#3189  -  "The closet finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500! I beat Scott Goodyear to the yard of bricks by 0.043 seconds. The last six laps were pure, all-out racing. I had no time to think about winning the 500 until I crossed the line. Then my brain went wild." Photo and Caption from AL UNSER JR: A Checkered Past, as told to Jade Gurss. (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Photo)

#3186  -  During the 1970s the Frantic Ford became one of the East's most feared Funny Cars. It was driven by Ron Rivero, Sarge Arciero, and Roy Harris.  It was subsequently purchased by Dodger Glenn in 1977, who ran it until July of the next year when he died after an on-track incident. (Michael Pottie Photo from QUARTER-MILE MUSTANGS: The History of Ford’s Pony Car at the Drag Strip 1964 -1978, by Doug Boyce).

#3185  -  Racin' and pacin.' Brian Gerster (#27), Brady Bacon (69), and Kody Swanson (#44) go at it at this year's Little 500 at Anderson, Indiana while saving fuel and tires between the two mandated pit stops. When the checkered finally flew, Tyler Roahrig had the most left. (Brent Smith Photo, Paul Oxman Sprint Car Racing 2023 Calendar)

#3182  -  He won what? It was some kind of go-kart race that Herb Rupp won in 1954. He sure was one happy dude. The event was put on by sportsman/promoter Sherman "Red" Crise on a third-mile road course set up on and inside Dorney Park in Pennsylvania. Billed as a National Championship, karts pulled in from across the country. Rupp's take was a princely $500 ($5,017 in today’s dollars) and a trip to the Bahamas. (Photo: Foreign Car Illustrated and Auto Sport magazine, January 1960)

#3179  -  That's upstate New York's esteemed dirt-thrower, Wes Moody, known for his lightning-quick, 100mph lap at the New York State Fairgrounds, which then renamed the place "the Moody Mile." Wes was also quick on the pavement, though. A romp over to New England in early April of 1972 brought a win in the second heat of the original Spring Sizzler at Stafford Speedway. That earned him an outside-pole starting spot in the feature. That was a good thing, because 128 cars of every shape and description had entered the event. (Ink Inc. Collection)

#3175  -  This has to be the definition of a back-in-the day racing story:

Back in 1958, Ken Clapp (right), age 19 and just out of high school, was given the responsibility of checking over Harold McClure's Ford for the upcoming, grueling Riverside 500 on that twisting raceway. He was also charged with flat-towing the car the 400-plus miles down to Southern California. Everyone else was to fly on in race day for the big event. But Ken really worried about what to do when it was time to qualify and driver Bob Keefe had not showed up. Ken ran up and down the pits looking for someone competent who could take the car out for a lap, but no one was available. At the last second, Ken grabbed Keefe's helmet and googles and went on out himself.

Ken recalls, "That was easily the most nerve-wracking thing I had ever done.... On top of that I didn't even have a NASCAR license. But I knew I had to do it. I remember that by the time I got to turn eight - the second to the last corner, I was almost comfortable. Turn eight fed me into the long backstretch, and I was wide open for a good portion of it. No, I didn’t go into tricky turn nine like the big boys did, but I went fast enough to thrill myself. There was something like 56 cars from all over the country competing for 46 spots, and I timed 41st.

Come Sunday, everyone arrived, including our driver." Turns out he had been in a barroom brawl and had been drunk, had a gun, and fought a cop. They let him out finally at 6:00 am on race day. "We never touched the car in the race in terms of adjustments. Every time Keefe pitted for gas, we'd add a quart of oil. We only changed one tire in the 500 miles.... Keefe finished fifth. Sure, we were nine laps down, but that kind of gap was not unusual then."

Quote and Photo from SEA TO SHINING SEA: Racing from the Wild West to Daytona, by Ken Clapp with Bones Bourcier. (Clapp Family Photo)

#3174  -  The late Marvin Rifchin was certainly huge in oval-track racing, but he also delivered his adhesive tires to the drags as well. Consider this quote from COOL CARS SQUARE ROOL BARS by Bernie Shuman:  "In the late fifties, Marvin Rifchin received a call from a friend who was a mechanic on a NASCAR modified team. He wanted Rifchin to come right down from his race tire business in Watertown, Massachusetts, to see a drag race in Chester, SC.

"What the hell is a drag race?" Rifchin asked.

"I’ll make some tires and come down," he said after he got a crash course in the basics. He put a half dozen retreads in the back of his pickup – all racing tires were recaps then – and headed South. "Garlits, Setto Postoian, and Bob Sullivan were running," he recounts. "Setto blew a tire and asked, "You got tires?" He put a pair on and ran 160, ten miles an hour faster than he turned before.

