heres a few pics when i picked it up , going to paint it back to when he raced it and put familys name on it eventually get it running again WL MARTIN was the driver #45
Standard B main, middle pack, Saturday nite bomber. Every dirt track had pits full of 'em. Fun times, and great learning/training experience.
How do you know it was a B-main car, let alone mid pack ? I realize it doesn't look the quality of a Marshal Sargent or Al Pombo Modified, but depending on the competition and the driver's skills, it may have run up front. A good driver can carry a lackluster car on dirt.
Ok, you win. It probably was track champion. Silly things like quick changes, weight jackers, floating hubs, aren't really required to take home the gold consistently. The hot shoes just run that stuff 'cuz it makes their cars look cool. You're right. A good driver can carry a lackluster car, but that same driver can put a good car at the pay window a lot more often.
Looks like some of the modifieds that ran locally here in the early 60s. The track went to all late models in 1966. Most of those guys only ran at one or two other tracks. None of the local modifieds ran quick changes, few ran weight jacks, and those that ran the safety hubs were the guys that had experienced axle or spindle failures. Some of those guys figured out how to get around the track pretty fast. Mostly it was about the combination of parts, the skill (and balls) of the driver, and the guys that were not afraid to try different things. The cars that consistently won (maybe 3 or 4 times a season, on any given night, about 10 cars had a chance of winning) had more HP under the hood, and more crazy (and skilled) drivers. Most of the cars and drivers were local, and they faired pretty well against the few big money cars that would show up from time to time, the cars that had the quick changes, the weight jacks, and the floating hubs. The track in our town paid big money to win for that time, we often pulled cars from a couple hundred miles away. The clay track had two straights that were nearly a 1/4 mile long, with a banked U turn on each end. It was measured as a 1/2 mile around the inside of the track. Races were set up with time trials, fastest cars started at the back for many years. 30 cars started the feature, winning was as much a matter of survival as it was being fast, but the fastest lap record was 24. something seconds that stood for more then 20 years. The local boys ran hard. How this particular car (topic car) ran probably depended on how the rest of the field's cars were equipped. Gene
I totally agree about the drivers. Track I ran at was a big 3/8's with tight corners and a slight bank. Most of the Mods ran QC's, jacks and hubs. My car had the same, but I ran torsion bars. High horsepower motors helped, but bite ruled. Special tires for qualifying, fresh tires for the feature. My Mod was a good learning experience for my future foray into Sprint cars. Funny story. World of Outlaws rolled in one night (maybe 15 or 16) for a special show. At the time we had three local Sprint guys that were usually duking it out every week for the Feature checkered flag. Good sponsors, top drawer equipment, all good drivers. With home track advantage they figured they'd 'take it' to those 'Pros'. Well, in the 30 lap feature, by lap 18, the three had been lapped by every one of Outlaws. One local pulled into the infield and parked, and the other two kept fighting side by side bringing up the rear. On about lap 25, the two front runners (Kinser and Swindle) came up behind our two local heroes as all four entered turn four. The exit of this corner was tight (two, maybe two and a half car wide at most), with a cement pit lane wall thrown in, just to keep things interesting. Kinser went high (used the wall for extra grip, you could see the concrete fly off his sidewall) and Swindle went low, (just nudging the infield rubber tire barrier). That nite the fans got to see four cars come squirting out of a two car space, the local heroes get lapped for the second time, and to add insult to injury, both Kinser and Swindle pulled wheelies down the front straight.
Is your sarcasm really necessary? You are assuming (we all know what happens when you do that) this car was/is Modified and what the rules were for the track. Not every part of the country ran modifieds as the top class. Around here Capital Area (Albany)/Catskill mountains of New York State western Massachusetts and Vermont were NASCAR weekly tracks were Sportsman (37 and up body Single carburetor, battery ignition, gasoline, there was a cubic inch limit at which point it to run as modified) from just after the war until 1965 (I believe the correct year) to end a driver boycott for a bigger percentage of the purse. Even after the NASCAR modifieds were brought in they ran mix fields, with Sportsman starting at the front modifieds starting to at the rear. The outlaw tracks ran a "B" class type car earlier then 37 bodies Single carburetor, battery ignition, gasoline. Not every track required the use of safety hubs or allowed quick changes. My father often talks about barn storming with a friend's late model taking the Quick Change out and having to run a Timken split floater to meet the track rules.
I know what you mean. Our local Sprint cars in that time frame were also rans. But, I spent a fair amount of time back East at Husets and Jackson Mn. where the "locals" were big guns. Lasoski and several Aussies among others used the area as home base. Was not unusual to see Wolfgang, Lasoski and others duking out on Saturday and Sunday nights
Looks about the same era as my car (the cut down bodies are quite similar). get it restored and running again and go vintage racing; you'll have a ball. Here's a little inspiration :
The car shown above was from Jackson, Minnesota and driven by Jack McCorkell, (who lived in Wabasso, MN at the time) and won the Minnesota State "Stock Car" Championship in 1966 with this car. Honest to God, they called these things "stock cars" back then.
Sometimes it's just healthy banter injected into a lively discussion. I consider sarcasm verbal boxing without the brain damage. And yes, I do know what happens when I assume. I get sarcastic.....
picked a chevy one my dad had for probably 30 years out in the pasture FORD VS CHEVY going to be fun putting these together and part of coupe body hanging on the shop
Check out the body reveal lines on the gold car and my "102" above. I think they started out as the same body make and type. They ended up looking pretty similar as well.
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