one of the
finest young drivers I've ever seen race anywhere." But his father
caused him two run-ins with the law. At age 15 he was given three
years probation for participating in a marijuana deal that was
busted, and in 1986 he was sentenced again, this time to five years
in prison, extended because of his refusal to testify against his
dad. When he returned to racing, he continued to find success in
both sports cars and IRL. However, while studying telemetry while
testing a Corvette GT-1, he noticed that his feet were not in full
coordination with his mind. A subsequent medical evaluation pointed
to Huntington's, a progressive, hereditary neurological disease. He
died quietly in Woodlawn Hills, CA, on December 20, 2020 at age 40.
Photo from
50/50 The Story of Champion Race Car Driver John Paul Jr and His
Battle with Huntington's Disease by Sylvia Wilkinson.
a
#2729 - Michigan's Earl "Zook" Harton sure was lucky
to survive this flip over the wall at Sharon, Ohio, in the early
spring of 1942. How could he possibly have missed being taken out by
those horrid upright posts along the guard rail? But CSRA Big Car
racing was definitely not for the faint of heart. On May 17, not
even summer, Harton was engaged in a sensational duel with
Californian Woody Woodford at Dayton when the two collided. Woodford
died from the impact on the track, while Harton died as his car
hurtled high in the air, right out of the speedway. Photo from
THE RIM RIDERS: CSRA, The World's Fastest Racing Circuit, by
Buzz Rose. (Bert Emick Collection)
A
#2728 - "Kenny
is a silver coin in a pile of coal, with a face full of expressions
as easily read as the morning paper." Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Quote and
photo from
INSIDE HERMAN'S WORLD: The Kenny Wallace Story, by Kenny
Wallace with Joyce Standridge)
a
#2727 - Connecticut's New London Waterford
Speedbowl opened in 1951 to capacity crowds that saw huge fields of
cut-downs and full coupes. Count well over two dozen cars in this
Shany Lorenzet shot, some of them three-wide as they came down for
the green. Two dirt track races in April 1951 preceded paving later
that same year. The track has recently gone through major
renovations including all new seating to welcome fans back this
year. The one-third-mile-around oval has a modest bank but immodest
bare-knuckle competition. More photos like this one showing New
England racing history can be seen at the North East Motor Sports
Museum. (Photo and caption by Dick Berggren, North East Motor Sports
Museum.)
a
#2726 - "JR Hildebrand leapt into the
national sporting conscience on the afternoon of May 29, 2011, when
as a rookie he seized the lead of the Indy 500 with two laps to go
and then crashed in the fourth turn on the final lap. Hildebrand
kept his foot on the throttle and drove his wrecked car along the
wall, skating across the finish line to take second place as Dan
Wheldon shot past barely 200 yards from the checkered flag. It was
one of the most memorable finishes in the Indy 500's hundred-year
history." Quote and photo from
SECOND TO ONE: All But For Indy, by Joe Freeman and Gordon
Kirby. (IMS Photo Archive)
a
#2725 - For five nights at the
1980 World Series at New Smyrna, Gary Balough and Dick Trickle went
at it big time - and remarkably, Balough won each night. Then,
on the sixth, they dueled again, but this time they touched. Gary
recalls, "Trickle's car spun and backed into the wall. Mine turned
right hard, shot straight up the banking and hit the wall
unbelievably hard with the right front corner." A lot was broken,
including vertebrae in Gary's neck. He was sidelined for months.
From
HOT SHOE - A Checkered Past: My Story, by Gary Balough with
Bones Bourcier. (Balough Family Collection)
a
#2724 - The first and possibly only
Gremlin Funny Car was built in 1972 and belonged to Lou Azar. Lou,
who hailed from Hialeah, Florida, called upon Riviera Plastics to
mold the unique shell. Funny Gremlin featured a Foy Filmore
120-inch wheelbase chassis and a blown 430 inch Hemi. Clockings in
the high 6s were not too far off the pace when everyone was hitting
6.70s. In 1973 Azar sold the car to Donnie Plunkett, who put in a
Keith Black hemi.... "The Gremlin hit its stride at 6.50 at 220
mph." From 1001 DRAG RACING FACTS: The Golden Age of Top Fuel,
Funny Cars, Door Slammers, and More, by Doug Boyce. (Photo
courtesy Roger Phillips)
A
#2723 -
As mentioned
in yesterday's Photo of the Day, Rex Mays was really into the
Midgets. Not so, his wife Dorothy. She feared that he was too tall
to be safe in them. Judging from this pre-War shot from California's
Gilmore Stadium, she may well have had a point. Photo from
POLE POSITION: Rex Mays, by Bob Shilling. (Mays Family
Collection)
A
#2722 - The dashing and popular Rex Mays,
who raced from 1931 to 1949 when he perished in a ghastly Big Car
crash at Del Mar, California. He raced cars of every description,
amassing incredible wins, though that sip of milk at the Brickyard
always evaded him. He always was partial to the Midgets and is shown
here examining the torsion bar suspension of Frank Kurtis'
innovative new machine in 1946. Photo from
POLE POSITION: Rex Mays, by Bob Shilling. (Mays Family
Collection)
a
#2721 - This
photo was taken in 1971 the night Penn National Speedway
opened in Pennsylvania. The winning driver, Jim Keppley,
stands next to the track's builder
and its first promoter, Lindy Vicari. The half-mile track
was built to mirror Vicari's
ultra-successful Reading Fairgrounds, with its flat turns.
