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

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Joshua Shaw, Jan 17, 2008.

  1. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

  2. RABs32
    Joined: Nov 14, 2009
    Posts: 807

    RABs32
    Member
    from new jersey

    looks more like Steve Butler talkin with Larry........Rich
     
  3. indybigjohn
    Joined: May 22, 2008
    Posts: 1,713

    indybigjohn
    Member Emeritus

    Flagged at Dayton many times, and loved the place.
     
  4. Spike Ruth
    Joined: Aug 4, 2008
    Posts: 440

    Spike Ruth
    Member

    Yes, that is Butler talking to Dickson.
     
  5. Fella,s
    Butler was racing in the ten car and was in the Main, plus he,s wider and shorter and I belive he put Stanley into the turn 2 wall at the start.
     

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  6. BillWallace
    Joined: May 6, 2011
    Posts: 132

    BillWallace
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    Ive posted on here before about going to Dayton in the early 50s. In the week or two before a race at Dyton they would come thru the towns & cities in the area & staple brightly colored signs to utility poles. We would hitch hike up old rt4 to Old Soldier Home rd on sunday & climb some of those trees outside the track to watch practice & when the racing would start they left the gates open & us kids would run in & find a seat. I got to watch some of the greats in the AAA era. Ruttman,Carter,Rigsby, Force, Green & many others. In those days the AAA had a midwest & east coast big car championship & they were the highway to Indy. The last time I was there on leave from the Air Force I saw Hurtabese go out of the place. I was lucky not to be there when Gordon Reid went into the stands. We had three of the best high bank tracks in the country right there in the southern Ohio & eastern indiana area-Dayton, Winchester,& Cincy race bowl now all but gone as Winchester is limited. Great memories of a bygone era.
     
  7. baldtireman
    Joined: Aug 3, 2009
    Posts: 378

    baldtireman
    Member

    Nice post,Mr Easter!;)
     
  8. Fella,s
    See the fellow at the left in the drivers suit with the white shirt and glasses and blond
    THATS Butler.
     

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  9. Dick L
    Joined: Dec 21, 2010
    Posts: 138

    Dick L
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    Great reply, I saw your dad in some of those photo's, that's pretty cool. I couldn't believe that one photo of a section of guardrail all twisted & bent. That would have scared the shit out of me!
     
  10. Dick L
    Joined: Dec 21, 2010
    Posts: 138

    Dick L
    Member

    Amazing! Did most drivers like or dislike the place? It's kind of like another Langhorne, dangerous but, thrilling too.
     
  11. easter
    Joined: Nov 25, 2010
    Posts: 554

    easter
    Member

    Thanks. Anytime you happen to come across a photo of my dad (Luke Easter), I would really appreciate it if you let me know. I don't really have that many photos of Dad - and none of him at Dayton. I appreciate the comments.
     
  12. easter
    Joined: Nov 25, 2010
    Posts: 554

    easter
    Member

    Let me be clear about something - I never saw an IMCA race at Dayton. When I said the "IMCA guys" I was refering to drivers who I had seen in IMCA races elsewhere. No one has said anything - yet - but just realized I could have been misleading. I sure hope there will be a bunch of photos from the Cincy Car show.
     
  13. easter
    Joined: Nov 25, 2010
    Posts: 554

    easter
    Member

    I just remembered some photos of Dad that were "varnished" onto a board years ago. These are photos of photos and not of good quality. I'll try to do better, later, but for now -

    Here's Luke in the Howell car before leaving for Winchester in July 1967

    [​IMG]

    Here's Dad in the Howell car earlier at Winchester (May or June 1967) on the gas. Note the different injection stacks and uniform:

    [​IMG]

    This is Dad at Anderson - I believe before qualifying for the Little 500 - in the Pappy Buckley car from Akron, OH. Not sure of the year:

    [​IMG]
     
  14. fogs58
    Joined: Jan 14, 2011
    Posts: 135

    fogs58
    Member
    from ooo


    I'm not old enough for some of this stuff being 53 , but. My dad who just passed this last year was at Dayton for both Rigsby and the Reid incidents. The Reid wreck him and my mom were setting down towards the other end. When the wreck happened my dad went down to the end to see what had happened. Anyone who has ever heard of this wreck knows it was pretty grizzly. One thing that has never been talked much was the amount of people down there in the stands that had to go to the hospital because they were covered in paint. I guess they were getting ready to paint the grandstands and barrels or buckets of paint were setting down there at that end of the stands. He said it was quite a mess. He always talked about those two wrecks and a coupla others at Winchester. It took awful large ones to drive sprint cars back in those days. Also sometimes just to set in the stands. Remember how close you used to set to the track at Winchester in the old covered stands ?
     
