60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Agreed, not Syracuse or Trenton .. but by what's in the background .. yep, most probably Nazareth.

 

[/QUOTE]

Any more pictures from pocono?

 

~~~~~~~~~~
Picking up on the discussion re the cost of todays modifieds, low car counts, etc., etc..

Yes, owners & drivers will ALWAYS push the envelope .. given any particular set of rules.

Someone here blamed the chassis & engine builders. I disagree. I blame no one but the rules makers.

AFFORDABLE modified racing is STILL being done and SUCCESSFULLY in various places. The track & its rules noted in my older posting (above) are one example. ...... TAKE A LOOK PLEASE.

I'll post a picture of one of the modifieds (NOT an IMSCA type) below.

When I have more time, I'll expand on my personal feelings of how I feel that off the shelf modifieds and the sameness of look alike cars have taken a lot away from it all too .... and who predicted it (not me), plus where & when he did.

BTW .. Here are their admission prices ...... "Front Gate Prices: $12-Adult ~~ $6-Ages 6-15 ~~ $6-Senior Rate ~~~~Pit Side Passes: $25" and they are MUCH LESS on their seven Fan Appreciation Nights.

 

That does not look like Nazareth either.

 

I would say Nazareth...the old 1/2 mile dirt track. By the way my family took me (an eleven year old kid) to Nazareth to watch my first ever auto race....WOW....that was the day I got hooked on racing, would have been around 1950. Of course I don't remember who won but if I had to guess I would say Frankie Schnider. I did eventually race there but only once in a URC sprint car.

I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures.

Denny Z

 

You're right! Donovan Kempster ran that coupe as #100 at Islip, before selling it to Dave Horne, who had Richie Gomes race it as #X27. In the winter of 1970 I bought the car from Dave for $1800. NASCAR then changed the rules to not allow fuel injection, so we traded the small block for a big block and won the opening night feature, at Islip, with Bobby Holmberg behind the wheel of the 9A!
We won $500.

 

Ken Schou asked "who predicted it ?". Well, I did, around 1970. I walked into RACEWAY SPEEDSHOP in Bordentown, NJ and there in the glass case was a rear spring slider mount, painted Tobias Blue. I asked the owner, John, "what the hell is that ?'. He looked baffled and I said 'that's the end of stock car racing as we know it". Two weeks later, I visited again and there sat a new, complete frame and cage painted Tobias Blue. John had a big grin on his face as I said, "now, anyone with money can call himself a Racer". No dreams or ingenuity required, just money !

I don't consider it Stock Car Racing. It's purpose-built, racing machines, mass produced in a new industry. The technology is assumed and the topic of converstion is whether it wins "best appearing car".

Hey, what the hell do I know ? I'm just a crazy old man !

 

Same thing happened with midgets, only alot earlier. Also Hotrods. It's 1 800 everything now. And you have to be careful, stuff is even made in China. Friggen Chinamen don't even care what it's for. That's what is too bad.

 

Here we go

 

Slippery, ......,...well that's a start.....but why don't the pictures come up?

Your Sal Dee car looks great.

I know the pictures come up if click on the text but I want to eliminate that step.......need more help.

Thank You, Thank You, Denny Z

 

Wow! I've spent the better part of two weeks reading posts and looking at pictures here. I was referred to this by a gentleman who owns a street legal modified (early 70's Merv Treichler replica) and I am blown away by the pictures and the knowlege contained within. As a mere fan I feel a bit out of place posting, but I want you all to know that I am impressed with this. My father took me to Lancaster Speedway when I was 5 years old in 1972, and I was hooked. There are no cars as beautiful as they were then. Hopefully, someday I will have a street legal mod of my own. My first favorite driver was Jim McGraw (late models #49), but it wasn't long before I became a fan of Gary Iulg.
Anyway, I know there are a lot more pictures out there. Naturally, I'd like to see some old Ransomville Speedway pictures. Someone told me the first photographer there was a man named Louis Renna. Another person who took a lot of photos in western New York was Bob Hunter. What became of his photos and negatives I'd like to know. His widow was apparently cataloging them, but I haven't heard anything regarding that. I even sent her a couple of letters. No reply.
Some photos I'd like to see- anything from the first couple of years at Ransomville Speedway (1958 and 59), as my father had a car in the Hobby division, driven by Bob Steen (division champ- 1959). Also, I'd like to locate a photo of Ken Meahl driving a car at Waterloo (Maple Grove Speedway?!?) in 1962. He was driving one of my father's old cars, as he had wrecked his regular car not too long before that. He and his crew got my father's car, made their adjustments to it and took it there and were leading when, I guess, the axle broke. Not sure what the car number was. The car was #50, but Kenny at the time was known to run #38. there's more, but enough for now. I really enjoy the pics of cars found in a garage, barn, boneyard, or field. It's like discovering a shipwreck. You guys are all great. I'll be talking to a couple of old racers soon, so hopefully, it will lead me to sharing some phots. Thanks again!!

Scott- Burt, NY (north of Lockport)

 

Seen at 2010 Syracuse Nationals. Not so sure about the SB


Most likely ran on the Big Mile



N

 

George M,

Thanks for your continued postings. You have so much history all of which brings back wonderful memories of growing up and spending sat nites at islip and hanging around the shop of Jimmy Reed. Please keep those memories coming. By the way, do you recall the name Bobby Packard?

Thanks again.

 

Denny, It looks like you uploaded PDF's. If you scanned old photos you should save the as JPG images then you can upload them and viewers will be able to click on them and they will come up a larger veiwable size.

 

