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

My sentiments exactly. One of the tracks i was going to visit before I died.

 

Did you make it to Ascot ?? I've been watching some weekly races that were televised locally from 84...Stars of that season..Bubby vs. Dean Thompson, Ripper, Oskie, Sweeny, Wirth,etc...great non wing racing. Another track that died un necessarily before its' time.

 

Where did you get the televised races???? I was lucky enough to make the show at the last ever race there, only time I ran ASCOT man was it a fun track. Was running 4th or 5th with about 8 or ten laps to go and the motor broke

 

A friend in that area taped the weekly races, the broadcast is actually pretty well done. It isnt well organized, one race shows all the heats and feature as a complete show.Then it just shows mains from several weeks. I had them copied to a dvd. I'm having another one done now...more of the same, but it has the pacific coast open and another big one. All from that same period. I'll let you know when the second one shows if you want to see them...I had a couple extras made.

 

Ditto.

 

Midgeteers.....
#54 Freddie Agabashian
#39 Red Riegel
#91 Steve Troxell
#10 Vuky II

 

Rootie-
Real nice midget pics. For several years right before his death at Reading, Red was unbeatable at Hatfield Speedway, a 1/3 mile high banked dirt track less than 5 miles from my home at the time. He drove a black #29 wrenched by Ken Hickey, and had a huge winning streak.

 

Okay, here's one from way back. My interest in racing was inborn. My dad was going to Indy before he was married, and continued into the 50s. This is the only one I could find from a box of photos I remember. Can't tell you the year or the car. Maybe somebody else can help.

 

I've read a lot about Hatfield. Most all of the east coast greats probably passed through there at one time or another. Mario spun a few laps around there in his early days for sure. Here's Mario and Tony Bonadies 'at play', 1963.

 

Too small to see a number. If you could post a larger pic, it might be fairly easy to figure out.

 

great pic, good to see moddy T's get whipped around the track.

 

Regarding Ascot,

That was my home away from home for over 25 years. Watched alot of drivers on that track in both Midgets and Sprints going back to the 60's. The best driving job I ever saw was Ron Rea (California Cowboy) who put on a show for Teamster night in the 70's. Ron had hand written Teamsters on the tail of his sprint car and I guess wanted to put on a show. I do not remember exactly why he had to go to the back of the pack as he qualified up front but he did and passed all the cars rim riding all around the track. He not only did this once but he went to the back again and passed all the cars for a second time. I remember all the fans in the stands standing up and screaming, they could not believe what they were seeing. There were very few drivers that rim rode that track as the clay was very heavy and most of the time the cushon was high. If you hit it on the wrong angle or hooked up on it too late the car wanted to flip. The straights were long and the corners tight.
Sure miss that track

 

I own the car Mario is driving in that picture. He drove it as the "?", #11 and #33 for the Mataka brothers.

Hatfield and Flemington were the tracks where Mario won three feature races in one day in this same car. That got his ticket punched to the "big time".

Thereafter, the car has been known as the "3n'1" car. 3 wins in 1 day.

I'm not so sure that's a 1963 photo. I think it's 1962, but that's a bit of nitpickin'.

 

Yeah, I know. That's close to actual size cropped down. Dad took it with an old Argus from the infield fence on the backstretch, I believe.

 

Hatfield Speedway was owned, and promoted, by former driver George Marshman. He was the father of Bobby Marshman.

 

Don't know if this will be any better, but...

 

These 2 pics are from a track in Corona California ( The Circle City ) I'm guessing around 1912- 1915 ? Anybody know where the track was ? I understand at one time there was a "circle" layout all the way around what was then the city of Corona.

 

None of my cheapo photo programs are sophiscated enough to zoom in and define the no.

 

About half way down the page there's more info.

http://www.rumbledrome.com/10stats.html

 

I just dubbed my tape of "Barnstormers" on to a DVD, and noticed there was mention of a track, I believe two miles in length and circular in shape, at Corona.

 

As to how close the drivers were to each other and were against roll cages. Bobby Grim [and I think Tat were against tham also]. I think it was how good these guys were, knew the limits at a perticular secound and trusted what the other guy was going to do at the time. Most of these guys would not run that close to someone that they did not know what they were going to do. Put a roll cage and everyone was as brave as they were and nobody knew what the other was going to do, I think that is why they were against rollcages [as were I], it made brave racecar drivers out of people that would not drive one at all without a roll cage. Just ask todays drivers if they would race [not just drive] an openwhelled race car without a rollcage.
Yes I do know how many lives a roll cage has saved. Before cage drivers were better than [ on average] the ones of today.
Jim Graybeal

 

Okay, one of the guys on Track Forum figured out that it was taken between turns 3 and 4. There was a gate there at the time. I know it was taken at Indy because that's the only race my dad attended until I started flagging in the 60s.

 

Track Fact.
Since <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Corona</st1lace></st1:City>'s 1900 population of 1434, there have been numerous changes. On July 13, 1896 residents voted to incorporate and change the name of the community to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Corona</st1lace></st1:City>, which is Spanish for crown, in honor of the City's circular <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Grand Boulevard</st1:address></st1:Street>. On September 9, 1913, in observance of <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>'s Admissions Day, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Corona</st1lace></st1:City> residents celebrated with an international automobile race on the Boulevard. The event attracted such auto racing greats of Ralph De Palma, Barney Oldfield, Terrible Teddy Tetzlaff and Earl Cooper. More than 100,000 people came to the town of 4,000 to watch Cooper win the race and a prize of $8,250. It was so successful that races were held again in 1914 and 1916. The demise of the road races were due not only to the tragic deaths which occurred in 1916, but because of the cost and local effort needed to stage such an extravagant event.

 

Sideways27

That comes to roughly $172,000 in todays money.

 

Originally Posted by brian26
I hear Manzanita is closing? Is that true? Yep.. We race the sprinter there on the 4th of April and they close for good on the 12th. A sad day..50 years!! Windy's book is great but I hope someone will put a video together .

 

There seems to be a consensus over there that it is Russos Fageol twin engine car, and it very well may be. You can see Russos crash about a min. in here, and draw your own conclusion:

http://www.auto-history.tv/filmarchive/racing/1290YY51/

 

Hate to be a pain, but does anyone have anymore Champ Car pics from the Indy Mile? I would really like to see any pics of A.J. Sheperd flipping on the top near a tree at Indy. Really wild looking as i reme,mber, and he was not hurt bad.
Another regular Champ Car stop was Langhorne. Although it was close for me, i somehow ended up with almost no pics from the 5os and 6os.
How about the Trenton Mile before 1957? After 57 it was paved, but it ran Champs and Sprints before that.
Thanks in advance for any pics!

 

Some Indy pics-
#4-Geo. Snider
#27-Len Sutton
#16-Bobby Grim
#1-A.J., #17- Marshman
#7-Johnny Thomson.

 

A.J. at his first attempt at ISF 1957, DNQ'd but it wasn't long and he pretty much owned the keys to the place.

Allen Crowe loses a wheel and takes a tumble 1962.

 

Langhorne

1954-- #1 Hanks, #67 Ward, #81 Russo, #7 Freeland, #68 Eliason, #33 Campbell.

1954-- #71 Frank Armi, #67 Ward.

1963-- #14 McCluskey, #37 J.R.

1963-- #37 J.R. #2 A.J.

1964 #1 A.J.