"Then Garlits came over. "Give me a pair." He went a little faster than Postoian. Then Sullivan. I had three happy campers. The first tires were seven inches wide and had a softer than usual compound," Rifchin said. He and M&H Tire were suddenly in the world of drag racing, poised to beat out the giants Firestone and Goodyear. Before that, the hot drag slicks were produced by Bruce Tires in California. What Rifchin called "the unusual compound" was the one he had used for stock cars. "I’m a neophyte in the very beginning. I have to learn all the intricacies to manufacture a damn tire." (Bob Brown Photo)

#3172  -  That's Rich Bickle wheeling an ex-Earnhardt car to second place at the 1989 Bumper to Bumper 5k ARCA race at Talladega. Says Bickle, "The biggest thing I remember from that race was how hot it was. It was smoking, over 100 degrees. Before the race some researchers from the University of Alabama came up to me and asked if I would be willing to participate in an experiment. They needed someone with a black car to do some human body temperature-related testing. I didn’t understand half of what they were talking about. They were way over my head. So what the hell – I said yes. They wound up putting a thermometer at my feet and one in the rear window of the car. They also weighed me before the race, put a bunch of sensors over me, and hooked it all up to a small satellite dish and antenna. After the race the data showed that the temperature averaged 162 at my feet and 147 at the rear window. They were pretty amazed that the human body can take that kind of heat, especially after they weighed me again and found out that I had lost eleven pounds in a little over two hours."  Photo and Caption from BARNYARD TO BRICKYARD: The Rich Bickle Story, with John Chase. (Photo Jackie Bickle Collection)

#3171  -  "Caught in a pensive moment in the days leading up to the 1973 Indianapolis 500, Swede Savage takes a quick break from preparations from what would become the final race of his life." Quote and Photo from SAVAGE ANGEL: Death and Rebirth at the Indianapolis 500, by Ted Woerner. (Paul Castagnoli Photo) 

#3170  -  That was Jack Doyle and Sonny Massa's A/Altered Fiat at the old Sanford Airport dragstrip in Maine in 1957. Interesting construction included a very narrow rear tread with the slicks inside the body. The steering shaft went over the engine valley connecting to go-kart-style steering. It was said "there was enough room for the driver's ass and a gallon of gas." The bicycle grip handle worked the two-speed, side-shift Cad transmission. Drilling mania extended to the transmission tail and the axle housings. The car weighed 1575 pounds. Info from COOL CARS, SQUARE ROLL BARS: Recollections of Fifties Hot Rodding in New England, Edited by Bernie Shuman (Photos by Xenophon A. Beake)

#3145  -  Decades ago people towed to the track with the family car. The race car was either flat towed or it was in an open trailer where it could be seen. Back then, as the race cars headed to the track through towns on two-lane roads, those who saw them could and did get excited about seeing the race. When that happened a new fan was created. In late August 2022, driver Seth Carlson won the DMA midget feature event at Vermont's Bear Ridge Speedway, a quarter-mid dirt oval. His car came as it left, on an open trailer behind the family car. The car's owner, Skip Matczak, a multi-time Oswego supermodified champion car owner, created the DMA and continues to run it. The theme is to provide low-cost open-wheel racing and the program is a huge success. Seth and Skip prove that you can be a winner without a huge enclosed trailer.  (Photo and caption by Dick Berggren)

#3143  -  Those mid-winter IMCA races in Tampa back in the day must really have been something. Guys sure came from hither and yon to race in them. A threat back in 1966 must have been San Diego's Dick Fries, who was in town to run this machine that Bob Trostle brought from Des Moines. But the gold that year went to the Upper Midwest with champion Jerry Richert, "the Rim Riding Golden Gopher," from Lake Forrest, Wisconsin. (Bradley Poulsen Collection, Doug Haack Photo )

WD-3130  -  It was April 3, 1966, the Spring opener at Eldora, and things went strangely aerial. Defending USAC Sprint Car champ, Johnny Rutherford, flipped wildly, high out of the ballpark, reducing his season to one of recovery. When the checkered flew, the winner - and one lucky Arnie Knepper - popped out of his Spotoil Sprinter unscathed with something in tow. Somehow, a railroad spike had joined him in his seat along the way. (Knepper Family Collection)

#3120  -  On December 1, 1963, at Jacksonville Park Speedway Wendell Scott had his lone victory in 495 starts. He was leading on the final lap but somehow was scored in third. Officials at the track could not stomach the thought of a 42-year-old Black man winning - and kissing the trophy girl - and the checkered flag and the trophy went to Buck Baker. Hours later, after most everyone had left the facility, Scott was given the $1000 first prize, but not the trophy. In 1990, just before he died, Scott remarked "I may not be with you, but someday I will get that trophy." He was right. NASCAR finally gave a replica of it to the Scott family at a ceremony at Daytona in 2021.