This Lazzaro car has made it's home in Fort Hunter,New York,about 2 miles East of Fonda

 

Bob Packard...I definitely do remember the name. Maybe you can refesh my memory of him. And Jimmy Reed is a good buddy of mine. What a character. I still see him at Riverhead when I go, which is very rarely these days. George Meade

 

Here we go again. Two pictures from the early Eastern Bandit days. One for sure at Old Bridge and I think both are Old Bridge. Denny Z

 

Wow it worked.....Thanks Slippery and boldventure

 

awesome denny thanks for sharing.

 

awesome denny thanks for sharing

 

Racing is by nature a move forward sport.Everyone tries to get faster by getting a better car or engine.As an engine builder nobody ever comes in my shop not wanting more.Nobody wants a car that doesn't handle better.Racing is just a reflection of society like it or not.I miss building cars out of 1953 Chevys and mild hopped up L-88's.This is why pictures are so important,not when they are taken but years down the road when they are appreciated.I love looking at the pictures on this site reminding me of cars I watched and worked on.Back to work tomorrow trying to build a faster mousetrap!

 

Been on vacation for a couple of weeks. Did start it off with a visit to Riverhead Raceway though. It was nice meeting the Bullfather as well. Hope to see him again in August and get a few more words in with him. I'll admit it was tought finding him. After all that was written about him, I was looking for a guy with a black patch over his eye, possibly a big black hat with a skull and crossbones, maybe some swashbuckling boots, a sword, a peg leg or possibly a hook where his right hand used to be. Lo and behold he was actually just an ordinary Joe sitting five feet away from me on the top row of the bleachers with his weapon of choice in his hand. No it wasn't a cannon it was his videocamera. Might have been a Canon? LOL

Great videos and stuff from race on your website. I took in the Jarzombek/Evans/Baldwin Memorial 77 lap Modified race that I missed as well.

Thanks,

JBull

some Islip and NJ action with the Harbachs...

Fred Harbach X90 with Jamie Tomaino #09 at Wall




Fred with Billy Parks #20 in a cloud of smoke at Islip



Fred and Gil Hearne #27 in traffic at New Egypt



Fred With Tom Baldwin #7 at Islip



Fred in son Alan's #89 racing with Tom McCann #16 at Islip



Alan Harbach #89 racing with Don Howe #34 at Islip



Joe Momalito #31 bouncing off of I believe Jim Kelly #22 with Fred Harbach #X90 looking on

 

Check out the Gremlin in the background with a huge wing.

 

My dad bought a modified from Bob Packard and raced at Riverhead in the early 60's. I think Bob had raced with Jimmy Reed as I recall being told that Jimmy had something to do with the sale of the car to my dad. He sold it and stopped racing in 1964 because he ran a flathead and couldn't keep up with the sbc's. I saw my first race in riverhead when I was a baby and have fond memories of Jimmy dropping us off at our house after the races in Islip in his white jeep or his old ranchero. Truly great memories!!

 

717 Dick Werchan, 95 Bill Wilson Vineland Speedway N.J. 1956

 

Got a lot of good stuff going on the past few weeks....Bullfather is as steady as ever with his posts.... Dr. John is posting away again with all of the great shots of the upstate NY Mods....Denny Z is putting pictures up now....George Meade back in the swing of things....Rich Oakley dusting off some slides....RABs32 posting pictures again....Bones Bourcier chiming in on the thread (Pete,you'll enjoy the Bugsy and Flemke books like you did the Richie Evans book...all told in a slightly different perspective and all very interesting)....if I am not mixing names up, I used to read Bones' column in the Speedway Scene religiously each week entitled Modified Madness...great stuff....the Speedway Scene was a great paper: great coverage of the New England mods, LI, NJ, upstate, good columns, great pictures, a pull out section on the the Winston Cup, one day my subscription stopped coming and when I inquired as to why... the paper was out of business....what happened? the internet?....

Enough talk.... how about some upstate NY mods featuring George Kent....he won a ton of races in his career and a lot of big ones...the ROC...the Genesse 200....but he never seemed to quite make it to that top rung with Evans, Bodine,Troyer...does he still race?...I think his son JR still does....

A Fred Smith photo




leading Richie Evans in the Cal Smales pinto #41



leading the pack to the green in the Cal Smales pinto (at Martinsville?)



George Kent again in the Cal Smales pinto leading Geoff Bodine



This time to the high side of Richie Evans going for the victory in the Cal Smales car

 

some more George Kent and company

in a familiar place



An interesting shot that FlyanBrian or Dr. John might be able to comment on: Tom Forgione #50 in a mustang II?, Charlie Rudolph #12 in a Pacer? Dan Swain #44 in a Vega wagon...just shows the variety of cars and body styles back then and what was soon coming.......what some will call one of the "cookie cutter" cars: the Troyer Built #41 owned by Cal Smales and driven by George Kent passing them all on the outside (no offense to the Troyer Family)




And another interesting shot showing the modifieds of Tim Mislin #81 and George Kent #6 racing with a late model in joint events that I believe were in a Canadien/American Series....I believe they ran in joint events at Holland a lot, but I believe this is Lancaster



George Kent in the #26 being chased by Greg Sacks in his former ride the Cal Smales #41


Kent #26 and Sacks #41 again this time with Dan Mason in the #04 arrow and Tony Vecchio in the #1




One of my favorite Kent Mods: the Mustang II bodied #26...not sure of the photographer

 

Yes,#50 is a Mustang II and the 44 is indeed, a Vega wagon. Not sure about the 12, Dr. Jorn would know for sure. I only recall the Gremlin Charlie ran. I think at the time Charlie was running on dirt also. He was successful on both surfaces.