60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Richard (Dick) Beauregard January 2, 1926 - September 7, 2011 Hesperia, CA - Richard (Dick) Beauregard, 85, of Hesperia,Calif. passed away on September 7, 2011. He was born on January 2, 1926. in Norwich Ct. Son of the late Romain and Mary Beauregard. He was a plastering contractor in Norwich and later an insulator at the Long Beach Navel Shipyard in Calif. He was a popular race car driver at the Waterford Speedbowl . He was a two time champion in 1952,& 1962. He was inducted in the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Survived by his loving wife Gladys of 64 years, three daughters, Sandy, Diane,& Sherree all of Calif. Four grand children & Four great grandchildren. Two sisters Loraine Starr & Gloria Sevigny. Preceded by a brother Arthur Beauregard and Rita Cellucci. A private family memorial service will be held.

 

I previously posted this photo, and I don't know who the photographer is, so I'm still not sure this is Sparky Belmont in the 00 car (I think it is). From the information I've uncovered, in mid-August 1967, Sparky was leading the Plainville Stadium (CT.) point championship by a large margin driving the Walt Kuryn #00 coupe. On Saturday, Aug. 12th, (1967) Plainville Stadium was running twin feature events. The first 50 lap feature (a rain-date makeup) was won by Sparky Belmont with a last lap pass for the lead. In the second 50 lap feature, Sparky had a throttle stick and crashed hard into the wall, totally demolishing the Kuryn 00 coupe. Sparky suffered severe facial cuts and was transported to New Britain General Hospital for treatment. From what I understand, the coupe was beyond repair, so Walt built a 'new' 00 coach (pictured above), which Sparky debuted two weeks later (after a rain-out the following week), and had to race with a special face guard attached to his helmet. The car experienced mechanical problems, and didn't qualify for the feature event. Subsequently, Sparky was not able to score any more championship points in the 'new' car in the remaining two weeks of the season due to mechanical issues and lost the championship in the final week to Dan Gaudiosi, driving the #44 (the former Billy 'Red' O'Keefe #69 coupe).
In the photo above, the 00 coach looks 'new', as Plainville left many of its cars battle-scarred on a weekly basis. Also, the script on the roof wasn't there after Sparky passed away the following summer. Close inspection also reveals what may be a face guard on the driver's helmet, which would verify the time-line of the photo. If anyone has any other information on this photo or knows the photographer, or has any knowledge about what transpired in these last few weeks of the '67 season, please contribute to this post. Thanks.
Rich

 

Rich, The Plainville reunion is Saturday October 9th. I'm pretty sure Jap Membreno and George Lombardo will be there. They both have pretty good memories so bring the photo and someone should have answers. I'll be there too. Denny Z

 

Zoera, thanks for your great post on the 1967 Plainville Stadium season. Some stuff in there I was unaware of. Plainville was my home track, but I never went there until the early 1970s, so I have always had an interest in the years just before I started attending. Sparky remains one of the real legends of the Stadium, and of Connecticut racing in general. Thanks again for this history lesson ...

 

Hey, Dr. John, that shot of Lee Osborne spinning at Fulton is priceless. Check out the difference in the sizes of Ozzie's two front tires ... Those guys didn't worry much about grip in the left-front corner! Your archive continues to amaze me.

 

Thanks Denny, Bones. This story is a combination of family lore, library research (The New Britain Herald), and this mysterious unidentified photo. The photo was taken at the starters' stand, and no one has yet taken credit for it. I'm sure some questions will be answered at the reunion.

1967 was the second year in a row Sparky was seriously injured, and of course you know, he passed away the following year after wining the July 3rd 100 lap race.