From 50 FIRST VICTORIES: NASCAR Drivers' Breakthrough Wins, by Al Pearce and Mike Hembree. (Jerry Orman Photo)

#3114  -  In 1978 a most colorful Robert Smawley began promoting NDRA dirt races, and he befriended equally colorful Larry Moore. One hundred and fifty-one cars from hither and yon appeared for a showdown at Ohio's Atomic Speedway in October.

Moore recalls:  "On Sunday during the heats a hole began to develop in turn one. It was small compared to what I was used to up in the North, but the Southern guys preferred smoother tracks and were up in arms. At the drivers' meeting they let him know about it.

Robert called out my name. 'Larry Moore, what do you think of that hole in turn one?'

'I think you should make another one,' I answered. 'At least one more down at the other end.'

They looked at me like I was from Mars. In a way I was. Mars, Ohio."

He won.

Quote from ON TOP OF THE WORLD: The Life of a Racing Pioneer, by Larry Moore with Dave Argabright. (Photo, with Eva Taylor - Miss NDRA, by Wayne Kindness)

#3113  -  "They sure don't make 'em like this anymore. The Stein Twin Porsche Special was the last twin-engined car entered for the 500 but was too slow to even make a qualifying attempt in 1966." From 500 ON THE (INDY): 500 -Tales, Facts, and Figures on "The Greatest Race in the World," by Rick Shaffer. (First Turn Productions Photo)

#3111  -  "Strange but true. Ricky Rudd had absolutely zero experience when he started the 492-lap, 500-mile endurance grind at the 1.017-mile track in the Sandhills of North Carolina. He'd never turned a single lap of competition in any type of four-wheel racing vehicle, yet there he was debuting. No clunker car on a weekend short track. Certainly nothing as 'real' as a Late Model. He'd never attended a formal driving school or had any personal coaching by a stock car veteran. He'd never raced in a rival stock car series or done any racing on a simulator. Maybe a motocross or two, but that hardly prepared him for what was to come....He was lapped an astonishing fifty-six times before finishing 11th and earning $2,000. As unlikely as it may have seemed that day, a Hall of Fame-worthy career was born." Quote and Photo from 50 FIRST VICTORIES: NASCAR Drivers' Breakthrough Wins, by Al Pearce and Mike Hembree (Dick Conway Photo)

#3109  -  Father and son have a nice chat at Richmond, as Dave Blaney (R) tries to give some driving tips to son Ryan, who was in his rookie season in the Xfinity Series in 2012. Both drivers were piloting Tommy Baldwin cars that weekend. Ryan finished 7th and Dave earned a 29th place finish. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3101  -  It was 1961, and Lebanon Valley Speedway in eastern New York was solidly on its way to becoming a marquee facility. The high banks, inspired by the new Tri-oval in Daytona, had recently been bulldozed in, and it looks as though wheel fencing of sorts was on the way. URC was in town to join the weekly Sportsman show with Bob Harkey (10), Bob Courtwright (3), and John Dodd Jr, dicing it out in the first turn. (Photo from RACING CARS Spring 1980)

#3088  -   It's a tall order to host a dirt track race in the afternoon the week of the summer solstice. But the Flat Track aside the one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, pulled it off on Saturday, June 18, blessed with a cloudy, cool day. The surface was challenging to grip outside of the berm groove, though much improved from the track's previous running. Here Dan Piaska (#1), Justin Sheridan (#17), and Seth Carlson (#4) work things out towards the end of their DMA-USAC Midget main. (John DaDalt Photo)

#3082  -  Debuting on April 27, 1968, was the only rear-engine Super to race on Knoxville (Iowa) soil (top photo). It was driven by Larry Day of Des Moines and built and owned by Bob Webster of Sheldahl. By the next year, full-blown Sprint cars were circling the Knoxville oval weekly; that's Jan Opperman in the Speedway Motors #4x. From the HISTORY OF KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Pre-1954 to 1970, by Bob Wilson. (Top photo Bob Wilson Collection; Bottom Photo Bob Mays Collection)

#3075  -  "Frankie Schneider lived his life to the fullest, both as a winning race car driver and enjoying the ride. Schneider has been rated as one of the greatest ever to wheel a dirt Modified, his amount of wins has never been verified because he raced all over as much as seven times a week and twice on Sunday.  He partied, too, partied hard. (Photo and Caption from LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, and FACES: Photos from the Lens of Lenny H. Sammons)

#3074  -  When George Hutcheson, drag racing’s dramatic "Stone Age Man," affixed an ostrich plume atop his helmet so the crowds would notice him, he hadn't anticipation this kind of ignition. (From AUTO RACING PHOTO GREATS, Alan Earman Photo, Mike Doherty Collection)

