History Vintage "Cageless" Midget Picture Thread

Hinchliffe Stadium had similar rails on the front stretch.

 

It looks like Rex Records but I dont know the track........

 

Wow that's Danbury? My grandmother was right!

 

Doug Craig in the 55

The next picture in Ken's first group Is len Duncan in Norm Smiser's car, then Norm , don't know who is in the 17.

 

I was going to say Rex Records, too. And it sure looks like Danbury. From what I can recall, the track inside the moat was whitish in color. Looks like enough space between the track and stands for a moat to be there.

 

In postings quite a while back there was a short list developed of guys who built some numbers of midgets if I remember correctly. I think I added Grothaus to the list.

I am just now looking at a disc of photos by Bob Ochtrup in the nineties and discovered ...

...the first of fifteen to twenty midgets built by Bill Grothaus in Iowa in the late 30's is the #9 Willys powered car. Note the lack of shock absorbers.

The other two pictures include the V8-60 powered Grothaus with the Don Patton V8-60 car in the middle of one.

These are the only two known to exist

Bill Grothaus also built a Big Car with similar body style powered by a Hudson 8.

 

Those T.Q. pics are killer!! Keep em comin!

 

The flag in this picture and the decal on the side of the Norm Smizer #11 car, in moe#69's post, reminded me of someting that I "THINK" I either heard or read a long time ago .. that for a period the ARDC also sanctioned TQ racing.

Can anyone expand on that?

 

Yes, the ARDC also promoted TQ's, too. And if not mistaken, even some stock car rces, too.

 

I was questioning the driving champion that was listed on the ARDC's website for the year 1953, which was Mike Nazaruk, for a while. I recieved info from two people on the 1953 racing season - Gordon White and the late Ron Heddendorf.

This, in part, is what Mr. Heddendorf had to say about the 1953 ARDC season:
"ARDC did sanction other shows, but they were not full size midgets. They sanctioned T/Q midget shows at the Cambria Arena in Johnstown, PA and in the Kingsbridge Armory in New York. Also they sanctioned stock car racing at the Old Bridge Stadium during the 1953 season"

What's a little strange is that both gentlemen had different thoughts as to who it was that was the 1953 ARDC driving champion, and neither one of thier choices is listed now as the 1953 driving champion.

 

Nazareth

 

not sure which track this is?

 

Hi everyone! I posted these photos on the Vintage Sprint Car thread and someone suggested I post them here, too. It's the Revell 1/25 Kurtis Kraft Offy midget kit with aftermarket decals to make it the Ken Brenn Offy. I built it out of the box except for adding the plug wires, so it's not 100% faithful to the real car from the late 50's or early 60's, but it's close enough to look fairly accurate.

 

I think Dewey Grothaus told me he was searching for a midget to restore several years ago and came across an ad for an old Willys powered car for sale somewhere in Kansas. He bought the car back home to Spirit Lake, Iowa and began to dismantle it and sand off the layers of paint and soon discovered it was one of his Uncles original cars. It is the #9 car in the first photo of your post. Dewey was also a very capable builder of supermodifieds in the Iowa-Minnesota-South Dakota area for several years.

 

Beautiful job Bob. I just bought this kit. Where did you get the decals? Hope mine comes out half as nice.

 

Where ever it was .. it was (and maybe still is?) a HIGH banked dirt!!!
My FAVORITE!!!

Can anyone come up with the make & year of the ambulance?

 

Hey Bob ..

GOOD to see you over hear on this thread too. .... WELCOME!!!

PLEASE don't be a stranger here.

BTW .. Nice job on that model.

 

Hey Bob, that midget that Ward drove at Lime Rock made it's debut at Hinchliffe Stadium on Sep 30, 1947 - the first night Johnny Ritter drove it. I was there that night. One of those nights one never forgets. So, actually, it's from the late 40's, sir. That car is now the restored red Ken Brenn # 24. The next time you see Ken Brenn, ask him why he bought that car. You might be surprised.

 

mlight answered this .. BUT it disappeared????

Anyhoo the track was the Dayton (OH) Speedway.

Here's most of the caption under that picture on their Web Site.

........ the #73 was the MacNamara car usually driven by Mike Nazaruk. As far as we can tell, Nazaruk was not involved in the Jim Rigsby/Gene Force fatal accident and is shown in the results as having won the feature on the day that Rigsby was killed, August 31, 1952. It's hard to imagine that the pit crew was able to get this car fixed so that Nazaruk could race and win the feature, so we have to presume that this photo dates from some other race meet at Dayton.

