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

Don was originally from California, but spent an number of years in Indy as a fabricator, mostly of champ car stuff. You might remember his roadster sprinters, the mechanical rabbits.

 

Brown also spent the racing seasons in the mid 60s in Lincoln Neb. when he and Joe Saldana were running the IMCA circuit.

 

I saw both the later midget & the sprint car at Bill Shoemaker's home a number of years ago. He was a retired Judge, I believe. .. At the time I had intentions of maybe buying the midget, but Mr. Shoemaker had a very unrealistic idea as to what it was worth. Needless to say I passed on it.

Bill Shoemaker has since passed away.

Last I heard the cars were still in his family, but that was awhile ago.

The midget was changed some over the years. Either just before or when Joel Merksamer of Birchwood Towing (here on Long Island, NY) owned it ... "Dutch" Schaefer and Ray Sigowski changed the rear suspension from how your Dad built it with coil overs, to cross torsion. About that time the body work was changed from what your Dad had to (IIRC) body parts adapted from a Trevis TQ.
When "Big Carl" Karklin and his son Johnny (Karklin) Action owned it I helped change the engine from the Falcon to a 300 ci straight six Ford truck engine ... similar to what your Dad had in his sprint car. It fit within the chassis rails, so it was allowed by the SMRC at the time. ..... The lettering with the star bursts is similar to when the Bennett Brothers owned it (your dad drove it for them) and it was sponsored by Spotoil .. except if I'm correct the star bursts were black, rather then blue.

I never saw the sprint car when your Dad was alive, but I'd almost bet that he never had the injector velocity stacks gold in color.

Both cars have a multitude of decals, that I don't think were ever on the cars when your Dad drove them.

If you'd like me to find out more about the current status, location, etc. of both cars .... either Private Message me on here or eMail me at [email protected] and we'll communicate that way, rather then clog up the threads with that sort of thing.

BTW .. scattered throughout both this & the midget thread their is more about your Dad, plus other pictures of the cars that he drove, owned, built.

 

OK to the brain trust here....The picture of Joe in winners circle, the eight folks gathered around who are they? I can only name two for sure and two are familiar but I can't remember.

L-R Johnny Kay, ?, ?,John McCarthy, familiar but?, ?, ?.

 

I am overwelmed with the great pictures and kind words.....wish i knew him.
Every year since i was a kid i have listened to and watched the 500...and
think what might have been....

 

Great photos, Mr Whitaker.

In the top photo of the daytime race at Ascot,
I can identify most of the drivers. Jon Ward is on the pole in his self built roadster and I'm pretty sure it's Bob Hogle to his outside in Don LaPierre's #70. Next 2 are possibly Bob Evans in the #32 and Hank Henry in the #16 directly behind Hogle. Jack Brunner is the 54, and not sure who's directly behind Brunner. Next row- Billy Wilkerson in the 8 and possibly Dick Fries inside him (Lester Robertson's car). Right behind Fries is Paul Jones in the Bromme Offy, behind him is Steve Kennick and next back is Bruce Walkup in the Surdam Chevy. Then it's Don Thomas, then Mike Mosley in the Tamale Wagon. not sure who is on the far left.

Ascot would be dry-slick in the daytime shows- not tacky fast like the night shows under the lights.

I had the pleasure of spending most of my youth at Ascot races.

 

This was the car Ed Hunter owned I drove it in 1979 and it was still a top 5 car with SMRC

 

Just a couple more photos and my 15 minutes is up. Again, even the best didn't hesitate to stop what they were doing and pose for me. This was my favorite - Jerry Richert. He was the smoothest driver I ever saw. Clean and seemingly effortless, but up on the cushion and fast. I miss him. That's Benny Rapp's car in the background - the one with the Pearl paint job.

 

Jerry Richert's car at Tampa.

 

Luke's first sprint. I remember this Ford truck had Buick hubcaps.

 

Does anyone recognize this Pennsylvania track? Mid '60's. There was some great racing in those hills.

 

Luke at that track.

 

Same track. Pretty high banked.

 

Again, same track different angle. Check out the cool convertible pace car. Late models on the track now, but sprints in the pits.

 

I drove the Csiki Ford sprint car in a vintage sprint car race at the Tampa fairground half mile sometime in the mid 1980's. Big torque! It out ran all those Offys that used to come from California back then.
The car felt pretty light and the brakes weren't much good, but it jumped when you wanted it to.
Gary Shoemaker, the son of the owner, used to live in Holtsville, New York. I will attempt to get information on him.

Harold Seaman

 

.....'Hi easter! 'Probably no one enjoys your pics more than I do and I want to thank you for them. It is SO good to see anything from the old Tampa Fairgrounds. Long before you discovered this great site, we had discussed that great old racetrack. So much so that Rootie and some of the guys chimed in with all the details and history of that famous facility. 'Until then, I didn't know that the locals referred to it as "Plant Field." I've even gone to Google Earth to see what's there now at that intersection. So many of those great names from IMCA are very easy for some of us to remember back 40+ years ago; 'Your guy, Jerry Richert, Dick Sutcliffe, The Pride of Kearney Missouri, Eddie Leavitt, Ray Lee Goodwin, Jay Woodside, Jerry Blundy and many, many more. Back in the mid to late sixties, several of the CRA teams used to make the tow all the way down to Tampa. Just in case you weren't aware of the two fabulous videos that have been around for awhile, the links are listed below. Thanks again, easter!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcLxqhzN_BM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5057IjIvz_8&feature=related

 

Thank you for the kind words. What a special place and time that was in Tampa. I know still today they all go to East Bay for the Febuary start, but the old fairgrounds right downtown can't be beat. Those engines and fans drowned out the snow, Viet Nam, protests, and all of the other crap going on in the '60's. One year, Dad actually let me sit in the front of the truck cab and at the window! Mom was in the middle. I was kind of kneeling on the seat so I'd look bigger from the outside. I knew everyone was looking because of that beautiful sprint car on the trailer behind us. We stopped at a traffic light just before turning into the track and I'm just a few feet away from a good looking Hippie girl standing on the corner. She looks back at the car with wonder and then looks back at me. Thinking she probably wanted to come in with me I gave her a little grin and said: "How you doin'?" She said: "Get a Horse!!" So ended my brief moment in the limelight.

 

Was it USAC or CRA event?When was this event?

 

I saw Jerry race many times. I could spot him just by the way he sat in a sprint car. He was always a condender on pavement or dirt. I'll post some pics when I find them.

 

There's a photo of the Barzda stretched midget in my last photo article.

http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/ta/backintime11-2/pg1.htm

It's on page 3

 

Barzda`s stretched midget had a suicide front end. It had long front radius rods and the spinf was attached to them. He did not have to langthen the frame at all.
Scary but it worked.

 

Glad to hear that he's doing OK. Maybe it's a good thing he's "close to the ground" to begin with?

 

Easter,
It looks like Selingsgrove to me.

 

Based on the headers, it appears to be in its blown V-8 60 form.

 

Took these today at the Indy Autorama!