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

Thanks for that info, I'll go through my stuff and find the Danbury Fair program that the car raced in. Bob

 

Possible... The orange hood on the ground is how Gemsa had it.

JD

 

Josh, does anyone repop that grill shell ?

 

Vic Ellis' Dodge (later the first Gapco car); Rufus Gray first tried the Dodge in USAC with little success, switched to Chevy.

First two photos 1956; third 1957; fourth after fatal crash, July 4, 1958, Cedar Rapids.

 

Zakira's can build ya one... but there not cheap. Although... I don't know how much one would be. There are extra's at Zakira's, but the problem is there "Extra's" all have BIG history! Which equals Big $$

Give them a call.. You need to come up and see there place and mine anyways!


JD

 

Slightly OT, maybe, but I gotta tell it. Josh, my comment about leaving the phone hanging in the air reminded me of something Bruce Walkup told me...

He was practicing at IMS one day and had a problem heading into the first turn, and was headed for the wall, straight at a spot directly in front of one of the observers' stands. He said he watched the guy's eyes get bigger and bigger, and then just before he hit, all he could see was the headset hanging in midair.

 

The pics of that 1926 Miller: 'Simply amazing! 'Especially the photos of all the name plates on the dash. So, one question is: Did Miller put a name plate on the engines back then like Fred, Louie Meyer and Dale Drake did with the Offy's later? Because I didn't see one on this engine? Anyway, Rootie, I'm not sure if it was you or not but some pictures awhile back showed A.J. Shepherd ending his career at the 1961 Hoosier Hundred in the Bell Lines Trucking car. I didn't realize Shepherd's career was so short in the Big Cars. But that Bell Lines Team didn't screw around. A couple of weeks after the Hoosier, they took the Kuzma and Bud to Trenton and then had the Silnes dirt car fixed and had Roger McCluskey finish out the 1961 season. Then, Lonestar JR made his debut in the Big Cars at the 1962 Hoosier. And finally, does anyone know who's car #14 Rutherford is in at Terre Haute in the photo below? 'Rootie, I will refer to you......................................................................................

 

to quote Jimmy Caruthers 3....2......1....... Conkle!
If your from Indy you know what that means

 

LittleFauss: The No. 14 car belonged to Willard Coil. Built in 1968 by Clint Brawner, first raced 1969. Photo taken in 1971.

 

And for those of us that aren't??

Venturing a guess, I seem to recall there was a driver named Conkle kinda foggy on that one though.

 

its where you get your hair cut right racer5

 

they where a sponsor

 

Isn't Conkle a funeral home just up the street from the USAC headquarters ?

 

Willard Coil's was out of Washington Court House, Ohio.

 

Actually, the car was built in '65/'66 by Brawner(with a lot of Kuzma influence) for Mario to drive. When Al Dean found out, he put a stop to it because he wanted Mario out of the sprint cars.
The car came to Indy in '66 and was put together by "Van" when he was located at 82nd and Allisonville Rd. for Willard Coil. The car had a "Half Bar" suspension. I believe Willard was a farmer.

 

Ok for those of you who aren't, Back in the day when Turbo Offy's had unlimited Boost,1000 hp and no groundforce to hold them to the track like a slot car they had to actually drive the cars, there were the numbers 3......2.....1......... to use as a reference as to how close you were getting to the turn, Conkle's is a funeral home about a block from the first turn.

 

Right on, Roy. I think it was Walkup who quoted your brother to tell me that for the first time, too. Before that, I had heard the numbers stood for Brave, Braver, and You Crazy Son of a B***h!

 

In the latest issue of NSSN Chris Economaki confirms that this shot is the Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ track. He writes that the "church" is a horse barn that Johnny Hannon in the Strupp Miller once vaulted the fence and into the barn!
Joel

 

Rootie-
I have a question; in the Bobby Grim pic, it looks like his car has no front bumper. I know that the Big Cars didnt run front bumpers back when, but i thought it was mandated for Sprinters. Is that Grim car a Watson?
Do you, by chance, have any pics of the Open Comp or USAC Sprints at Springfield on the mile? I mean before cages.
Thanks always for any of the fantastic pics you post!!