So much early post-war racing history remains undocumented, and so many great racers from these years will never be acknowledged for their accomplishments because of this. I hope we don't forget these post-war drivers and owners, as many of them were equal to the later heroes. Thanks.
Rich

 

Time has no respect for our image.
http://www.keithcarusoracing.com/history.php

My memories are all frozen in time and that's where I want to keep them.
Fats driving the famous circle 2 in 1958 at Westboro

And his page at NorwoodArena.com
http://www.norwoodarena.com/Cars-Drivers5/Fats-Caruso/Caruso.html

carl schulz
indio, ca

 

On a lighter note, I just brought home one of the original engines from the Moose Hewitt #19 that I picked up last fall from Steve Butova. It'll be nice to re-unite it with the car it came out of. The body is back on and after a refresh and reassemble of the engine and some paint and lettering work the whole package should be ready for the vintage season next year. The late Moose Hewitt was one of the most respected and accomplished modified racers from the CT. area in the last half century and I'll be honored to campaign and display his car on the vintage circuit. A sister car is already running the vintage circuit so this will be interesting having twins.

 

Toilet bowl racing that created ratrods? lol

 

carl, Yea I stand corrected that probably was Fats.

These two websites are great...lots of memories... Thanks, Denny Z

http://www.norwoodarena.com/Cars-Dri...so/Caruso.html

http://www.keithcarusoracing.com/history.php

 

Compadre!

I left for the Naval Air Force in 61 and never returned to Boston so I never got to meet you at Norwood, I was in the lower (gravel!!!) pits with the novice/bomber cars - the modifieds and class A cut downs were up in the lovely paved pit area. :>)

There along with me although we hardly ever spoke was Don MacTavish and Pete Hamilton, all 3 of us were underage and there without our parents approval or knowledge, they were clever enough to provide fake names to disguise their identity.
lol.

 

Yeah, in the "good old days", you got to the turns, let up, got the car aimed somewhat left toward the apex of the turn, then gassed it to throw the weight to the rear, and let the stagger turn the car.

 

Frank Myronchuck at Pocono.

 

Now that's a great story. I should've known better and disguised my age and identity too, as back in '71 or '72, at age 18, I showed up at Plainville Stadium (CT.) with an old '55 Chevy Daredevil car from Waterford. I was totally psyched finally having a race car to run Plainville. Moe Gherzi was the race director at the time and said I couldn't race because I wasn't a club member. I told Moe I'd join, but he said I needed my parents signatures, which I did not and could not get at the time. My bubble was burst, and I had to wait another three years to debut a Chevy modified that I built (I was horribly outclassed). If I was as savvy as Mac and Pete and Carl, I might have pulled it off with the '55. It was a big dissappointment not to get to run back then, especially when now they allow fourteen and fifteen year old kids race.

 

carl, Interesting story, thanks for sharing. Denny Z

 

I'm rambling again....Carls post made me remember.
I have hardly any laps at Waterford, maybe 25 or 30 total. In 1956 the year before I started racing I was 17 years old, I went to all the races (Riverside, Plainville, Waterford, Menands all Harvey's United Stock Car tracks) with Johnny Georgiades to learn all I could about racing. At Waterford, one had to be 21 to get in the pits the same at Plainville, didn't seem to be a problem at Plainville but it was at Waterford. First time I went to Waterford I signed in without a problem but halfway through the show a State cop found me and threw me out. The next week I didn't bother to sign in, I just hid in the trunk, well halfway through the cop found me again and threw me out again...so
I didn't go back....till the next year 1957 my first year of racing. I went out in the warm ups and then ran the heat, when I came in from the heat that same darned cop was waiting for me and threw me out....I never went back, By the time I was 21 I was running NASCAR so it didn't matter. Denny Z

 

Man guys, these stories are priceless! Feel free to remember them anytime, we love to read about them. Gene

 

Denny some of the readers not from the north east may not know every race track had to have a state police present for the raceing to go on. Now days the Connecticut tracks have a D.O.T. represent.insted of the police. I had to dodge that same cop at Waterford and one at Plainville too. At West Haven Speedway thay had a local cop at the pit gate Big John Hardy. Later in years I went to work for him He had afew Dump trucks. It was well into the late 60th that woman were aloud in the pits. I remember Bugsy had a bumper sticker ( More Tits in the Pits) A lot has change since the 50-60 & 70

 

Richie,
That Bugs bumper sticker is priceless! I loved his (Bugsy) his book. Never met him, but he was sure an interesting character.

