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

Rootie, that picture may be of the four nicest people I ever have had the pleasure of knowing the Shannon brothers, Bob Higman and Larry Rice. RIP Larry

 

From a old 1973 program, as the Shannons were the 72 owner champs.

 

Hi Spike,
I think that Hillegass built one champ car that may have been the Glessner car. Can anyone confirm?

 

Rootie-
Great pic of the Denver race pace lap. I may have met the outside front row driver as a kid. I had been beaten up in school; compound fracture of my left arm. It was in a hard cast for 27 weeks, then i had to to go into the hospital three times a week to soak it in a whirlpool. I was in 2nd grade then, no racing expert yet, but had seen the midgets run often. The week before i started this water therapy, a midget driver was hurt pretty bad at Hatfield Speedway. His name was Neal Carter, he was i think from Ohio, and we took the whirlpool deal at the same time. I was really thrilled to take treatment with a racer!
Now this was long ago, but i think my Dad said he drove as a teamate with a Ralph Pratt on a team owned by a guy name of Jim White.
Does anybody know if this could have been the same driver?

 

Tonight is the last night of Indy cars on Broadway in NYC. In a promotion with Izod the Indy Museum brought a group of vintage Indy cars for display in Macy's flagship store on Herald Square, NYC. The cars ranged from two Miller cars (one of them the last of the rear engine cars) a few roadsters and uprights and one Ford rear engine car among them. There were also a few engines on display along with other Indy memorabilia. Some of the cars were in the store windows on Broadway. Last night Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears, Little Al and current driver Ryan Hunter Reay were signing autographs. The event really pulled in the people. On Monday all 33 starters for the 500 were on Broadway along with the Ray Harroun car. Following are some pictures I took of the display.
Joel

 

Yikes, you must of gone to one tough ass school!
That be him, not a real long career, but pretty successful. Wonder what became of him? A little more info:

http://www.worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Neal_Carter.htm

http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/CarterNeal.htm

 

Some more from the Macy's display.
Joel

 

Here's tast three that I shot ... didn't get the rear engine Miller.
Joel

 

That's petty cool, I wonder what the guys building those cars would have thought if they were told the cars would end up being displayed on Broadway in the year 2009?

 

That's what it says here, if you cross check it would be the Glessner car.
http://www.champcarstats.com/chassis/hillegass.htm

 

Hey Y'all,

Long time lurker...first time responder. I am saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. Rice. I had the honor of meeting him way back in the early 70's. He was becoming USAC midget champ then as my all-time fav Rollie Beale was becoming USAC sprint champ.

R.I.P. Mr. Rice

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/miller-saying-goodbye-to-larry-rice/ (didn't know Robin Miller had this side to him!)

 

Race Artist, thanks for the pics from the Macy's display. As I was checking out the photos I noticed the people totally oblivious to the history they were walking past. Thanks again to Josh for starting this thread, and for everyone who posts here. The past isn't wasted here.
PK

 

Basement Bessie in the Big Apple. Amazing.

"As I was checking out the photos I noticed the people totally oblivious to the history they were walking past"

Sounds about right for New Yorkers to me.

Before anyone says anything I was born and raised close to NYC.

 

I've always been a sucker for the early day pre-race/pit area type pics. This is the lineup for the 1950 Rex Mays 100 at Milwaukee. In this day of cookie cutter race cars it's neat to see the variety of machinery being campaigned back then, all in a group. Bringing up the rear is Emil Andres' Ross Page roadster next to Faulkners upright 98. Just ahead is Henry Banks upright #8 and McGraths Hinkle 49, looking much like a 'bomb on wheels' in this view. While the mechanics do their last minute fussing and the water truck makes a last pass, the focus of attention, appears to be down by the starter/scorer stand, probably driver intros.

 

Rip

 

It's pretty hard not to repeat with pictures on this, the muther of all threads, so forgive me if I do! Cheers, Miller91

 

Larry Rice won the '77 USAC Dirt Car championship in Dave LeFevre's car. Here it is restored. Sorry if these have been posted before.

RIP, Larry.

 

Actually that was not really the case ... most people gave room for the photos to be taken and there were many reading and talking about the cars in the windows and in the store. There was alot of printed and video history there and people were watching it. Last Monday when the 33 starters were there in front of the store the crowd was sizable. Macy's did a great job with this promotion together with Izod and the Indy Museum.
Joel

 

I too love these kind of pictures ... variety and individualism are lost to all forms of modern racing. Different paint ... er ... vinyl do not make for variety.
Joel

 

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

 

Does anyone have information, entry list, program, photos, etc from the inaugural supermodified race held on May 4, 1969 on the 3/4 mile paved oval at Pocono, PA? This was the race that Troy Ruttman Jr. lost his life at. The race was originally scheduled for October 20, 1968, but was postponed until spring 1969 due to weather. I am tracing a sprint car turned supermodified that may have run there. Appreciate any info you may have.

Al's vintage racing

 

Some pics of the 6 wheel car before the trip to New Hampshire

 

probably a little new for this thread... but here's my dads old midget, we've got it in the race shop behind my sprintcar its an old stanton with an autocraft... one of these days im gonna prime it and light it off out back

 

The great Bud Winfield!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=665691&d=1242939832

 

Miller 91 Thanks for another great photo post! Can anyone give some history on the "Bobtail' era race cars, I think it started with Model T Ford based cars, but the above MILLER just has the tail removed. Did they run with full tail cars or just in a class of their own?

 

The bobtails ran with the regular cars with tails.

The cars were what would now be called sprint cars.

 

Paul Martens has restored this car to an incredible level.

 

I'd just like to know what got the trend started, and were did most of them place the gas tank?

 

Hi Roy, hope you are doing well. Remember watching you at Fort Wayne and Indy and probably some others I've forgotten. I am so glad to have found this site after looking at the stockers and then seeing a coment about sprint car photos. Take care!

Jeff Sittloh
Concord, NC
(Moved here from Fort Wayne 8 yrs ago)

 

Finally getting around to building the tailfin for the new Kurtis Novi, going together here, at ground zero, in INDY.