It's too hot to be in the shop this afternoon. Summertime is working full-time in Southern California (it's good that summertime is working, because most of the population is unemployed) and the outside temperature at 3:30 PM is beginning to cool from its high reading of mid-90s. During the heat of the afternoon, another racer pointed me toward a series of You Tube videos that feature four or five segments of approximately 5 minutes length each of the 1969 U.S. Nationals. I haven't viewed them all but i did catch a glimpse of a '57 Chevy with "Banana" on the side. I don't know if Frank Iaconio still owned it by that time or if it had been sold but, if you enter the You Tube site (www.youtube.com) and search for "Tournament of Champions Part I" it will take you to the right place and you can see for yourself. When you've finished Part I, search for "Tournament of Champions Part II." I think there are four or five Parts to the whole thing. I've been told that it's in there somewhere but I haven't witnessed the segment that shows Tommy Neja sliding his front tires through the traps in an attempt to not bomb the national record in the Stock Eliminator final round but giving the win to Tritak and Morgan's wagon as he did so. Stock isn't featured in the show that was produced by Hurst Performance but there are several opportunities to spot a few of the hitters of the day. It's worth watching if for no other reason than to see the astounding number of runs by dragsters and gassers in which both cars ended up in the same lane! It's surprising that any of us lived long enough to race another day. c
Hey, I'm back. Jan and I took a trip out to Texas & new Mexico and got back last Friday after being away for almost a month. While we were away, Charlie Hampp Sr. had a heart attack, but is OK. We had lunch on Friday and he told me that he was to meet with someone from Hospice to talk about his wife, Mary Lou. She has been an Alzheimers facility for over four years. She passed Sunday morning and the funeral was held today. The old boy has had a rough month, but is holding up better that I expected. Charlie Jr. told me something I did not know. He had a deal to buy Bob Luck's '57 and backed out of the deal when they found out most of the good parts had been removed from the car. Since they were in southern PA with a trailer, they called Bill Spanokos and tried to buy the Monster Mash. It had been for sale, but was not on that day. That was the impetus to reconstruct the Witchcraft car to a serious Jr. Stocker. I was going through a photo album with Charlie Sr. in preparation for the funeral and found quite a few photos of the car taken in 1967 &'68 including the one I remembered showing the Witchcraft a couple car lengths in front of John Dianna's SD at the '68 Springnationals. Unfortunately, the car was too quick and ran out. I'll borrow the photos and scan them for posting soon.
Great to have you back, Tom! Sorry to hear about the sad news. My sympathies go out to the family. Best regards, Pete
I found these pix (somewhere) online... Hmmm...first time I've ever seen one of these '62's running a 361 cu.in. "B" engine. Ninety-nine, point nine percent of the time they're equipped with a Stage I, 413 cu.in. Max Wedge!
Bill, Good morning. Yes, I did see that pic before...didn't realize there was a tiny "B" engine under the hood! Pete
Thanks Chuck, believe it or not I acctually have that video. I never noticed the Banana in there before. Yes Frank owned the car during this race, as a matter of fact he won this race!!! Cap
Cap, do you mean he won his class at this race? The fifth segment of the video shows the Stock Eliminator final round at the 1969 U.S. Nationals featuring Tritak and Morgan v. Tom Neja with the Plymouth wagon taking the win. I know that Frank was a dominant player in those days but I didn't think he won Stock Eliminator at Indy. c
I've heard that Ted Harbit has rolled and destroyed the "CHICKEN HAWK" at Muncie. Loss of a great historic race car. I also heard that Ted is banged up a little but will be fine.
Wow thats terrible news of the "Chicken Hawk". What a historic car and engine! Anyone have more info on what happened? It's always been my thought that once these old drag cars get to a certain point, you can't run them all out like you used to in fear of this. There just too historically important. Go to the track and just run for fun, not ET's. -Dean
I hope Ted's ok. I remember years ago at the Nationals following him out of the track. He was driving his racer either home or to a hotel or someplace. At that time I think all the race cars were trailered but that Stude was on the street.
Yes, This excellent HRM piece seems to confirm that! http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehic...udebaker_commander_starlight_coupe/index.html
I have read that Ted got fluids under the tires and lost it at about the 1/8th mile or before. He went over the guard rail and barrel rolled to the base of the scoreboards. Here is a shot of the engine in the CHICKEN HAWK these days.
Ted won Stock eliminator at I believe the 1962 Indy Nationals running either U or V stock. He had many class wins thru the years with this car. In the flagman days people hated to run that car when it got to park 300-400 feet down the track for his handicap. He watched the flagman in the rearview mirror. Thru the years it progressed to a high 9 second car but running BIG mph @ 140 plus with a twin turbo 289 Studebaker engine. Ted is 72 years old and this is a sad end to a car that he has raced for 45 years. He has a tube chassis Avanti that he has been build in for a few years. I hope he gets it out.
Reviewing the NHRA archives found at <http://cms.nhra.com/50th/years.html>, I couldn't find Ted's name as an Eliminator winner. Of course, have been literally hundreds of class winner trophies awarded but I was unable to locate a definitive list of class winners over the years. Clearly, his Studebaker was an iconic machine and the impact of its loss is ameliorated only by the fact that he was not seriously hurt. As is often heard, "...the car can be replaced but drivers..." Hope to hear of his return soon. c
I talked to Ted at the Studebaker swap meet in South Bend last week. Thank heavens he's o.k even though the 51 might be a total loss. I'm sure he will be back yanking the gears in his red 63 Stude R-2 car at the PSMCDR drag race at Stanton Michigan this September. It's hard to keep a good man down.
Ted Harbit update: Ted is going to be fine after a stay in the hospital of a week or so. Biggest problem is a collapsed lung. The same can't be said for his car of 40 + years.
Here's a link to a thread on the Ted Harbit crash and the good news about his condition and the expected hospital stay. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=179084 Ted is still a tough competitor.
P426,thanks for posting that. I had never seen it and it is good reading. I bet on the day NHRA announced the 4 speed ban plenty of guys were pissed off. The NHRA pretty much just drove them out of Stock from what I gather anyway. Thanks
Those of us that didn't get forced out that day were finished off by the decision to kill off Stock Eliminator altogether at the end of 1971. The Tri-Fives were wiped out by the stroke of a pen. When the "new" Stock Eliminator emerged, nothing older than 1960 was allowed. For a while we went ahead under the shadow of a "ten-year rule." If that had been kept in place, this year there would have been nothing older than a 1999 model car allowed in Stock. c
Pete, Thanks for posting the photo of Harold, I have never seen it before. I still have not called his son to see how the dealership is doing. They sell Pontiac and GMC trucks and may not have much to offer in the future.
. I found that last sentence particularly interesting. Today's STOCK eliminator cars are now in the high 9 second range!
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