#3066  -  The wide five-hub-and-wheel, one of ours, actually - lowly but used forever. Comments from customer and reader Paul Everberg: "Some days I get bored and perform aimless browsing on the web. I wondered why Ford, that had used wheels with a 5-lug, 5 &1/2-inch bolt pattern from 1928 to 1936, changed to the wide five pattern from 1937 to 1939, the bolt pattern that just happened to become the mainstay of Modified Racing for many years. Here is a little of what I found: The design appeared on two continents about the same time, in the Volkswagen and the mid-1930s Ford. It was brought about via the influence of a Dutch-born automotive engineer named John Tjaarda, who in the mid-1930s developed a concept car for the Ford Motor Company, a car that developed into the Lincoln Zephyr. The hub, wheel and tire combo is lighter than the later 5 x 5-1/2". The main reason that racers use them is because the wheel lugs are farther out, 10-1/4".  The farther out you go, the less leverage the tire has against the lug studs. The stronger hub could take the force that the smaller lug pattern couldn't. In early racing, with small lug patterns, lug nuts had a tendency to rip through the rim, often sending the wheel and tire into often perilous flight!" (Coastal 181 Photo)

#3055  -  It's not just been at the track that you can find the definition of cool. It could be in the garage, too - especially in earlier days before today's advanced machinery and equipment. How about this testament to creativity found in Ron Mosher's shop in Newhall, California? That’s the business end of a 1928-29 Model A converted into an air compressor. Two cylinders still fire while the other two pump air. (Photo from THE AMERICAN SPEED SHOP: Birth and Evolution of Hot Rodding, by Bob McClurg)

#3054  -  Indianapolis, 2005. After years of racing, rookie sensation Danica Patrick made her Indy 500 debut driving for the Rahal/Letterman team. She qualified for the fourth position with a speed of 227-plus mph but was disappointed because during her first qualifying lap of four, she had a slight "bobble" entering the first turn, giving her a first-lap speed of 224 mph. Otherwise she could have possibly won the pole position. In the race she finished fourth after leading for 19 laps. (Photo and caption from Don Figler)

#3050  -  Ohio's Mark Malcuit, who was nicknamed "Captain Sizzle," is pictured here back in the mid-1970s at Sharon Speedway (OH) sporting his trademark look with a beard and long hippie hair. Malcuit would barnstorm all over the United States and Canada competing in American Speed Association (ASA), ARTGO and the NASCAR Modified Series. He compiled an impressive list of victories before eventually retiring from oval-track racing to take up Pro Stock drag racing, in which he continues to actively compete.  Mark's brother, Brad Malcuit, who was a fine dirt racer in his own right, owned and operated the successful Malcuit Racing Engines, supplying strong powerplants to Mark and many other dirt and pavement racers throughout the years. (Photo and Caption courtesy Jim Hehl)

#3047  -  German Grand Prix - Nürburgring, August 4, 1968:  "Many consider this drive here in driving rain and dense fog not only Jackie Stewart's greatest race, but one of the greatest drives in Grand Prix history. He won by four minutes-plus over Graham Hill." Quote and photo from F1 Mavericks: The Men and Machines that Revolutionized Formula 1 Racing, by Pete Biro and George Levy. (Pete Biro Photo)

#3038  -  Some guys were born to play baseball and some weren't. "It appears that Larry Phillips, (left), was not amused at the singing abilities of fellow American Speed Association (ASA) competitors Dave Watson, (middle), and Mike Miller, (right) during an ASA event at I-70 Speedway, Odessa, Missouri, back in the day."  (Photo and Quote by Don Figler)

#3028  -  Upon winning the feature Midget race sanctioned by the old Saint Louis Auto Racing Association at the now defunct Lake Hill Speedway, Danny Frye Jr. climbed out of his car, and puckered up, anticipating a victory kiss from the surprised trophy presenter. He did receive his kiss. (Don Figler Photo) 

#3025  -  Bob Malzahn made his mark on racing with his infamous fireball #99 coupes on the NJ/PA dirt circuit in the '60s and '70s. But originally from Miami, he had made his start on the roadster tracks down in the Southlands. Here he was at Florida's Opa-Locka, a rudimentary facility, in the 1940s, in an equally rudimentary roadster, his dad at his side. Photo from FLORIDA MOTORSPORTS RETROSPECTIVE PICTORIAL, Vol 1 2nd Ed., by Eddie Roche. (Al Powell Collection)

#3018  -  Having read of the passing of legendary Porsche factory driver Vic Elford at age 86, frequent PoD contributor Don Figler sent in this photo. That's Don in the middle, suited up for Skip Barber school at the Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach in 1997. His instructors were Steve DeBrecht (left) and Vic Elford. Don reports that he hit a tar patch in one of the turns at speed, got sideways, and felt his heart in his throat. "I graduated but was advised not to quit my day job." (Don Figler Photo)

