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

Happy Birthday, Roy!

 

Rootie, from the Tampa pics you posted it looks like "Ole Will Cagle" was sitin up and payin attention. I never noticed that before, but then... seriously that must have been a rough ride.
PK

 

Gotta agree with lrs40. Anything you bring up, if there's any question, SOMEBODY will know for sure what the truth is. Thanks, Jimmy and Mac.

 

I'm thinking he earned his pay that day, wheeling that big ol crate.

 

Mac,
Barnney did say they never had a 318. The 318 had a different block and maybea different case to make it that big. I was told you could make a 270 as big as a 318. Cliff Griffith and others told me Wilburn had a 318 but nobody could prove it. Gorden White has something about this in his Offy book, I think. Schrader andCollins both had 2 each, most everbody agreed on that. Bobby Grim told me Hector most always ran a destroked 270 and turned it more RPMS. And as for the cars getting beat[paint] on the Fair circuit they had 2 boddies painted alike and would change during the season.
Jim Graybeal

 

Got out my Gordon White Offy book. Not saying he is right but I will print what is in his book.
The first 318 Offy was built for Tommy Lee for his sports car.
The 318 had a bore of 4.5 in.x 5.0 stroke.
If the 318 was not the largest Offy that could be built, it was close. At one time Collins reportedly had an Offy of 326 cubic inches, but according to later IMCA star Bobby Grim, the bigger block could not handle the pounding of the four coffee can-sized Offy pistons. Schrader is suppose to have had three 318's Collins two and Ralph Morgag one for Jimmy Wilburn to drive on the IMCA circuit. There may have been one or two more. Joie Chitwood said that when O'Day sold his Offy to Ben Musick in 1942 it had a 310-cubic inch engine it. [this is from the book]
Jim Graybeal

 

Thanks for all the birthday well wishes, damn I feel old

 

You are not old Roy, ... just experienced!

I will get by soon, I have something for you!

 

Just checked in.. Iv'e been hiding in the shop for a few days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROY!

Thanks for all the great info, and stories!!

Joshua Shaw

 

We could promote this thread as being educational.

 

George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Hmmmmm let's see now; naw that would be too easy.
PK

 

Birthday ......... Gary Bettenhausen is 67 today .........

 

Hey Roy happy birthday and how did those radius rods work? Must have been some quirk to them or we would see them everywhere. But it looks and sounds like a great idea! Looks like something the Bopper would try to me.

Bob Shutt

 

On another website, Shane Carson reported that Chuck Amatie was fatally injured in an auto accident today.

 

Say it isn't so.

 

they worked good but were fragile, if ya bent em ya needed to have a spare set ready to bolt on

 

Man I hope this isn't true

 

Ufortunately I believe it is Roy, I read the same thing on the Indiana Open Wheel Forum this morning.

It says he presumably had a stroke or Heart Attack while driving....

 

its true Roy, I robbed this pic from Dave Ayers (ovalmiester) He posted it on Indiana open wheel. A Classic shot of the one armed bandit. RIP

 

A outlaw from a time "outlaw" actually meant something. R.I.P.

 

Chuck drove harder with one arm than most men do with two! I'm blessed to have witnessed that. I'm praying God's blessings on the Amatie family as they go through this difficult time.
PK

 

I didn't think Chuck only had one arm-(just a nickname) ??

 

He had two arms, anyone know how he came about the nickname?

 

Don't hold me to this, but I recall reading/heaing that early on he drove a race using his left arm only. I don't know why, maybe a bet, dare, minor injury, stunt. Anyway, the announcer took notice and called him The One Arm Bandit and it stuck. Could be all B.S. but I'll bet others here will know for sure.

 

I watched The King Run Hot Laps at Eldora one night and never raise his left hand to the wheel.

 

One night, he had an arm injury, but rigged up a belt to hold his right arm in his lap so he could run the feature with his left arm only. The announcer called him the "one armed bandit". The arm healed but the name stuck for the rest of his life.