Following Vicari, the track was operated by Jack Gunn, Toby
Tobias, Debbie Tobias Lotier, John Wertz and even the owners
who also owned the Penn National horse track. Despite the
success of dirt-track racing elsewhere in Pennsylvania, Penn
National after 25 years of stock car and sprint car racing,
closed for good in 1996. (Photo by Dick Berggren, North East
Motor Sports Museum)
4
#2720 -
On the Ides of March in 1953, Williard "Mickey" McCormick of
Hutchinson, KS, reigning champ of the Midwest Racing Association,
decided to go on a little toot: the 3000 mile round trip to Clovis
(CA) Speedway for the Big Car races. There he met with a decidedly
dapper-looking Jerry Piper, a top-notch Midget wheelman and the
track promoter for a very cool, old time publicity photo. (Bradley
Poulsen Collection)
a
#2719 - That was Richard "Red" Amick on board the spiffy
Abbott Chevy, which he wheeled to IMCA wins from 1958 to 1965. He
also ran with the USAC Sprints. Like many racers of the day, he had
moved to the Midwest from Southern California to be closer to
Indy. He worked as a truck stop manager, a
restaurateur, and a machinist in Muncie, Indiana. His best finish
at Indy was an 11th in 1960. (Doug Haack Photo, Bradley Poulsen
Collection)
a
#2718 - "With its own tubular steel side members joined
by perforated webs, the [1950s-era] Kurtis Kraft 2000 chassis was
suitable for both dirt tracks and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It was sprung by torsion bars." Quote and Photo from
INDY CARS OF THE 1950s, by Karl Ludvigsen.
A
#2717 - In January 1994 Dave Blaney escaped for a week
from the NASCAR superspeedways for a little bit of air time around
Tulsa. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)
A
#2716
- Ford pit, Le Mans 1967: "The Kar-Kraft designed
'bundle of snakes' headers, coupled with the low-revving big V-8,
gave the Mark cars a distinctive roar. The high-winding European
cars, especially the Ferraris, produced a high-pitched wail. The
thunder of the big block Fords went deep into your belly and made
your guts vibrate.... Two pipes from each side crossed the engine to
meet the other side's collector. This created a broad power range,
especially between 4,500-5,000 rpms, the range in which the
engineers instructed the drivers to work." From
KAR-KRAFT: Race Cars, Prototypes, and Muscle Cars of Ford's
Specialty Vehicle Program, by Charles Henry.
A
#2715 - Something along pit road captured the attention of
ultra-wheelmen Dale Blaney and Jac Haudenschild. Jac was about to
climb in for just a little drive - the 1994 World of Outlaws feature
on the Syracuse mile. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)
A
#2714
- East Coast Modified Promoter Brett Deyo, as told to
Chad Culver: "My first was 2006 at Afton (NY) Speedway. That was the
first Short Track Super Nationals. My crazy idea was that I was
going to have a race on the same day as Super Dirt Week, and
everyone thought I was insane. My thought was that there were so
many race teams who could not afford to go to Super Dirt Week, and
at that time, it really just took some special equipment to run the
big mile at Syracuse. A lot of people could just not afford to make
that race. So, I really wanted to create a true workingman's race,
and we ended up registering 56 Modifieds and 220 total cars. That
race was a huge success, and I really did not have the money to do
it. I only had $220 in my checking account. It was a huge gamble,
and it had to work, or we were in trouble. The weather cooperated,
we had two nice days of racing, and we made money, and that is what
got us started. Then I started doing some promotions at different
tracks, like Five Mile Point and Penn-Can. In 2013 I decided I was
going to do promoting full time. In 2014 we put the Short Track
Super Series together, because I had so many tracks wanting to do
something, so it made sense to put all of it together with a point
fund. It just grew and grew. One race turned into five, five into
ten, and that was also the year we had our first race at Georgetown
(DE) Speedway." Quote and Photo from
LEGENDS OF DELAWARE AUTO RACING, by Chad Wayne Culver.