#3017  -  Before Sprint Cars had fully evolved, Iowa's infamous Knoxville Raceway presented lively weekly Modified programs. One mid-summer night in 1959, July 11, two of the hot guns really went at it. Battling for the $1500 purse, racy Danny Richardson and Earl Wagner (who would become track champion) made their presence known with the quickest laps in the time trials. Then in the trophy dash they went over the top and wrecked. "Both cars collided into the fence with Richardson tearing out ninety feet of fence and ending up 150 feet off the track and ramming into a government grain bin, gouging a large hole which spilled out several tons of shelled corn."  Neither was injured. Photo and quote from THE HISTORY OF KNOXVILLE RACEWAY and the Marion County Fairgrounds, Pre-1954 to 1970, by Bob Wilson. (Richardson Collection Photo)

#3016  -  Joe Saldana, who started 14th, reached for the biggest handful of the $49,354 purse when he won the 1976 Hoosier Hundred. But the race will be remembered sadly. "Late in the race a battle between Johnny Parsons and Jan Opperman #12 ended when they came together. Parsons continued, but cars with nowhere to go ran into Opperman's inverted mount and he suffered severe head injuries that ended his racing career." Quote and photo from SEVENTIES CHAMPIONSHIP REVOLUTION: American Racing Championships, by Dick Wallen. (Wallen/Torres Photo)

#3012  -  In his book ROMANCE OF RACING, Dario Franchitti wrote about driver-turned-owner Jimmy Vasser: "Attention to detail is his motto, and I look at this picture and can almost hear him say to the photographer, 'You want me to stand by the swamp? Heck, why don't I just get in it?' And that's what he did, brand new overalls or not. Away from the track, Jimmy is so easy to have fun with - in a quiet way. Sometimes he can be so laid back he's upside down. I'm sure he doesn't even know the word 'ego,' but he does know the word 'party,' and I know he and Tony Kanaan did after their Indy win."  (From Romance of Racing, by Dario Franchitti, Robert Kerian Photo)

#3010  -  "It was brutal.  Didn’t stand a chance.  It was at New York Stock Car Association banquet, and Dave Lape (right)  and the late Andy Fusco, both with microphones, laid into me big time. They carried on about how I talked about racing at Fonda all the time but never actually won a feature there.  Another lesson in humility!"
(Lew Boyd quote, Dave Dalesandro photo)

#3008  -  Great photo received from our friend and photographer Don Figler, taken at a Mid-Ohio IndyCar race in 1993.  He says he didn't hear the conversation between Al Unser Jr. and Danny Sullivan so he offered his own caption: "Al, since you are much shorter than I, you will always be "Junior" on this team."  Not too sure how Al took that.  (Don Figler Photo) 

#3007  -  Don't you give a sigh of relief when you encounter a racer who does something different than the cookie-cutter components -  and monkey-see/monkey-do wraps - typical of today's race cars? Mike Feltenberger writes: "Kenny Gilmore, son of the late Charley Gilmore, carries on the family tradition of putting together a race car with garage-made parts instead of store-bought. He had quite a few top finishes in this ride at Big Diamond, Grandview and Penn National (PA). In 2021, he won the Sportsman point championship at Grandview, his first, in a car that was 60 percent home-built." (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3006  -  Conan "Moose" Myers from Fort Wayne, IN, in the forever-recognizable maroon and gold Jim Stovall-prepared 1957 Chevy convertible prior to the annual Pittsburgher 200 at the Heidelberg (PA) Raceway, in 1966. Moose won his first track championship at Baer Field, IN, in 1966, and eventually won 14 titles at Baer Field; Avilla; IN; New Bremen; OH; and Bryan; OH, speedways. He would also compete in the American Speed Association (ASA) series, taking the 1975 title. Moose and owner Stovall would ascend into the ranks of ARCA and USAC stock car divisions, with the duo capturing the ARCA championship in 1977 before eventually retiring in 1979. (Photo & caption from Jim Hehl)

#3004  -  It was the Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco on June 3, 1973, and the winner, Jackie Stewart, enjoyed yet another bottle of Moet with his wife Helen. Photo from FI MAVERICKS: The Men and Machines that Revolutionized Formula I Racing, by Pete Biro and George Levy. (Pete Biro Photo)

#3002  -  That was the look of the first turn wall at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York in the late 1950s, just after its "high banks" had been bulldozed in. The wall, shall we say, was unfinished. One competitor to test it was young Gene Cole, who would later become the much respected owner-promoter of Utica-Rome Speedway near Syracuse. Gene recalls, "The whole pack forced me up to the wall. When I finally landed outside the banking upside down, even the carburetors were cleaned right off the engine, and I hit the windshield. We had to leave to the east rather than the west that night. It was off to a Catholic hospital in Pittsfield so the nuns could take care of me."
(Mike Ritter Collection)