Denny,
Your stories are great. Geez...getting thrown out 3 times by the same cop. I can see why you never returned to Plainville....they sure were trying to send you a message!

 

I remember George Pendergast dressing in drag with a set of huge mellons (yes mellons) and sneaking into one of the powder puff races Waterford used to hold !Don't know if it was fixed this way but he got blackflagged and "revealed "right infront of the starters stand the crowd loved it!This was some time around 60-62.When I ran Dare Devil Division(street stock) at Thompson in 71 woman were still barred from the pit area!I also needed a" Parents consent and release from liability"Form signed at the track by one of my parents.

 

This pic is Elton Hildreth at Old Bridge in 64 doing the same thing. The powder puff races used the Novice cars. The race started and this flathead coupe was flying, absolutely flying faster than when the regular diver was behind the wheel. Old Bridge was a 1/2 mile with a 1/4 mile oval that used part of the front stretch. This coupe had such a lead it took a lap around the 1/4 and still kept the lead. When the checker flew the coups kept going and going. When they finally got the driver out of the car it was Elton who was greated with the most laughter I've ever heard anywhere.

 

(Still have a more tits in the pits sticker on my toolbox.) Thought it was pretty cool to get into the pits at Danbury at 18...years later was buying some stuff from Joe Barlow, and remarked to him,"How did you get to drive there, you don't look any older than me.." He replied that he signed his parents name to his application...but that kind of stuff never even dawned on me...Oh well.

 

Richie. Back in '66 a friend and I (we were both about 13 years old) had snuck into the pits at West Haven one Saturday night and were hanging around Tommy Sutcliffe's car when officer Hardy was making his rounds. Tommy handed each of us a wrench and had us 'work' on his car, telling Hardy we were 'okay'. Hardy just shook his head and continued on his way. I'll never forget that. Tommy was way cool.

 

It wasn't with modifieds but stock cars in 1965 at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway in Louisville Ky. I was 17 and you had to be 18 with parents permission. My buddy Frankie Paulin and half owner in the car was a second generation Italian. 18 but looked late twenties, olive skinned with jet black hair and a thick mustache. We were seniors in high school. He got in without any permission paper because he looked way old enough. He would pay at the pit gate and they would stamp your hand with an ink stamp and he would hurry back to the tow truck and before the ink would dry we would roll our hands together and transfer the stamp to my hand. I stood 6 feet 2 inches and weighed about 165 so when I showed my hand the gate men never looked twice. If they had looked they would have seen the ink image was backwards. I got in the whole season without getting caught. The next season I got in without parental permission because they recognised me from the year before and didn't even question me.Allstarracing

 

In 1966 Freeport was really hurting for Modifieds for Friday night shows and they asked my father (we got tossed out 4 years earlier for running a track other than Freeport...they could do that then) to race one night.

So my father, myself and Charlie Siebert pulled in and I signed in to the pits with no problem (at 15 years old) but when Charlie went to sign in the official asked him if he was 18.

Charlie told him with a bit of a snarl " I'm 25 years old"

 

Zoera here is another Tommy Sutcliffe drove

 

Back when I was still in high school and selling NSSN at the Sportsdrome across the river from Louisville (early 50s), Pit Steward George Adams used to escort me out of the pits three or four times a night. He never figured out how I kept getting in until the late 60s when he ran the pits at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway in Louisville and I was flagging. One night over a beer, I admitted that there was a long hole, almost a trench, under the fence in the back area. I kept it filled with gravel. Scooped it out when I wanted to go under, and covered it back up after getting in and dusting myself off.

Oh yeah, several drivers and pit crewmen were in on it, and helped me dust myself off.

 

FWIW, in post #1128, picture #2, the #88 coach is driven by northeast standout, Mike Loescher

 

Richie. Here's the only one I have of Andy Rock at West Haven. Photo courtesy of RacingThroughTime.com

 

Tommy & the fireball 4 was my favorite. I also liked Bobby Black in the #2. West Haven was a great track. Saw some good races there in the early 60's.