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

Hi old age: I'm not sure if was the same car, but my old racing partner John
Leverenz drove a spring front roadster with cross bars under the seat owned by Marv Faw in the mid 60's. It mite have been the same car, it was quite old and had a chevy in it.

Marv also built a new roadster 1965 or 1966, it was a four bar with rear cross bars under seat. It was #44 white red and blue.it was a good working car. John drove it in California and also a Minnesota
State Fair IMCA races. The car worked great on Pavement, we ran top six every day at fair. I will post some pic. later. The car was damaged severely at Altamont Speedway in Tracy Ca. at an open show in 1967, crashed with 3 nascar supers agents wall. I can't remember if car was fixed or not.

Marv also built the nose and hood of the 12x car owned by John and I, it is pictured in my avatar. Sorry it took so long for response. Bill

 

I don,t know if this picture of Bill Utz's car has been posted or not. It was an offset car that was built in a home shop. The other is one of his early cars.
Later,
Dick

 

Looks like someone has a little front straight helmet float.

 

Thanks for the response that post was so long ago I almost forgot about it. I did find some more information on that car after I made the post. The car was powder blue and sponsored by Wilson Insurance Company of Sioux Falls SD. I do not remember the number on the car for sure but it possibly was either 7 or 17. I do remember the Ranger engine and the spring front and the garage where it was built used to be an Ice House where they stored ice cut off the Sioux River. Also you mention the #12X in your avatar and I think that when Leverenz ran the '37 Ford coupe in Iowa-Minnesota-Dakotas it was numbered 12X !!!!! Again thanks for the response and I really enjoy your history input here.

 

The Roadster here was a near copy of Greg Weld's first roadster that he won the 1963 Knoxville Nationals in. Greg and Jerry Weld built Greg's car on the floor of Taylor's Auto Service in KC. Jerry drew it out on the floor with chalk. That's the way we used to build em! As I recall, Bill Utz got tired of Greg taking home a lot of the Knoxville money. Seems like Bill did pretty good with his roadster too. Greg cut off the front of the cage and ran it as a single roll bar sprint at Tampa in 1964. Greg qualified 4th but got a big rock in the face that broke his flip shield and glasses and nearly got his eyes.

 

Yes indeed lot's of winners chalked up and built in that place Jim.

Curt Grogan

 

As Monkaz said, 1960 black Park Lumber

http://www.thevintageracer.com/reading/reading_fairgrounds4.htm

1959

http://www.thevintageracer.com/jimnise/nise_autograph61.htm

 

Well.. Just checked back in and I see ya'll answered everything ya needed to know! Yeap, it became the Black #7, Yeap that's Gus and Mut, and your driver guesses are right on.

as for the round tube frame size, I'm sure Niel is right. I have an Early "Big tube" frame sprint car in my shop at home, I'll check it tonight.

 

Maybe a little wing would help. . . just kidding, just kidding!

 

Yeah, I saw that, too. It's gotta hurt his chin. The Indy guys have those little bumps on top of their helmet to disrupt the air flow and lift. Either that, or drill a bunch of big holes in the top of the helmet to let the air out!

 

What became of the car when the Hoffman's were done with it? Who was the chassis builder? What year did the sell it? to whom? I'm curious as h---!!!

 

For RB Blatz,
My guess would be about 2 inches for the frame size and that chassis was built in the winter of 1950 by Fred Tomshe.

 

Back when the Hoosier was a Sat afternoon show in 91 I was trying to take images an shoot with a Hi-8 video, nuts to the multitasking, then I did this knowing who the fella in the driver suit was but for very many years at a loss for the name of chap with the red cap was and what they were chatting about.

 

That car was built in 1948 by Eddie Kuzma for J.C. Agajanian. If it is not the first, it is one of the first , purpose built tube frame sprint cars.
Johnny Mantz won the 1949 AAA Pacific Coast Big Car (Sprint Car) Championship in the car. Duane Carter won the 1950 AAA Midwest Sprint Car Championship in the car and Troy Ruttman won the 1951 AAA Midwest Sprint Car Championship in the Agajanian 98 sprinter.
On July 29,1951 Cecil Green Lost his life in the car at Winchester and Troy Ruttman shattered his right arm at Cedar Rapids Iowa in 1952.
After Hoffman sold the car it ran in the Midwest until 1977 when it was parked.
The car is owned by a collector in the Midwest who doesn't wish to be identified. He doesn't want to sell the car, which is in parts, and he does not intend to restore it.

 

Until I read this, I had never realized that we lost two so close together. Frankie Luptow was killed the next day driving a Hudson Hornet in a NASCAR race at Lakewood in Atlanta.

 

Jim Hurtubise died January 6, 1989 hardly seems like its been 23 years

 

Minnesota State Fair 1966 or 67 IMCA

1. John Leverenz in the 44 car, Scratch Daniels in the 62 car.

2. Jerry Richart in car 63, John Leverenz in car 44.

3. Jerry Richart in car 63, John Leverenz in car 44.

4. John Leverenz in 44 car, Jerry Richart in 63 car.

The 44 car is Marv Faw roadster, the 62 and 63 car are Wagner Chevy's.

 

If memory serves me right, this offset car set the record on the mile dirt track at the Missouri State fairgrounds at Sedalia. The record still stands and can't be changed as the track was bulldozed.
Later,
Dick

 

Bill
Here,s the 6th car in your second image, Harrison.

 

Could be Paul Leffler talking to Dickson.

 

Beautiful picture. Must be 68 or 69. I think Darl was still driving the #91 in 67 and had a roll cage on the #44 by 70. Also, the width of that left rear tire looks wider than 67 stuff. That picture looks like it was taken yesterday. Darl was fast everywhere, but especially fast on pavement. Did you take the photo?

 

Another ironic one - Ted Horn was fatally injured on October 10, 1948. Johnny Ritter was fatally injured on October 12, 1948. Both kept their race cars at Gasoline Alley in Paterson, NJ.

 

Incredible photos. After studying the photos of the roadster I do not think this is the same car that was originally built in 1954. If it is the same car, it has undergone a lot of changes from body panels, frame length and of course the Chevrolet engine. That place was never the same after they paved it. Thanks for sharing your information and especially those very fine photos.

 

The #44 car looks a lot like the "Flintstone Flyer" Todd Gibson drove in the late 60's or early 70's. Did you ever see that little pale yellow car? And, was it similar? I remember once at Macon, GA at an IMCA race (I think) on our way to Tampa, Todd went out to qualify. Everybody was grinning because they knew what the local spectators didn't know: Gibson was probably going to shatter the existing record. His first lap was bad fast, but they had to red/black flag him because his car was lower that the timing light on the wall. So they taped a fuel stick (sort of a 1" x 1" x 48" yard stick) to the roll bar to trip the light. Yep, he broke the record. I also remember while Tampa was our main focus, Todd would run over at St. Petersburg (Sunshine Speedway?) with the Supers much to the dislike of the IMCA suits (Sweeny and VanWinkle - I think.) I don't have a single photo of that little car.

 

Just found this on line.

 

Easter, is that an ex Trevis Indy roadster?

 

According to the site, it's an ex-Kunzman Indy car. Here's a link:

http://www.jakessite.com/09/six/topsix4.html

 

Here's another Flintstone Flyer. This might be the one I saw in Macon:

 

And please, before y'all start on me - no more caged roadster shots from me. It was kind of a continuation story. God Bless Jerry Richert and Jan Opperman (if that helps y'all) - my heros.