#2996  -  A hot rodder in his teen years, "Speedy Bill" Smith became one of the country's foremost racing entrepreneurs, known widely for his flourishing manufacturing/ distribution/retailing business, Speedway Motors in Lincoln, NE. Another racy guy from Lincoln was Lloyd Beckman, considered one of the best to ever don a helmet in a Sprinter. The two frequently teamed up, but, as with all relationships, there were good times and then the other times. Beckman was really hot at Belleville, KS, becoming the first to tour the place in under 20 seconds. But one time there he was running high, wide, and handsome in Smith’s #4x until he mistook the white flag for a yellow, backed off, and ended up second. Unimpressed, Smith fired him. (From NEBRASKA DIRT: A Century of Racing in the Cornhusker State, 1901-1999, by Bob Mays. L.A. Ward Photo)

#2993  -  Now there's a multi-surface car, as AC/DC as they come. Grand racing historian Bones Bourcier recalls that back at the turn of the 1980s there was a competition called the Syracuse/Oswego Challenge Cup. The paved half-mile at Oswego would hold a combined Modified/Super show the night before the Sunday of Super DIRT Week, and whoever competed in both and gathered the most points became the winner. In 1981, Jerry Cook took a few minutes off his very successful annual accumulation of NASCAR points and won it, his pavement Mod dressed for dirt. (Photo from: Program for the Oswego Speedway Quartermaster Twin 30's, October 9, 1982)

#2988  -  "I believe we can salvage the fuel cell," remarked one of Doug Drook's crew. It was in the first Late Model heat at Cincinnati's Queen City Raceway on June 2, 1984, and something went terribly awry. Drook was not seriously injured when he sailed off the track, but his car was remarkable. Note, for example, the front and rear tires virtually touching one another - and the new location of the motor. Yikes. (David Tucker Photo)

#2978  -  It's in his genes, and his family name sure didn't hurt along the way. Harrison Burton, son of former Cup competitor and current NBC Sports Analyst Jeff Burton, gives his mom, Kim, a celebratory lift at Dover in 2017. He had just won the K&N East race at Dover and would become the Series youngest ever champ at age 16. This year he will hop into the Wood Brothers Next Gen Ford Mustang, as he enters his rookie season in Cup. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2975  -  Our buddy, Kevin Olson, former National Midget Champion and current marketing guru, achieved a new dimension of outreach messaging over the weekend at this year's Chili Bowl. (KO Photo)

#2967  -  Indianapolis 1971:  A pair of teammates, Cale Yarborough and Lloyd Ruby, sit dejectedly in their garage as mechanics work on their cars. Driving for Gene White Racing, both were unhappy because they couldn't get up to speed during qualifying weekend. Eventually Lloyd would qualify in the seventh position, and Cale in the 14th position. Race results: Lloyd dropped out with gear failure after 174 laps and finished in the 11th position. Cale suffered an oil leak after 140 laps, and finished 16th. (Photo and caption by Don Figler)

#2965  -  Gordon Wooley out of Waco, Texas, was one of the most celebrated of the original "outlaws," rim-riding dirt open-wheelers hither and yon long before WoO. He won prodigiously, the pinnacle of which was the 1963 IMCA title. He traveled obsessionally. One season he landed upon Knoxville, Iowa, as a weekly stop, 850 miles from home. Rail birds claim that he broke an arm in a savage flip one night but refused hospitalization fearing that he would not be allowed to run the next night. His accommodation was to cut his suit carefully along the seam (so it could be later repaired) and firm up his arm with cardboard and tape. That didn't work all that well. He flipped again that next night and decided it might be best to go home for a couple of days. He ran his last Sprint Car race in 1979, but ran stock cars occasionally into the 1990s in Texas. He passed away in 2017. (Photo from wagtimes.com)

Since this caption was posted, we learned the following from alert reader Fritz Davis:  The photo identified as Gordon Wooley is actually Gordon Herring, a champion from Colorado who raced with the Big Car Racing Association. He was fatally injured in 1964 or 1965 I believe. Herring is frequently misidentified as Wooley. Thanks, Fritz!