  15. rooman
    Joined: Sep 20, 2006
    Posts: 4,045

    rooman
    Member

    Not a huge number but try these

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=661471

    Roo
     
  16. Went to Dayton in the late 1940's and early 1950's with my racing nut father. We went to several Mutual Roadster Associations races and some AAA 'Big Car' races. We actually spent more time at Winchester and rarely missed the AAA 'Big Cars' in the early 1950's. Winchester was, and probably still is, a scary place and I witnessed my first racing fatal when Chuck Stapelton went over the wall in the first turn in 1954. It was an education in raw guts as the drivers usually wore t shirts with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve and you were close enough to the cars to actually see the well muscled arms on the drivers. Mr Easter's description of the fourth turn at Dayton and the adjoining pit entrace is right on. In the 50's the fourth turn was also made more difficult with the overhead pedestrian bridge.
     
  17. raengines
    Joined: Nov 6, 2010
    Posts: 227

    raengines
    Member
    from pa.

    just a little OT for Easter
     

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  18. easter
    Joined: Nov 25, 2010
    Posts: 554

    easter
    Member

    Thanks! Yep, that's Dad in Pappy Buckley's #40 at Parkersburg. That car had a fuel injected 400 ci Pontiac motor. He won a lot of races in that square box. Pappy later owned the #51 Sprint (in the picture earlier) that Dad drove a few times. That square supermodified beat a bunch of the Pennsylvania sprinters at Ohio Valley, Skyline, St. Clairsville, Pennsboro, Debo, Dobbies, and Hilltop. The throttle stuck on that car one night at Parkersburg and Dad drove through the turn 3 fence (rather than hit it sideways) and after numerous flips ended up near the new grandstand with the cage folded down on top of him. Pappy and Tub rebuilt the car and Dad came back the very next weekend (without a wing) and set a new track record. In fact, Dad used to beat the Howell owned Trevis sprint that he would later drive. Old times.
     
  19. wynns #1
    Joined: Feb 1, 2009
    Posts: 206

    wynns #1
    Member

    Blatz,
    I know this is after 1969 but I will throw this out there. When USAC came to Reading in the early 70s one of my my favorite cars was the Grant King built Spotnails car wrenched by Jack Steck. Lee Kunzmann drove the wheels off it 1973, too bad he got hurt! Any comments?
     
  20. RABs32
    Joined: Nov 14, 2009
    Posts: 807

    RABs32
    Member
    from new jersey

    Joe,Is this the one your talkin about......Rich
     

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  21. As usual, our leader Mr. Joshua Shaw did a fine job at the Cavalcade in Cincy this weekend. Here is a shot from there. Who went besides me?
    HG :cool:

    [​IMG]
     
  22. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

    Wynn`s 1 : Kunzman ran good at Williams Grove in that car too. He was a good shoe.
     
  23. tcmason
    Joined: Oct 20, 2011
    Posts: 11

    tcmason
    Member

    I am new to your group just purchased a barn find, 1941 sprint car from the Jackson ,Mi area. My son and I hope to get it running some time next year. Lots of parts and history to locate. Liked looking through the pictures. Terry
     

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  24. tractorguy
    Joined: Jan 5, 2008
    Posts: 894

    tractorguy
    Member

    This is one of my all time favorite driver/car/action shots. There are several out there but that classic Spotnails open wheeler being hung out by a great guy like Kunzman is what the good old days were all about.
     
  25. CTtoPA
    Joined: Jun 17, 2008
    Posts: 252

    CTtoPA
    Member

    Speaking of Dayton, I never knew that's where the infamous Jim Rigsby crash occurred.
     
  26. CTtoPA
    Joined: Jun 17, 2008
    Posts: 252

    CTtoPA
    Member

    Is the drag link for the Spotnails car at an unusual downward angle?
     
  27. Michael Ferner
    Joined: Nov 12, 2009
    Posts: 813

    Michael Ferner
    Member

    1969.

    Hey, it's not YET Easter!!

    :p
     
  28. Butch Evans
    Joined: Nov 9, 2008
    Posts: 115

    Butch Evans
    Member

    I believe Jack Steck and Ken Paulson built that car in Jack's shop.
     
  29. Butch Evans
    Joined: Nov 9, 2008
    Posts: 115

    Butch Evans
    Member

    I might have got the cart ahead of the horse, that's not the car I was thinking about
     
  30. easter
    Joined: Nov 25, 2010
    Posts: 554

    easter
    Member

    And, it's not Easter, Yet!
     

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