60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

In case you guys wern't there or didn't know DIRT week is on SPEED this Saturday the 25th. Went there last year and all I can say is I want to see these guys at Terre Haute, IN real bad. But it will never happen.


Bob Shutt

 

thank for the kind word guys about these photos, remember I found them at different sites and what not, they are not mine. In fact, I wasn't around for most of them as you can tell from my avatar. BUT...I respect and love the history from the photos to the stories from racing and hot rodding! Got to remember your roots, even in todays society!!! Some people tend to forget what it's all based upon, even racing!

Barney Mattie

Jack Bateman

Rusty Ball

Tom Druar

Vinnie Annarumo

Wade Cole, this runs the Whelen Modified Tour, the only guy who doesn't have an inclosed trailer on the tour. Infact he's real old school he's got the old 70's-80's style flatbed he uses to go to almost every track on the tour!

Puddin Swisher

Pat Chambrello

Mark Ferris

George Prudergeon

 

Steve Seaburg

Tim Mrowka

Bob Park, father of Steve Park. has multiple photos on this thread, had some sharp looking cars in the late 70's.

Chris Young still racing at Riverhead and going strong. He will always be known in the 80's for figure 8 racing, he also drove a modified as if it was a figure 8 and many can atest to it! lol here's Chris today at Riverhead Raceway

Here Chris Young rebuilt Maverick Figure 8 along with the rebuilt Ernie "The Wrench" Maynor, who died in a fire in this car, he was one if not the best figure 8 driver on Long Island.




ok back to modifieds!!

Edgar Reed

Tom Druar

Tom Bladwin, pops favorite Tiger Tom car.

Tom Bresson

Tom Genise

Tom fanceskino

 

Bullfather, Jackie and my father were friends back then, Jackie asked my dad to tow the car to Nazareth. From what I remember, there was a tangle on the backstretch, the car rolled, the seat broke loose. Thats all that my father told me.

Also, the car was supposed to have been built by Bud Olsen. I'm not faulting Bud, just info on the car.

 

thanks for the response weatherman. here's some photos of Jackie and also Bud Olsen.

Jackie McLaughin

jackie

Jackie

Jackie

Budd Olsen and Buzzie Reutimann

bud

Bud

Bud

 

Tom Bladwin, pops favorite Tiger Tom car.


Tony Gazinski, who built and owned that coupe was an amazing fabricator and super nice man. He built that car right around the corner from where I lived. As a young boy I used to go over there almost every night and watch him and try to help, he always had time for me.

I remember we went to Langhorne with the car. While it was going through tech Tony needed to go back to his pit to get something; he told me to hop in the back of his pickup, which was filled with race tires, he hit every rut in the infield - I had my butt buried in one of those Firestone "Steamrollers" hanging on for dear life as I thought for sure I was going bounce right out the bed of that truck! Tony? He was laughing his head off! I'll always remember him

Also, before Tommy Baldwin drove the car, it was numbered with the Seagrams 7 Crown logo, and Jerry Klaus drove the car.

 

this new #27

 

clean look machine there! Nothing like the modifieds, even today for me anyway! They can still draft and pull the sling shot so fast you don't what just happened if you blinked! Mods at New Hampshire are amazing and you catch them time to time on Speed TV. Wed Oct 22nd, a great day...to be born on! :O)

 

Tom Sylvester



Gilda Berti

Mike Ewantisko

Riverside in next few photos, never got to go threre but love the atmopshere of the adventure park next door, sad part it what destroyed the track, needed more room for another friggin roller coaster! great!



the track is kinda like Riverhead, small bull ring that had some great modified racing, tight corners with some banking!

Rick Fuller, never saw this car but think it looks sharp and though I'd share it.



Al Hill

 

Barney Mattie

Barney Mattie and Joe Rosenfield

Bareny Mattie and Johnny Thompson

Barry Buchart

Bart Kent

Bart Kent

Old Beach racer.

 

yeah l wish my dad was still around to see me run it. This is my first year running a modified. I started the year in the #72 cause someone already signed up for the 27. After a few weeks running the 72, we were able to get the 27 (wanted cause my dad was 27) and we won with it the first week as the 27! A few weeks back l all but destroyed it. After a new front clip and all new parts she was 4/10ths per second faster than all year.

 

ouch! what track did it happen at?

 

Stafford in Ct.
more pictures and info at my homepage
http://www.earlpelletier.com

 

Damn son, that must have been one hell of a lick.

I've hit that hard half a dozen times or so in a modified, and every time I've had these gnarly blood blisters on my shoulders where the belts pulled up a hickey. That one give ya a hickey? Prolly a set of sore collar bones too, eh?