(Photo courtesy of Rick Sweeten)
A
#2713
- "Larry Dickson in the Carl Gehlhausen rear-engine sprint car
at Winchester on April 4, 1973. This car was the Huffaker-built MG
Liquid Suspension car that Bobby Unser finished eighth
with at Indy in 1966." Quote and Photo from
SEVENTIES CHAMPIONSHIP REVOLUTION: American Racing Championships,
by Dick Wallen. (Wallen/Torres Photo)
a
#2712 - How about that Mickey Thompson?!? "More than
twenty years before NASCAR started talking about 'soft walls,'
Thompson invented and patented the Hydro Barricade. His water-filled
injection-molded barriers were developed for racetracks and
highways." Quote and Photo from
MICKEY THOMPSON: The Lost Story of the Original Speed King in His
Own Words, with Tom Madigan. (Don Gillespie Photo)
a
#2711 - Winchester 1985: You
might have felt racy with your pavement Late Model in the 1980s,
but, when these boys came to town, best to have left it on the
trailer. L-R, Butch Miller, Bob Senneker, Mike Eddy, Dick
Trickle, Jim Sauter, and Alan Kulwicki.
From
LET'S GO RACING: The Amazing Story of the American Speed Association,
by Rex Robbins with Dave Argabright.
a
#2710 - Traffic was heavy at the IROC
show at Richmond in 2004. All said and done, Matt Kenseth, who went
on to be the seasonal champion, was winner followed by Ryan
Newman. IROC was an entertaining series, pitting champions of
various disciplines against one another. It was conceived of by Les
Richter, Mike Phelps, and Roger Penske and ran from 1974 to 2007. No
sponsor could be found to support the events in recessionary 2007,
and the next year the organization auctioned off all its equipment
and memorabilia. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)
N
#2709 -
Roller ball! The URC parade lap at the late Syracuse Mile on October
6, 2001. From AMERICA'S OLDEST: The History of the United Racing
Club, Vol 2, by Buzz Rose and Jim Chini. (URC Collection)
A
#2708 - The #52 crew was lookin' crisp and clean for the
Modified races in St. Paul, MN, in 1966. Their coach was
spit-shined, too. But what do you make of those ride heights? Was
there a jack under the rear, or were they trying to make some kind
of early aero statement? (Bradley Poulsen Collection)
a
#2707 - Racing historian Larry Jendras Jr. sent along this
interesting commentary: "Your recent trend of cutdown photos was
true in Central Pennsylvania also. But #50 Bud Folkenroth's car
owners took the engine a step further than fuel injection. They
added a Blower to their Bug and turned Bud loose at Lincoln,
Williams Grove and Susquehanna Speedways. Photo shows Bud with a win
at Lincoln Speedway in 1963. It had an incredible sound on the
straightaways." (King's Racing Photos)
A
#2706 - The early aero appliances may appear a little funky,
but back in 1973 Jan Opperman terrified railbirds far and wide
across the nation with this industrial Bogar Special. (Bradley
Poulsen Collection)
A
#2705
- Le Mans 1967. "A technician checks the headlight alignment
on the Ronnie Buckman/Paul Hawkins Mark IIB in the Ford garage. The
standard practice was to aim the headlights outward toward the trees
that lined the circuit." Good idea!
From
FORD GT: How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari, and
Conquered Le Mans, by Preston Learner. (David Friedman
Photo)
A
#2704 - As in the rest of the country, the 1963 racing
season in Des Moines, Iowa, was one of transition. Fuel injection
was overtaking carburetion, dirt-track Cutdowns were becoming Sprint
Cars, pavement Cutdowns were soon SupermodIfeds, and drivers could
strut about in Nomex. (Bradley Poulsen Collection)
-
#2703 - "Sam Posey
trails David Hobbs in Lime Rock Connecticut's 1971 Formula 5000
race....During those years Posey enjoyed a great rivalry with Hobbs
which continued into their second careers as television
commentators." Photo and Quote from LIME ROCK PARK: Six Decades
of Speed, Beauty, and Tradition, Edited by Gordon Kirby. (Photo
Courtesy Barry Tenin)
A
#2702 - The Northeastern cutdowns around the turn of the
1960s were totally cool - both innovative and thrilling. Here two
very memorable runners, Bobby Sprague (#6) and Fred Luchesi, duel at
Seekonk, MA. It is hard to imagine how different short-track racing
would have been in this part of the country had the division not
been essentially swept under the carpet by the onslaught of the
NASCAR Sportsman/Modified full coupes. (Coastal 181 Collection)
aa
#2701 - 1971 Parnelli Jones Colt, "Johnny Lightning
Special": Length, 155.5"; wheelbase, 98.0"; engine, Ford DOHC V8;
horsepower, - 800 @ 9800 rpm; transmission, 4-speed Hewland LG500;
construction, aluminum alloy monocoque; driver, Al Unser Sr. and
winner 1971 Indy 500 and 5 national championship USAC events. From
THE CARS OF VEL MILETICH AND PARNELLI JONES, by Jimmy
Dilamarter and Ren Wicks, Jr. (Dean Kirkland Photo)