#2963  -  They didn't call Bridgeton, New Jersey's Elton Hildreth "Wild Man" for nothing. It was said you had to be careful of him. He was no pansy, and his sense of right and wrong left little margin for compromise. If anyone caused him trouble on the track, he took action. "Whoever it was, they had to go. I'd knock 'em right out." Elton claimed that the off-told tale of a National Championship race at Trenton in 1960 was true. Word was that Elton had been trading a bit of paint with Rene Charland at recent events, and the Wild Man was pissed. He went on to win the 100-lapper over a field of 40, but, in his words, "The only reason I went up there was to put that Frenchman in the wall - and he wouldn’t even unload." (Photo Ed Davis Collection)

#2960  -  Al Unser Jr., early in his career, in a Sprint Car at Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, Illinois, in the late '70s. His car had Pennzoil sponsorship, same as his father's Indy Car. (Photo and caption by Don Figler)

#2959  -  That's Ken Schrader and Stan Fox likely being a little silly at Fulton, New York, back in 1983. How differently fate would fall upon them in the ensuing years. Today Kenny continues his joyful walkabout the country with his race car, quite possibly the most popular of all American short-trackers. Stan, one of the last to climb into an Indy Car from a Midget, suffered a horrific, grinding crash at Indianapolis in 1995, from which many say he never fully recovered. It was the end of his driving career, but he tried to stay involved in the sport. Very sadly, on his way to a racing event five years later, he died in a late-night highway crash on the Desert Road, 200 miles south of Auckland, New Zealand. (Rick Nelson Photo, ProNyne Museum Collection)

#2956  -  Known nationally as "the Blue Knight," Rudolph, Wisconsin's Tom Reffner assembled an incredible career, with 391 wins, 67 in 1975 alone. That does not mean that certain days along the way didn't go a bit out of kilter.  Here's what Father Grubba writes: "It was in 1979 that Tom Reffner had a wreck at Elko, Minnesota, that slowed his career for a period of time. Reffner was transported to a nearby hospital unconscious. When he came to, he couldn't believe he had been hurt in his race car. Instead, he thought he had crashed his hauler and that his two sons, Bryan and Baird, who had been with him, were dead. Only having the doctor race to the waiting room and grab the two boys and drag them into Tom's room convinced him otherwise....When he was released from the hospital, he started driving home accompanied by Bryan and Baird. Who were they to question his ability to drive since they had just got their drivers' licenses? That was until they were approaching a bridge, and Tom started describing it as a log he had to avoid. They were heading for the river when the boys got him to pull over, and they assumed the driving duties." Quote and photo from 67: TOM REFFNER AND DICK TRICKLE, by Fr. Dale Grubba.

#2955  -  Final preparations on Denny Hulme's Robin Herd- and Gordon Coppuck-designed McLaren M7A for the Canadian Grand Prix on September 22, 1968, at Circuit Mont-Tremblant. They won by a lap. Photo from F1 MAVERICKS: The Men and Machines That Revolutionized Formula 1 Racing, by Peter Biro and George Levy.

#2954  -  Jim "Herk" Hurtubise gets a push from his crew member in the infamous "Mallard" at Pocono International Raceway's USAC Champ Car event in 1971. It was the last front-engine car to compete in the USAC division. Herk, who owned and built the car himself, would go on to finish 30th after engine failure ended his day at 35 laps. (Photo and Caption from Jim Hehl)

#2953  -  Back in the 1970s, a young, completely unheralded driver named Tony Matta tried his hand on the infamous half-mile in Reading, PA. His accent was even stranger than someone from New Jersey; he had wandered in from Perth, Australia. He picked up a couple of rides over four seasons, aboard the Otto Burger #26 and Leinbach Bros. #9. His stat line was 3 heat wins, 1 consi, and 2 10th-places at feature time. He subsequently headed back Down Under, continuing a career in Sprinters including in the World Champion Sprint Series. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#2942  -  Considered by many to be the world's largest car show, the Turkey Run takes place each year over Thanksgiving weekend at the Daytona Speedway. The entire infield fills with customs, hot rods and vintage street cars on display. Food vendors and those who bring in truckloads of parts from carburetors to anything chrome all offered their goods for sale. If you are looking to buy or trade a car, this is the place to be. Hundreds, maybe more than a thousand fine hot rods and customs are offered for direct sale or trade. Race cars are displayed in what during Speedweeks is the Cup garage. Largest race car display this year, like others, came from the Living Legends Museum in Daytona. Spectator admission to the whole event is just $15. Attendance is estimated to exceed 150,000. (Caption and photo from Dick Berggren)

#2938  -   "In the retro #22 Pennzoil paint is Jac Haudenschild who is racing alongside his car owner #24 Rico Abreu. Abreu surprised Haudenschild with the sponsor and the historic colors that have long been associated with "The Wild Child" during his heyday. Another 'retro' fact is that it had been a couple of decades without Sprint Cars at Bristol Motor Speedway." Photo from PAUL OXMAN SPRINT CAR RACING 2022 CALENDAR, (Tim Aylwin Photo)

