Features VINTAGE SPRINT CAR PIC THREAD, 1965 and older only please.

so sad what a gasser,rip "ROCKET" we were hoping to see him make the east coast swing with USAC this coming week,he just came off a 3 win weekend, he will be missed.

 

I am still bewildered by the news.

So very sorry to hear this.

 

Roy.. Pops did the lettering on that NOVI.. The Novi logo, the V8 on the font, the numbers, and the PURE logos on the nose.

TRIVIA TIME!!

The name NOVI came from the town of NOVI, anyone know how THE TOWN got it's name???

(I just learned this from GARY LEE last week)

 

I was told that is a myth but who knows

 

Although legend has it that Novi got its name from being the sixth stop/gate/toll or mail drop along a rail line or road, these stories are untrue. Novi was incorporated into a town and named in 1830. The toll road that ran thru Novi was not built until 22 years after Novi was named, and the railroad did not come thru Novi until 41 years later.

But don't let go of the legend just yet! A good legend is a part of a good city. I especially like the story that "Novi was the 6th Stage Coach Stop from Detroit". Images of cowboys, stagecoaches and the real west abound in this fable. Of course the astute listener will eventually ask many questions like "If we were the 6th stop, then what ever happened to stops 1-5 or 7, 8, 9, and on and on..."

But legend and image is important -especially if you consider that on a less dramatic note, it is known that Novi was originally referred to as "West Farmington" for a period of our history. Even though Farmington is a great city, this is a fact that we could adopt if we wanted to embrace obscurity as a town. Although "West Farmington" flows better than say "Eastern South Lyon".

For the record, the story of the city's name goes back to 1830 in a meeting where citizens were discussing the separation from Farmington and establishment of their own identity and township. The meeting record shows that the name Novi was expressed as an option and voted upon. Unfortunately, the record does not indicate why the name Novi was put forth as an option. But be thankful – the record shows that town names such as "Republic" and "Beluah" were up for consideration that evening 181 years ago.

The reason why the name Novi was selected will never be known, but a good clue exists in an old letter kept at Novi city hall. Back in 1936, the office of the Yugoslavian Consulate in Chicago sent a letter to the Novi officials. The content of the letter basically stated that many people in Yugoslavia have heard of a town called Novi in Michigan, and believe that there is a connection between the cities. How Yugoslavian citizens in the 1930's even knew of the existence of a very small town in Michigan is a fact that cannot go un-noticed.

The letter also suggested that the story of our city’s name was rooted in the actions of a young Yugoslavian soldier that fled to the United States to recover from a heartbreaking tale of misadventure; and that he had influence over our city’s name as a type of tribute to his lost love. They reported that this story was a romantic legend in their town and they were looking for clues to its authenticity. But no record of such a soldier or his influence on the naming of our city exists.

Without much information available locally to give us clues as to the origin of our name, it is worth looking to the “old country” - and that is just what a reporter from the Novi News did. In the late 1990's, a reporter from the Novi News happened to be on a vacation tour in the Croatian area in question and took the time to look for clues to our city's name. Unfortunately there were no specific documents to be found, just the overwhelming fact that a large number of cities in the region start with the name Novi - meaning "new".

Just as our ancestors longed for a new beginning in cities such as New York, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, I would bet that the founding residents of Novi felt much the same way - a new city and a chance at a new "Novi" beginning. Their desire to push on beyond other towns and settle their own community, and run it as they saw fit, and call it “New” might be just what happened.

 

FWIW...the old water tower just off of the intersection of Novi Road/12 Mile is still standing...

 

Very sad and stunning news indeed........
I thought he was a natural talent and just maturing as a driver.
Rest in Peace, Jesse

 

R.I.P. Jesse. You'll be missed.

 

Well, I would expect nothing less from you Roy.. Good answer!

No. VI stop was the legend I got as well!



No for a follow up... being the month of May and all:

Who holds the single lap TRACK RECORD at indy on a WHEEL HORSE tractor?

(Give them a chance Roy, your fiends with the guy!)

 

In Itialian Novi or Novio means new .

 

Goodbye Jesse.

 

I read a story about the city being on the sixth loch of a waterway (Loch No. VI), but just checked Google maps and these days there is only a creek running out of Walled Lake??

 

Sorry to hear about Jesse. R.I.P.
Anybody going to the Indy Fairgrounds tomorrow? I will be there with the vintage cars. Stop and say Hi. My Coor's car is for sale.
Jim Graybeal

 

I'll be there Jim, but I HAVE TO hear that Novi run at the speedway tomorrow first!!

 

ok Josh, tomorrow's carb day easy trivia for you, what was the last year a carb was used in the 500 and who's cars were they on????

 

Got to see him a couple times at Gas City, guy was amazing....sad news

R.I.P. "The Rocket " Jesse Hockett

 

racer5c,
I got to see and hear Troy Ruttman drive the Novi one year at the Speedway. I was young but you could hear that car and tell
were it was even if other cars were on the track at the same time. Cliff Griffith drove it a few times and he told me that when the boost came in down the straight away smoke would start rolling off of the front tires, but it did not have much power in the corners.
Jim

 

from what i have read the novi turned 8500 rpm, not that much for a DOHC engine, so I was wondering where the "banshee scream" I always heard about came from, then I read that the supercharger turned 5 times the crank speed damn 42,500 rpms!!! I can't wait to hear it!!!

 

Oh and still waiting on you to try to answer the trivia question Josh

 

jIMG12--- IS THE VINTAGE DIRT CARS GETTING TO RUN A FEW LAPS AT THE FAIRGROUNDS ?

 

would the carb answer be 1963 on the Lotus fords of Clark and Gurney?

 

yep!

 

Roy... just got on here since you asked, but I didn't know the answer.

How about my follow up question?

You know it?

 

Another trivia ?, (and I may not know the full answer) name the f/e upright car(s) that qualified for: 1.- Indy 500 2.- 1 mile dirt 3.- road course 4.- 1 mile paved 5.- 1-1/2 mile high banked.

 

Rootie, the only car i know that comes close is the Basement Bessie car. Ran the road course at IRP, but the high banked paved is Darlington at 1.37 track size.

 

Yeah, thats the only car I can think of too, but I could be missing one. You're right about darlington.

 

A lo-buck special for sure. Russo was quoted once as saying something like: "the old Model A front end was flopping around"

 

ok this is just a guess but is it Paul Stender with one of his turbine powered tractors?

 

what year was it that Smokey Y ran his stock-block twin turbo chevy that had a holley carb on top of each turbo? had to be the last attempt at running a carb.His side car Indy car was most likely the last drum brake and the last leaf spring car at Indy

 

1973 I believe..... You win!