I run on the dirt though, thankfully, we don't seem to hit quite as hard as you asphalt boys, though our "encounters" are sometimes a bit more "energetic" what with being able to dig into the track surface easily (which means we get to see the horizon turn in circles on a more regular basis).

Was that one an encounter of the "concrete" or "automobile" variety? Not a lot of rash on the surrounding body panels, so I'd guess it was vehicular in nature. How'd the other guy fare?

It's always a bad week when you've gotta put a clip on one. At least it was faster afterwards, mine don't ever seem to be the same after a lick that hard.

 

Ryan I hit a few times with the first being hit square from behind which in turn made me hit the concrete head on square with a boost, after l bounced up l then continued to hit a car and the wall at the same time finishing up jammed under the back of a car. Luck for me there was no fire cause the fuel pump was broke off the motor and leaking.

 

Yeah, fire is the only thing that gives me that creepy crawly feeling.

It's made somewhat worse in that we run methanol, so you can't even see the damned flames in the daylight. Plenty easy to see at night though (and kind of pretty too, you know, if you're not in the middle of them ).

Thankfully, fuel cells have gotten to the point that we very rarely see one split, and since most guys run belt drive or combo fuel pumps, they don't get knocked off by the frame rails like that when you take a hard hit on the right side. Fire is pretty rare around these parts, even amongst the street stock crowd.

 

We've had some hard hit this past season at Riverhead. You'd think being a smaller track, maybe less damage, but sometimes it the most damage I've seen then any other track. Couple double tows, lots of wiped out front suspensions and of course bent up nerf cars and torn up sheet metal! Got to love it......then comes the cost!

Bart Kent

Bart Kent, jsut a bit torn up!

Beltsville, Md

Ben Dodge, Thompson Speedway owner, heard he taking over Waterford, they need him! The guys knows how to run a track!

Ben Dodge

Ben Dodge

Benny Derosier

Warren Bentley

Bernie Miller

Bernie Singer

 

Bernie Singer

Bernie Singer goes for a ride, believe that Stafford...







Some of the Long Islanders remember theses type of modified! The Mini-Mods!!! In some other states they were called VW mods or something like that!

 

Warren Bentley


Uhhh, Bentley Warren. Thampson Speedway Ct. when it had sand banks instead of walls in the turns.

 

My bad! The description had it that way, so I thought first name last, last name first. hey it could go both ways, atleast it wasn't Smith.

 

Friday, the weekend has arrived!

The next few photos is a figure 8 car that used to run Riverhead run by Downtown George Brown. A movie could be made of this guy from the stories and stuns I've heard about him! I know some you have seen the pontiac that runs the 8's today.





Runs today.


Bill Schulz

Bill Deakin

Bill Dennis

Bil Dennis

Bill Devercely

Bill Lamson

Bil Morsch

 

Bill Slater

Bill Slater

Bill Spade

Bill Spencer

Bill Wilson

Bill Wimble rounds out the rest!

 

May have posted this one before--Carroll Satterwhite 1968, Lawton Ok speedway

 

those are the cleanest best looking figure 8 cars I have ever seen in my life. All I have ever seen are bent all over. The NY drivers must be very good. How many cars start a feature? Thanks for the photos its great to see all of them...Bobby.......

 

We're lucky now a days to get 14 to 16 out, back in the late 70's and early 80's they had 60 show up. Rich and my pops can a test to this, they used to run heat races on the oval. They would also have a B main and an A main on the 8 course.
Some night are good, some night are bad! Check out my site, I have figure 8 clips in the bench racing series and also the grandstand series. I will posting more races during the off season.

 

Take a moment to remember Richie Evans, he left us 24 yrs ago today
Richard Ernest "Richie" Evans
July 23, 1941 - October 24, 1985
Rome, NY
NASCAR Modified Career: 1963-85

 

Anyone notice the gas station photo? 33 cents a gallon!!!!

 

A car not many people remember

 

That's sweet, is that at Dover? The banks don't liike high enough lol, is it one of the southern tracks?

 

Very good call Bullfather! And now a memory of mine...

Every time Dad would take me up to Richie's garage on Calvert St. in Rome, he would say before we went in... "Now behave and don't touch anything" As soon as we got in, Richie would always make sure I found my way into the drivers seat of whatever car he had in there at the time. Looking back now, I am sure it was just a little game the two of them were playing at my expense because I would always look at Dad to see what kind of reaction I was gonna get from him after I was in the car and the two of them would just look at each other and grin.<!--/Text-->