---Photo from the collection of Gene Ingram​

 

might be Jerry Wall in 16 Tony Romit in 27 Ernie Warnasch in the 89 and Bob Wilke in the 31 on outside And I'm slowly getting better hip breaks and dislocated shoulders just take time 3 to 4 months until you can put weight on or fully use Thanks for asking Ken keep pictures coming will try to id as many as I can

 

looks like Doug Craig in Smizer 11 Sonny Saunders in 12 and the 2 car on right appears to be a half midget a division that didn't catch on unless you consider micro sprints to be half midgets

 

Appaerently the boys "Down Under" have a hotbed of vintage midget projects. I put up a few small odds & ends, on one of the auction sites, that were left over from our Kurtis Kraft restoration parts, and have four different bidders ALL from Australia or New Zealand.
But I wanted to weigh in on NSSN demise:
Yes it is very sad to see it go, but we should celebrate it like an Irish wake, Rembering all that is has meant to us and the long lasting legacy it shall leave. It has recorded the great history of racing, down to the smallest details, not just the headlines. It was always filled with all the news of the drivers, owners, business, stadiums, tracks, evolution of the cars in the various series, and that history will NOT disappear. These Internet days have changed communication and publication and people want their news today, and not even a few days later. Chris (and staff) did such a great job on reporting and "being there" for so many of the NON-famous drivers and teams and garages, as well. always suggesting support of anyone in "the crash house" or problems they might be having, or that could use the help of the racing community. He was a true friend to those in racing, no matter how big or small their operation was. He always paid homage and tribute to those who passed on, giving great comfort to their friends and family, wth his obituaries and reports. It was MUCH more than just a news magazine. Thanks to all at NSSN for keeping the racing community a Family for all these decades.

 

A truly sad day indeed. We called it "The Racin Paper." My grandfather was a subscriber and so was my dad and my dad and I shared a subscription when we shared the micro sprint in the 90's. I still have a few copies with my grandfather's and dad's name and address on them. I loved how it covered almost every race on every weekend big or small. When I found that baby in the mailbox, no matter how busy I was, I stopped what I was doing for a few minutes at least so I could page through and check out the pictures. Then later when there was more time, usually right before bed, I would read.

 

I am looking for Information on my Grandfather who raced Midgets, I sent Ken a message last week and he was unable to help me, I have copied the message i sent to him that has all the info that i know. Thanks for any help.


My name is Owen Hobgood I am from Tarboro North Carolina my Grandfather was Wyatt Earl Meeks and raced midgets in the late 60's through the early 80's. He also race with Ronnie Joe Meeks his nephew from Robersonville North Carolina.
He passed away 7 years ago and through family differences I have only an open face helmet that he raced in, all of his pictures and trophy's (there were a ton) are gone with his wife and i cant get any from her. I know he race in the champions races in Kansas I am not sure what year. and he said he held a world speed record at one time. I know he pulled his race car with a Yellow 72 Impala convertable. Do you know of any where or anyone who may have some pictures or record of his winnings? He has a 3 year old great grandson who one day i would like to show his old race pictures to and pass his helmet onto. Any help would be great. Thanks Owen Hobgood

 

Wow,thanks Ken for that information that is very interesting.

 

.....'That is certainly no secret. In fact, that's why I salute and congratulate all of our friends 'down under' for preserving the life and history of so many famous midgets and sprint cars. Both Bob Tattersall and Hank Butcher took a lot of midgets down to Australia and luckily, our friends have kept us up to date on the status of those cars. But! I'll throw a name out of a car that I've never heard a word as to the whereabouts: In 1972, Hank Butcher took the former Los Olivos Car Wash Offy that was owned by Joseph Rydzewski from Phoenix AZ down to Australia. Butcher sold the car on behalf of it's last owner in the states, gentleman Ed McNulty from Pinole CA.

 

Beautiful job Bob. I just bought this kit. Where did you get the decals? Hope mine comes out half as nice.

Thanks! The decals came from a set by Fred Cady. I bought them a while ago. If you have trouble finding the decals, email me on my home email address; [email protected] and I'll try and locate a set.

Tommy: I haven't seen Ken Brenn for a long time, but if I bump into him I'll ask. I didn't know that the car went all the way back to the 40's. Thanks for the info!
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There will be two decal sheets with 6 sets of decals for each type of engine platform in the near future. I'm not crazy about half the cars selected and have contacted the creator asking about an ARDC sheet. I may need more people to go in on it with me. Those of you who are interested please PM or email me your top choices for each engine. Thanks!