History VINTAGE SPRINT CAR PIC THREAD, 1969 and older only please.

[Rootie Kazoootie]

Originally Posted by "Doc" Parsons

Corngrower32
You just tell it like it is don't you, I like that, when I get one of my midgets ready I would like to bring it to you for gold leaf!

"Doc" Parsons

Doc, tell us more about what you're getting ready.

[Rootsgroup]

I really enjoy the old stories as well, and as Josh says the ones way before your time mean a lot, when you can get a hold of them.

I attended a old timer's annual event at Rushville IN last Saturday. Not too many cars, but all worth looking at and each with its own story. Nice to see Harley Gene there.

The "kingpin" of the day was Mr. Hankins, a TQ driver from the early 60's. I asked him about a track that was on the south side of Rushville. As a young boy, I saw the imprint of where it was in the pasture. My father said that cars raced on it way back. Thats all he knew.

So I asked of Mr. Hankins, "Do you know about that track?" And he said, "Yes, I do." And I became a young boy again as he spoke.

Here is the story.

Around 1930 there was a horse barn built in the pasture and a track made to train the horses. Training was done during the week, and so the track was free on the weekends.

It wasn't long before guys showed up on Saturdays and Sundays with there "A's" and "T's", took the bodies off, put boxes on the frame for seats, and went a' racin'. Mr. Hankins father was one of those fellas. Fronty heads were the hot setup.

This went on for a couple of years until , on one Saturday, the hood came off a Model T an cut a guy in two. Yes, that's what he said.

That's the last day cars ever raced on that track.

I'm damn glad I asked. Fifty years later, I got my story. And it's great to pass it on.

Carl

[Joshua Shaw]

Excellent story Carl..


and Doc, I'd be honored!

Now for some self promoting... My website finally got going. It's about 75% done. Check it out!

www.shawhotrods.com

Thanks,

Joshua Shaw

[rooman]

Jim and Josh,
I am with you on the clear rock guard deal. Back in the early 90's when I was working at Hajduk's shop we rebodied Danny Milburn's Oz car with a set of CAE style panels replacing the wedge stuff. I made an old style grille for it and as vintage looking an air box as I could, and then we put a Lexan rock guard on it. Could not see it from 50 feet away.
Unfortunately Danny was killed in the car at Phoenix that year.

Roo

[1940 Willys Coupe]

Thanks guys for the great photos and comments.

All these guys driving these car were "the real deal!"

Gary

[Graham08]

Josh,

Amen, brother! I agree with you 100% on your top five worst things. I have run a pavement car on an extremely low budget, with open trailer and all, but even if I had unlimited funds, I will be using an open trailer.

Why? It is absolutely amazing how many people will start talking to you when you stop for fuel, to eat, etc. when you're on the road with a sprint car on an open trailer. Not to mention the thumb up's you get driving down the highway, or people pulling up and talking at stoplights. I have run into people at a gas station who ask where we're going, and you see them and their kids at the track later. If you're towing a big box down the highway, nobody knows or really cares what's inside.

Anyway, my two cents, FWIW.

[BZNEIL]

Tail Tanks are my biggest pet peeve! The small short tanks they run today just completely ruin the lines of a a good midget or sprint. They look unfinished. Especially with the big side panels they run now, they look all out of proportion.

At a 30 lap Usac show this summer there was a red flag around lap 20 with no yellows before that. During the red a lot of the top teams all ran out to put more fuel in the car. That just seems ridiculous.

Every now and then, and it is a rare occurrence, I see a sprint or midget on an open trailer going down the road. I think I get more excited now than when I was a kid. I want to drop everything and just follow it for a while.

Jim, your sprinter looks great!!

[lrs30]

I'm a touch older than Josh but not much, but my earliest sprinter memory is when we were on a family vacation and we stopped for breakfast and this guy with a Chev Dually pulled in with a open trailer in tow with the tire rack in the front and a killer looking black and green Sprinter on it.. I remember after dad payed the check I ran out to check out the car on the trailer, asking what it was, the driver/owner came out (stopped eating to come out and talk to a snot nosed kid) and let me climb inside it we talked for awhile, he gave me a quick lesson and a team t-shirt that had the saying across the chest that read " Backin' In" with the car pictured below busting thru a turn with mud flying, and on the back it read "keep the ASS out of the GRASS" I was the coolest kid on vacation wearing that shirt (or so I thought). I wore the hell out of that shirt..But after that we ended catching a "Bicentennial 76 lapper" at some track in Georgia on the way to the beach.. I will try to dig up the program if I still have it. Been hooked ever since..Ryan

[indybigjohn]

Josh, your new site is gonna be one of my regular daily stops, I can tell. As to the rock guards, I remember one night at the Hoosier Dome midget race when all anybody could talk about was how they enjoyed watching George Snider drive Fedorcak's "Munchkin." He didn't do well in the race, but it was the only car where you could actually see the driver working.