 

E-pay heads up. FWIW-No knowledge or connection

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MIDG...yZ107066QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Putting two points of interest of recent posts in this thread together, my first reflection when I first learned of Chuck's accident early this morning was of a race at the Tampa Fairground's Plant Field. The track was heavy with a big cushion. Chuck started fairly back in the feature in a Bruce Coggil Ford sponsered sprint and was moving nicely through traffic and in second place I think. Between turns 3 & 4 he drifted up, hooked the cushion and flipped. It was a perfect 360 and landing on his wheels he gassed it and only lost one or two positions. It happened so quick few realized what had occurred.

 

Here is a Clip from a local tv station about the bandit. http://www.wsiltv.com/p/videos.php?v...&vidType=smMov

 

Concord, NC- November 19, 2008-Chuck Amati was an "Outlaw" long before the
inaugural 1978 World of Outlaws season. For over 40 years he raced from
coast-to-coast chasing wins, and when he took his helmet off for the final time
in 2002, he had accumulated hundreds of them in his career in a numbers of
different types of race cars.

The World of Outlaws and the entire racing community mourn the loss of the Hall
of Fame driver, who passed away on Tuesday, November 18 at the age of 68 in his
home state of Illinois, after suffering a massive heart attack while driving.

Amati will always be remember as "The One Armed Bandit," a nickname he earned
on a night, when he sustained an injury to his right arm and devised a harness
to hold the arm in place in his lap, driving using his left arm. The arm would
eventually heal, though the nickname stuck with him for the rest of his career
and contributed to him being one of the most colorful drivers to ever climb into
a sprint car.

He won a in a variety of machines during his legendary career including: winged
sprint cars, non-winged sprint cars, supermodifieds and even midgets. >From
1969-1986, he won at least one sprint car race every year during that span.
Among the tracks that he won at were a number of stops on the 2008 World of
Outlaws schedule including: Tri-City Speedway in Illinois, Eagle Raceway in
Nebraska, Tri-State Speedway in Indiana, Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania,
and I-55 Raceway in Missouri.

Amati competed in a number of events during the World of Outlaws inaugural
season of 1978, including the series first race at Devil's Bowl Speedway in
Texas. He earned three Top-Five finishes that season with the series, including
a runner-up performance at Paragon Speedway in Indiana, in an event which was
won by a young driver named Steve Kinser.

Earlier this season Amati, who was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of
Fame in 2004, shared his thoughts on the early days of the World of Outlaws, as
part of the series 30th anniversary celebration, in a series entitled "Catching
up with."
"The idea of traveling all over was probably the biggest challenge, though for
me I was used to it," explained Amati of the World of Outlaws first couple
seasons. "Most of the races I ran were all over, so it didn't really affect me.
I was thrilled to death to be able to run with the organization when they formed
the World of Outlaws."

Amati was the Grand Marshall for the World of Outlaws event this past season at
I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Missouri on April 5. While at the track he visited with
a number of fans and also was able to reminisce with a few of the drivers that
he competed against back in the early days of the series.

One of those drivers was another of the 'Original Outlaws,' Shane Carson, who
raced against Amati countless times during his career. The Oklahoma native, who
was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2007 and now is the
head of Industry Relations for the World of Outlaws, was instrumental in having
Amati serve as the Grand Marshall for the event.

"Chuck was a good friend, a great racer and brought a smile to everyone's face
when he showed up," said Carson. "Chuck was a true showman in our sport, way
before it's time. Having him at Pevely this year as the Grand Marshall for the
Outlaws show was quite an honor for me and all that were there. When he talked
to the fans, he just lit up. It was a great night. He will be missed."


Amati had recently spent time helping and coaching his Grandson, Shane Wade, who
races a sprint car at tracks in and around the Illinois area.

To view the entire "Catching up with Chuck Amati" from earlier this season which
contains photos from his career, as well as an interview with the 2004 National
Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee visit:
http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint/News/2008/March/033108_SP_Amati.aspx.

Services for Amati will be held at Johnson Funeral Home in Herrin, Illinois.