#2928  -   A little mix-up at the old Brookline Speedway, a unpretentious, banked quarter-miler in the countryside of southern New Hampshire at the turn of the 1960s. On that night, as usual, Pete "The All American Boy" Salvatore was in the seat for owner Bob Bouchard's #2. Not long afterwards, though, Pete missed a date, and, completely unbeknownst to his parents, their son, 14-year old Ronnie Bouchard, snuck behind the wheel - and won the feature. Though there was fire and fury at the Bouchard household that night, it was the dawn of one of the most stellar New England racing careers ever. Ron Bouchard starred in East Coast Modifieds, winning from New England to Florida before moving on to NASCAR as Cup Rookie of the Year and gunning to a stunning victory in the 1981 Talladega 500. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#2926  -  Jeff Hardifer sent us this neat shot of two old friends. To the left is Lenny Sammons, the non-stop principal of the robust Area Auto Racing News. He’s taping Frank Cozze, the 66-year-old youngster from Jutland, NJ. Frank's first rides came at the treacherous "square" half-miler in Flemington, NJ, where in 1974 he emerged as a winner and Rookie of the Year. He never got off the gas. And just over a week ago, on October 23rd, he thrilled the crowd at New Egypt, NJ, with a last-lap pass to take the "Legends of the Fall" special.

#2425  -   That's Joy Fair, the legendary Michigan speedster, pictured alongside ARCA founder and President John Marcum at the Flat Rock Speedway (MI) in 1976. Stunningly, Fair raced to over 800 feature wins in his illustrious career, starting in Supermodifieds, then into Late Models in a career spanning from the 1950s into the early 1990s.  (Photo and caption from Jim Hehl)

#2920  -  A young Benny Parsons slides on the dirt at the Mt. Clemens Racetrack (MI) in 1963, having just started out his racing career. Nobody could have imagined that Parsons would work his way from the short tracks of Michigan into a legendary racing career, winning both the ARCA and NASCAR championships before transferring to the broadcasting booth and becoming one of the best in the business. (Photo and caption thanks to Jim Hehl)

#2919  -  It was worth the wait. Johnny Clark in his #54 is shown leading with one lap to go of the PASS Super Late Model race at Seekonk, MA, Speedway on Saturday, October 23. He had just passed Angelo Belisto #8 who's still tight on his bumper, while DJ Shaw #60 looms in third place. It was not only an impressive win but it also delivered Clark and his family and friends their 7th (and first in 10 years) PASS North SLM Championship. (Photo by our esteemed Webmaster, Norm Marx)

#2918  -  "A tearful A.J. Foyt tells announcer Tom Carnegie in 1993 that he's made his last lap at Indianapolis.... He had become the oldest man to ever qualify for an Indianapolis 500, limping and hurting and feeling every day of those 56 years.... Very early in the race a wheel (from a Cogan and Guerrero wreck), bouncing erratically, seemed intent on hitting Foyt's black Lola....He knew he was done before the crowd or even the broadcasters. He toured the track slowly, his visor open and his hands up - the right, the left, the right, waving to the crowd. And as the fans in the Speedway's huge grandstands began to comprehend what they were seeing, a standing ovation began to sing A.J. Foyt home.... That morning ABC had aired a wonderful pre-race piece on him, focusing on this being his final 500. It ended with Foyt saying he wanted to be remembered 'as just A.J.; you know, nothing special.' Sure. He was officially classified in 28th position, yet he had come close to upstaging one of the best battles for victory Indianapolis had ever seen. Nothing special, huh?" Quote and Photo from FOYT ANDRETTI PETTY - America's Racing Trinity, by Bones Bourcier (IMS Photo)

#2916  -   Here's a spiffy little number, though completely unidentified. Sure would like to know who, where, what, and when.  (Bradley Poulsen Collection)
NOTE: On this Photo of the Day (#2916), we said we wished we knew who the driver was. We got a quick answer from readers Kyle James and Bobby Marshall, who tell us that the driver of the Blue Max #72 in this photo was Eldon Dotson, a major player in short-track racing in the Dallas area. The car was owned by drag racer Raymond Beadle. 
Dotson is said to have died at age 52 after climbing out of a race car at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, TX.

#2915  -   The big boys. Tony Bettenhausen at the DuQuoin Mile in 1949. From Don Figler's 2022 MIDGET RACING CALENDAR. (Photo Wally Hamant Collection)

#2912  -   "My wife, Shelley, was beautiful. She was so good for me...and so bad for me. She was a competitor and wanted to win as much as I did.  May 1990."  Quote and photo from the new book AL UNSER JR., A Checkered Past, as told to Jade Gurss. (Dan Boyd Photo)

#2910  -  You have one guess about who showed up at Coastal 181 for a visit.  (Yup.  Kevin Olson.  New England will never be the same.)