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3/8/13
DAVID'S DESTINY
That #22 isn’t all that different from hundreds of other
center-steer modifieds being busily prepped right now for the 2013
season on New York State’s dirt tracks. Though it might not have all
the trick-city bells and whistles or a $35,000 motor, the 22 is
beautiful – carefully, even lovingly, assembled.
What makes
this particular Bicknell stand out from all others is its brand.
That brand – the flaming 22 – reaches back nearly 60 years in the
Mohawk River Valley. Back to the 1950s, back to the birth of rock
and roll, back to the emergence of its legendary first
wheel-twister, Pete Corey.
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| Pete Corey in an
epic score with the Bob Whitbeck #22 out of
Canajoharie in 1957. (R.S. Berg Photo, Ramona Feuz
Collection) |
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Fifty years ago, on opening night 1964, the brand was
oh-so-tentatively assumed by a lanky 16-year-old rookie from
Canajoharie named David Lape. Green as the river bank in May, he
hero-worshipped Corey and Bill Wimble and Steve Danish. He was
determined to make a go of it on Fonda’s dusty warpath. And so he
did.
It seems beyond imagination that the same Dave Lape will
be in that red car, yet again chugging onto the half-mile oval for
warm-ups for the Fonda opener next month. Consider just what that
means. Beyond all the other tracks he frequented during the week and
on Fridays and Sundays, Dave Lape has spent the last 1,000 Saturday
nights doing battle on one of the most spirited bull rings in the
country.
No question David has made his mark. Over the
decades, he himself became the brand and the legacy. With 99 wins at
Fonda, he stands behind only Jack Johnson and his ol’ buddy from
Utica, Lou Lazzaro. He has seven championships at the Montgomery
County oval alone, countless top-five finishes, all spiced with
frequent Most Popular Driver awards. At one point, overwhelmed by
groupies, David chirped, “You know, the real purpose of the catch
fence is to keep the fans away from the drivers.”
Especially
remarkable is that in the vast percentage of his races over five
decades – whether at Fonda or afar – David was his own crew chief,
aboard his own car, often on top of a chassis he designed and welded
up himself. He has had considerable support from sponsors/owners
over the years – the Knapfel Brothers, the Grims, Dick Putman, Fred
Burrows Andy Romano, the Palmers, and Pat Riley – and he treated
them equally respectfully. His relationship with Fred Burrows lasted
17 years.
David persevered with calm and competence. Though a
professional race car driver, his budget often seemed to be about
$50 a week, while some of his competitors appeared to be spending
big on musical cars. In the winter of 1970, David built the car that
really brought him to prominence. He rode it for six years, first
with Camaro and then Caddy coupe tin. He estimates it galloped along
for over 400 shows before collapsing.
It’s so interesting to
talk with David these days. A definite wild streak from his youth
has worn smooth, and he no longer travels hither and yon. Instead he
has concentrated on Fonda, and he and wife Jackie and daughter
Jessica have settled into a spectacular home he built himself
overlooking the Valley. Over the years he has become increasingly
interested in racing history, as if to validate the Herculean effort
he has made for so long in the sport we all love.
At age 66
it takes David quite a while to climb into the tiny and scarily
inaccessible cockpit of a dirt modified. He injured his back badly
at Fonda, once hitting a rut viciously in the Burrows car and once
flipping endo after breaking a spindle a couple of years back. He no
longer blasts flat out into turn one, the left front of the Caddy
coupe solidly up in the infield as if to give him more rear bite.
Nor does he run so much up in the popcorn groove by the Cow Palace,
where he flung the Romano Bicknell on his way to Victory Lane. But,
when the track is good, the kid from Canajoharie is still truckin’
the brand. The form is still there.
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| David tempts the
cushion off turn four. (Otto Graham Photo) |
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The new red car and this ’13 season will both be David’s last. Tribute
events will be held to honor him at Albany-Saratoga, Utica-Rome, and
Fonda.
Thousands of fans are wondering if David might somehow
pull out win #100 at Fonda. If he ever could, those old covered
wooden grandstands would be rocked and rolled like never before.
David, though, seems curiously uninvested in that thought. He seems
to be quietly appreciative of what he has been able to accomplish
throughout his career. “Sure, win 100 would be cool, but what means
more to me is the 50 years. Honestly, I don’t believe anyone could
ever beat that.”
David, I think you can take it to the bank.
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| (Lape Family
Collection) |
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© 2013 Lew Boyd - Coastal 181
If you were interested in this
Tearoff, you might enjoy the book below:
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