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

mid 70s/early 80s.... looks like, probably, Shores..?? looks long for a sprint car(87"wb), more like a champ dirt car(96"wb).... cage crudely hacked sawed off....... old, but nothing "vintage". This type of car seems to be taking over most small local "vintage" clubs around the country.

 

Duane Carter tries on the Sampson.

 

Thanks for those photos Rootie. Any date with the photo? The car 'looks' brand new so must have been 1939? and Duane 26. From ChampCarStats.com he didn't run his first Indy 500 for another 8 years (WWII) I've read that Riley Brett and Alden Sampson took several years off from the Championship Trail and occasionally ran midgets before coming back in 39 with this creation. Wonder if Duane drove their midgets?

 

I wonder what the wheelbase on the Sampson car is. Looks loooong. Maybe because of the long front nose overhang.

 

No exact date but I would guess 1940 as it was #32 in 39-40. Though Carter never drove it in a race I suspect the photo-op connection was probably through Bob Swanson (Sampson driver Indy 1940) who raced midgets with Carter on the west coast and I think they were pretty good friends.

 

Nice wheels Mac, whats the dirt car you got in the background?

 

A shot from the chute at the recent Movrcc event at IRP Thur.

 

Thanks for the info Rootie.
BZNEIL nice shots from IRP. Sure missed having the car in the Midwest this year. Here's a photo by Randall Cook of Mac Miller in it waiting to go out at IRP Rich Vogler Classic July 27, 2013.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91981316@N06/9452297563/in/album-72157634832316412/

 

Good shot of Jim Rathman and Herk 1961. I don't think Rathman ever did gave up on his old Cromwell.

 

So neat to see this thread still going strong. You guys are the reason. THANK YOU. I crack up at how uneducated I was at the beginning, and can't help but think of how much MORE there will always be to learn.
Wish I could post more here, but it's just not in my program anymore.

Ya'll are doing a killer job anyhow!

Please Keep it up.

Joshua Shaw

Here are a few pics that are hanging out in my phone...

 

Herks 1st gen. Mallard with a wedge nose and some serious meats.

 

This photo appeared in The Seaver Center Collection about 5 years ago. It had no accurate identifying info.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seaver_center/4294047292/in/album-72157623087368181/

The following was suggested at the time:

Michael Ferner 5y
"No, it's fellow racing driver Sam Palmer, sitting in the Fox/Miller "Olympiad Special" and getting all the news. Date is probably May 18, 1932, and the next race as advertised on the sign in the background would be won by this combination!"

• 
  jgil33 5y
  Yep, Sam Palmer. As Mr. Ferner said, May 18."

My comment: If you magnify the photo it 'appears' that Sam is admiring a news photo of himself ( and years before Facebook) and I bet it was a photo from his win of the May 21st 40 lap main the 'week before' so rather than May 18 as the date of the photo it could very well be the next event following his win on the 21st.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91981316@N06/19857295378/in/album-72157650831545539/

 

Carl, this is not the sports pages...

As an aside, the LA Times had a picture of Sam in the May 25 preview, but no photo at all for the May 26 race report. The May 19 race report was adorned by a picture of fourth-place finisher Les Spangler. Newspapers are not always that predictable!

 

Thanks Michael, probably a paper something akin to 'Hollywood Filmograph', speaking of which I received a nice note from Paul Osborn - grandson of Eddie (Ralph) Demeree who wrote in Hollywood Filmograph the weekly PR for Legion Ascot at least around the 1932 Season.
"
Ralph (Eddie) Demeree
Carl,
Here's the only photo I've uploaded of my grandfather. Too bad he's wearing shades and a hat, so you can't see him very clearly. And, this was late-1960's, more than three decades after he did any racing. Probably changed a bit, huh?
Paul

Eddie Demeree's grandson
Hello! Just wanted to say thanks for posting all the great vintage racing photos and memorabilia. My grandfather was "Eddie" Demeree, reporter and close friend of Wilbur Shaw back in the day. His real name was Ralph Demeree, but I guess he thought Eddie sounded better, especially on the radio. Gramps died in 1980, but by then, he had passed on his passion for racing to me. I'd love to find a photo of him when he was Shaw's riding mechanic, but it was for a relatively short time, and only at West Coast tracks - never at the Brickyard, unfortunately. Keep up the good work, Mr. Clamshack.

Paul Osborn
Sacramento, CA"

 

Jack McGrath and friends. On the left is Jacks wife and on the far right is Jimmy Daywalts wife, not real sure of the others though.

 

I'm pretty sure that the lady in the center is Esther Vukovich.

I've seen this photo before and I always wondered about the woman next to McGrath's wife. She's probably another driver's wife but she might also be Jack's sister. McGrath's sister was a professional golfer on the ladies tour for many years and did pretty well at times. I can't remember her married name right now but I'll see if I can find it. Maybe someone here remembers more about this.

 

The lady on Esther's left (or as you look at the picture, just to the right of Esther) I'm guessing is Alice Hanks.

 

I think you may be right! Bill Akin and I still stay in contact with Alice and visited her home in 2013..what a wonderful lady!! This is definitely Alice in the pic above and below....think Sam was only married once! Joe

 

She (Alice Hanks) is indeed a class lady. Sam was one of the many people that mentored me when I came to the speedway and Alice was never very far from his side.

 

Was Hanks married more than once? If not, I'm not really seeing it. I believe this shot is from 1949 though.

 

Rootie, Don't know if he was married more than once but that looks like Alice to me. I could be wrong tho. Denny

 

Josh, what is the story on the #59 Miller (Ford?) in the photos?

 

Langhorne 100 1967, Herk takes on the "funny cars."

 

Tommy H., Williams Grove 1947.

 

Andy Granatelli wadded it up in practice, Indy 1948.

 

This was also recently posted on a "Indiana Racing Memorial Association - IRMA" facebook page.

Their caption read:
"1954 Indianapolis pole winner, Jack McGrath poses with some good looking driver's wives. Left to right: Lois McGrath, Arza Carter, Esther Vukovich, Alice Hanks, and Camaletta Daywalt. Which is better looking, the car or the ladies?!? Mmmm......"

 

Golden State 100, Sacto 1966: A.J. flames out early......Ziggy knocks down the fence........Aggies young hotshot driver Dick Atkins takes his first and, as fate would have it, last Champ Car win.

 

Someone (Not 29 Speedster) over there posted Roootie's photo with no attribution or acknowledgement of Roootie's posting here which I'm afraid to say seems to be common on FB