[Joshua Shaw]

Man!! The munchkin. That would be a cool car to have. Wonder where it is?


-----------------------

When Dad and I were at Kokomo, their were two open trailers in the pits. One guy, no shit.. Had a steel block and a "short" stock chevy water pump on the front of his engine. I got down to look thinking it might even have a Carb ob it, but it was injected. The fuel pump was driven off the back of the block. My dad and I smiled, and complemented the guy. Too which he said, "it is what it is". While we walked away dad said, "I wish I could hand that guy a hundred dollar bill just for being here."
His car didn't run worth a shit, Missing and popping.. but the bottom line is, while most people sat in the stands on there asses, HE WAS DOING IT!! Good for him.
I remember at either putnamville, or Paragon, seeing a couple Carbed sprinters running.. At least there having fun!

[Rootie Kazoootie]

[quote=corngrower32;3234612]Man!! The munchkin. That would be a cool car to have. Wonder where it is?


I believe Tony Stewart has it now.

[Graham08]

Stewart owns a pair of them. Mike Fedorcak maintains them and they run them indoors in the winter. The story goes that a few years ago, the night before the Ft. Wayne race, Stewart was playing poker at Fedorcak's house, and bought the car from Mike. The car was sitting in a barn, and they worked most of the night to get it running for the race the next day. Stewart drove under the assumed name "Mikey Fedorcak". Exactly how much of the story is true, I don't know, but its a good story anyway.

I think the car Stewart drives is the original Munchkin, and the car Fedorcak runs is a later customer car. Mike built a few of them before USAC added some rules that reduced their effectiveness outdoors.

[Rootie Kazoootie]

I vaugley remember T.S. telling that story in a TV interview just after buying it, probably at Daytona (?)

[Graham08]

Originally Posted by corngrower32

When Dad and I were at Kokomo, their were two open trailers in the pits. One guy, no shit.. Had a steel block and a "short" stock chevy water pump on the front of his engine. I got down to look thinking it might even have a Carb ob it, but it was injected. The fuel pump was driven off the back of the block. My dad and I smiled, and complemented the guy. Too which he said, "it is what it is". While we walked away dad said, "I wish I could hand that guy a hundred dollar bill just for being here."
His car didn't run worth a shit, Missing and popping.. but the bottom line is, while most people sat in the stands on there asses, HE WAS DOING IT!! Good for him.
I remember at either putnamville, or Paragon, seeing a couple Carbed sprinters running.. At least there having fun!

Josh, was that a light blue car? I forget the number, but he was there when I was there...OLD car with a rectangular tube frame. Sort of an early supermodified type body on the car. I thought he was just there to hot lap, but actually ran his heat and consi. Way off the pace, but respectful to the fast guys when they got to him (he pulled in the infield).

I think the car had manual steering on it...looked like a ton of work to drive. Definitely a survivor from an earlier era, when strapping in was more of a suicide mission than it is now.

[BZNEIL]

I had this in my archive. I believe this was taken the first night Stewart had it. Although not as vintage, this car really had the old school spirit of building your own car and doing something different.

My favorite part of the car is it uses longitudinal torsion bars that are almost laying on the ground.

I wish I had a picture of it with it's original square tail.

[racer5c]

I hate that car, I ran second to it at the first race it won, televised thursday night thunder race from the speedrome. I don't really hate it but I did that night.

Oh and for the record when everyone else racing there was laughing at that car i told em they better laugh now cause it was gonna kick our asses eventually

[Graham08]

Here's a little more recent shot of both cars...

I'll look for the original OW article about it. The interview with Fedorcak is priceless!

[racer5c]

Josh, I agree with you on almost everything you said. One thing i would like to say though, there are no promoters anymore, only track operators. Instead of doing a little promotional work to get people in the stands they just add another class to make more money off the back gate.
As for the open trailers, lets go even further single axle open trailer, pickup truck think how effective that would be at reducing costs, all you could bring is what fits on the trailer and in the truck, might stop a lot of guys from crashing so much too if they can't just roll a new one out of the trailer.

