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

mac;
Yesterday i watched the Indy goings on live on VS TV. They showed a large bunch of the old roadsters, and a few uprights, circling the track. Were any of those your creations. They were great to see.

 

Hi Spike,
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway only allows "real" cars to run on carb day, no replicas or recreations. However, I did make some of the bodywork on a number of the "real" cars including the Watson roadsters, a couple of the 60s/70s rear engine cars and the Lotus turbine. It is always a great time hanging out in the vintage tent. The most unbelievable car there was the Ab Jenkins "Meteor" Land Speed Car. It had a V12 Curtiss Conqueror engine. What a monster!

 

Mac, Very nice work! Always loved any roadster with the Looks awesome. Especially the Demler 99.-Tom

 

Tom, if you notice the odd shape of the top rear corner of the Demler fin, it is shaped like a Cad Eldorado fin..... Demler was a big fan of Cadillac Eldorados so Epperly made a special fin for him.

 

mac;
Thats a damn shame; they could have two on track session; one for each.
I did see one upright, i think #43, and the drivers helmet looked like one ive seen seen Roy wear. Would he have been driving a car like that?
The 500 parade looked great on VS TV. Really very well done. One thing i do notice on all Indy stuff; there is never anything at all said about one member of that family; Elmer George. From the times i saw him run, i sure think he was a way better than average driver. And, he also was Tony Georges father! What makes that; does anybody have any idea?

 

Elmer George was shot to death back in the 70s. The guy who shot him was never charged and the induendo was that there was something 'hinky' going on between him and his wife Mari Hulman. Best as I can recall.

 

Boy, that start (the second) of the 500 was a sloppy one ... on any track on a Saturday night they'd not have been let go. And who are all these drivers? Its not hard to see why modern US Indy racing has gone to hell. My two cents.
Joel

 

'RaceArtist, 'Your opinion of 'US Indy racing' is a total slap-in-the-face of the organizers, the cars and the drivers and even the race track itself. They have completely destroyed the lore and all of the tradition built up over the last 100 years........'RaceArtist: 'You're right on the money!

 

hey Race Artist, went to your sight and under race cars all I saw were taxi cabs, how about drawing some real race cars for us guys here, maybe a Miller, or an Edmunds

 

Thanks for visiting my site. I like all forms of historic racing ... I'm a professional artist and mostly do work on a commission basis ... and most of my commissions/clients are "stock" body race cars. I've done a number of open wheel cars for some shirt designers. Attached here is a recent commissioned piece from a member of the Pfommer family and the line art for Chris Urish's USAC sprinter out of Illinois. I'd love to do more vintage open wheel art but it needs to pay the bills too.
Joel

 

Funny thing though ... I don't reject the modern stuff ... it is what it is. The crowd reaction at the driver introductions was very telling. Years ago when AJ, Sachs, Parnelli and so many others the crowd would erupt at their names being introduced. I'd just like to see it become more like it was with more racers that came up through the ranks of American half miles. The real key I think is dirt miles and the dirt champ cars being part of the series. I doubt it'll ever happen though.
Joel

 

The one of Hinnershitz looks great!! thanks for posting!!

 

Thank you. I'd like to do more like the Pfrommer-Hinnershitz one. That one was about 16x20 inches. It isn't based on a photo but an original angle, but researched via photos. The line art modern sprinter was done for a T-shirt design. All are hand done.
Joel

 

OK, FNG here. Just learning how to post pictures from Photobucket. Luckily I have a smart second grader here to help me!

More later, but this is a re-creation Watson roadster built by Skip Roberts of Berthoud ,CO. He is a member of the CVOR (Colorado Vintage Oval Racers). As soon as I figure this whole thing out, I would very much like to participate in this thread. Lots of great stuff here!!

Sean

 

Sean,
Resize your pictures to 15"message board in the 'edit page, then right click copy, then come over here and right click 'paste'

 

"Great pictures, thanks for posting them Love these vintage race cars. I'd love to paint some pictures of these kind of cars but color research is hard to come by.
Joel "

RaceArtist

I too have that same problem...every day somebody dies who was there to see 'em in color!

 

Beautifully prepared 1962ish Chevy powered Champ(?) car that showed up at the 2005 Millers at Milwaukee...

 

This is a picture of me at the vintage meet in Norton,KS 2008. The car is a 1970 Nance sprinter. The car was originally equiped with a bolt on cage, but I liked the "cageless" look better. Besides, it gives me an idea of the bal*s it took to drive one of these things "in the day"!

 

Brian 26,

Obviously you have this figured out better than I. Bear with me, I'll figure it out!
Thanks for improving my pic!

Sean

 

The Chenowth roadster. There's a site devoted to it's history here:
http://www.sdsproadster.com/SDSP/History.html

 

Pictures from the Skip Roberts roadster party.

I/4 scale (running!) Ardun by master machinest Ron Bemment
1/4 scale Watson roadster and Champ car by Terry Plummer

Amazing!

 

Sorry for hogging the thread! Ray Ardold is the son of Chuck, and runs his Edmunds/Essingler with us at the CVOR. Foster Chambell (deceased) was a many time RMMRA midget champion (both driver and mechanic) and chief mechanic on the Ozzie Osborn owned "Denver Chicago Trucking Spcl." Bob Olds was the painter/ crew member of this Denver based Indy effort. Skip Roberts is a retired Denver Fire Division Chief, and as a youngster, his father (who was a truck driver for Denver Chicago Trucking) brought him out to see the car. The image stuck, and all these years later, Skip utilized his considerable talents to re-create this beauty!

Sean

 

OK, Last one for the night! Bob Olds (mentioned in the last post) owned an LTC VW midget the the late Larry Rice (RIP Larry) drove on occasion. Olds also owned the former Jack Stroud Offy (1969 USAC champion Bob Tattresall driven) Edmunds midget. It was driven by local RMMRA drivers Frank Marcello, Gene Pastor, Don Wilson and was the first midget ride for sprint stand out Doug Wolfgang. It was also the first midget this wannabe ever sat in!

Sean

 

Sorry, it was "Frank Mantello" not "Frank Marcello"

Sorry Frank!

 

VintageRacer37, enjoyed your photo album. However, what is the story on the #14 dirt champ car?? I never knew Penske to be involved with them. Is this a re-creation or resto??
mlight9.

 

I always thought that was one of if not THE most beautiful roadsters ever

 

That has to be either a recreation or restoration of the Champ Dirt car Gary Bettenhausen drove and crashed at Syracuse in '72.