 

SteveE: I only saw this one once, at Dayton, 3 Jun 68; Bud Randall drove it, qualified far back, didn't make the cut. Ran as No. 82 with tape number.

 

Spike- I do believe that is Grim in the Watson 4. Actually, most pics I've seen of the Watson sprint, there is no front bumper. Here's a couple of shots of Larson in Watson's car in 1964. Maybe Watson figured his drivers shouldn't be running into anything so why have the extra weight?
I'll see what I can find on Springfield.

 

Came across this in a old mag. and was kinda curious. I don't recall, or have found, any evidence that M/T ever fielded a midget. He certainly knew his way around the little alum. Buick motor though, so I guess it's possible. LittleFauss, OldBill etc. do any of you have any recollection of this?

 

No info on this one. Surprises me too!

 

The Dick Wallen DVD of Classic Midget racing through to 1975, shows Jim
Hurtubise driving that car in 1961, as I recall, and shows Thompson working on the car. It did not go well that day.

 

Thanks OldBill, that is the car. Now if we can find out who owned it and what became of the car.

 

Thanks guys,
When I was a kid I followed M/Ts exploits pretty close and don't recall any oval (other than Indy) racing at all. I'm guessing, he was probably using the midget as a test bed to develop the Buick motor for his Indy car.

 

****
I'd really never heard them referred to as 'bumpers' too much.

I'd always heard them referred to as "The Chrome Horn."


;o)

JG

 

I did race with a few guys who used them as a horn, but 90 percent of those guys didnt survive in our pre-cage days!

 

'Spike, 'Thank you for bringing that topic up. 'Cars that didn't run a front nerf. Back in the day when you guys ran without cages, etc. it was all about class and respect for your fellow drivers and the equipment. I'm sure what Rootie says is true, that A.J. Watson figured "his" drivers didn't need the front bumper. And so, check out these pictures of Parnelli Jones running J.C. Agajanian's little Bowes Seal Fast Offy midget #98jr at Kearney Bowl in Fresno (CA) back in 1965. He's racing Dick Atkins in one of the Pestana-Lang cars and Allen Heath in the Vel's Ford Sales #97 and then later, collecting the trophy from Aggie. As you can see, no front nerf bar.​

 

I agree with Spike about the Chrome horn in the precage days [about how long they lasted]. Short story about "Tat". We were at Anderson, In. for a 100 lapper in 66. Sam Sessions car was not running good and he would not get out of the way [lay over when getting lapped] and he would not move over for me and we allmost tangled, and I just about crashed. After the race I saw that "Tat's front Bumper was bent clear into the nose on the car. I ask what happened and he told me that was why they called it a bumper [to get Sessions out of his way]. Tat won the race. Those older guys did not put up with much.
The picture of Bobby Grim in Watson's 4 car -- did anybody notice anything unusuall? Bobby was in a full broadslide in the turn but his front wheels were pointed straight ahead [the lap was one of the fastest evr there]. I have only seen 2 people able to do that, Bobby was one of the best ever on the dirt. He never got credit for being so good on the Tar [smooth as anybody].
The gunsmith on the back tire of the Black 2 [Vern] at Jungle Park Father was a flag man in the old days of MDTRA and probably CSRA. So Vern Jr. grew up around racing and Bobby Grim was his hero. He has a great deal of knowledge of racing and is one of the best gunsmiths around so we need to get him on here.
Just got back to Ky, nice to be home and plan on seeing all at Josh's. Sorry IndyBig John can not make it.
I heard at Columbus they called Sonny Ates on the phone, great. He was [is] one of the nicest Guys around and likes to hear from any racer.
Jim Graybeal