I like to see the driver too, ya aint driven a sprint car if ya don't have black and blue marks on your right arm from gettin hit by rocks at Eldora. (until ya got smart and duct taped cardboard on your arm)

fuel cells
Has anyone ever lost a race from havint to much fuel???

How many have lost a race from not having enough!!!!!


ALL race cars should be hand lettered and only the REALLY nice ones should have gold leaf lol

Damn I feel old

Originally Posted by corngrower32

Well, Gene.. Like I said, I'm in California for the week.. so.. "When in Rome" HA HA!! (Damn I'll catch hell for that)

As for the other Five "Worst things too happen to Sprint car racing". Most were Mandatory and made life easier for all racers.. But didn't help the "coolness" of the sport.

In no order..

ENCLOSED TRAILERS. Kids need to see race cars going down the road and at rest stops. How many of you "old timers" Begged and pleaded your parents to take you to a race because you saw a race car go by your house every sat? (I've heard that story too many times!) You guys with hot rods know the deal.. You drive on the highway and kids go NUTS! Kids that are not in "Car families" While the parent talks on the phone and could give a shit less, the kid in the back seat is yelling "LOOK!!!" You know that kid told EVERYBODY he saw that day about it too!

ROCK GUARDS. (and any body panels around, above and over the driver) We need to see the driver WORKING! When I look at old video footage of guys racing, I notice how cool it is to see the drivers arms working. Imagine if they took the roofs and upper quarter panels off Modifieds and latemodels.. You'd be able to see they guy working and looking. Sure, the cars would be ugly, but FUN TO WATCH!!

SMALL FUEL CELLS. Not only back to, the "Readability of the number" But big fuel cells on sprint cars just LOOK BETTER!! The little midget tanks they run today are bullshit! ..and FUEL STOPS!! WTF!! If you can't run 50 laps in your sprint car, TOUGH SHIT! This isn't NASCAR. (thank god!)

VYNIL GRAPHICS. We've been over that..

and of coarse..

TRACK PROMOTERS. Of coarse, mandatory.. One can't survive without the other. But while the Racers have grown in EVERY way, Technically, money spent, speed, safety, ect. They are still racing for weekly purses that in general have not changed in DECADES!! I read these books about racers from years back and think, "thats what they pay today!" The book I'm reading now takes place in the twenties when it cost WAY under a doller to see the race and they are racing for $800 to $1500 to win the feature!! Sure, we have the Million, and a hand full of other big shows but weekly racing veniews just haven't kept up with the rest of the show.
I know this is the broken record report, but think about one more thing. At our local track, the 50/50 is usually around $500. (Thats $1000 total) Most people buy $5 worth. And if I had to guess, I'd say only 30% of EVERYBODY that paid their $15 to get in (don't forget the racers and there families who paid $25 for pits) actually buy 50/50 tickets. Start doing the math.. They should pay a little more.

------------------------------------------------

Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering why ROLL BARS weren't in there. Well, Thats a hard one. While Roll bars killed the Classic look of old sprint cars.. (although I enjoy a lot of the Caged cars of the 70's and even 80's) They were a must. (everything in my top five could be changed or "saved") It's the same as saying full faced helmets were bad.. It was going to happen regardless. In a perfect world Guys would be racing in a T-shirt with a pack of Lucky strikes rolled up, a Bandana around his face, for a purse that actually put money IN his pocket after expenses..

Well' it's just not gonna happen.

What amazes, and impresses me the most.. Is that despite all the "Flaws" we can think of, (and bitch and moan about) SPRINT CAR RACING IS STILL THE GREATEST FORM OF MOTORSPORTS IN THE WORLD!!

I'll be a fan forever.


J Shaw

p.s. Sorry for the negativity.. Boredom at its best!!

How about HANS devices.. Yeah they mean well, but not when a driver can't get out of a car in a timely fashion. How about HANS devices for Half miles and bigger only??

[Jim Dieter]

How about HANS devices.. Yeah they mean well, but not when a driver can't get out of a car in a timely fashion. How about HANS devices for Half miles and bigger only??

Well.... I had a couple good friends get it at the speedrome. Even quarter miles can get you if you hit something solid. I dont know if they would have saved Johnny Gaul or Don Vogler, but it may have increased the odds a little.

[Rootie Kazoootie]

Originally Posted by BZNEIL

I had this in my archive. I believe this was taken the first night Stewart had it. Although not as vintage, this car really had the old school spirit of building your own car and doing something different.

My favorite part of the car is it uses longitudinal torsion bars that are almost laying on the ground.

I wish I had a picture of it with it's original square tail.

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