History Vintage Kansas stock car racing pics--55 Chevy alert!

OMG Paul, that is some cool stuff, by the time I started going to the local tracks (mostly Sunset Speedway and Playland park) around the Omaha area, they were racing 64 & 65 chevelles and early 70's camero's,etc. Still was very cool. "Real Racing". Even got to see the Mustang auto Daredevils a few times and the Kosiski boys and Bur****s were always local favorites. Bud Bur**** his nephew Bob Bur**** and Bob Kosiski all drove T-Birds in the second running at Daytona in 1960. Your pic's bring back lots of memorys. Thanks for posting. Gary

 

Sometimes when I am in my home town of Herington I go past the garage where Alan Combs (55JR) built some of his early race cars. Its a run down mess now but I wander HOW he did it in such a small space. I used to stop in every now and then and to share a beer.

 

I cant believe how many cars have floater rear ends. Whats up with the 8 lug front ends, seem to have giant bearing caps, 3/4 ton truck stuff Im thinking.

Brad

 

Heavy duty right front spindles, lots of stress when you throw a full sized sedan into a hard left.

 

---- #### Ok here goes on the spindle thing. Back in the day they would have rules meetings and the drivers would actually vote on the rules and the promoter would then approve them. They voted the so called Safety-Hub in way back as to think 8 lug-nuts and a floater hub would be safer than the old roller ball bearings that the 50s cars had on them with only 5 lug-nuts. So now here is when it gets interesting. You would go to the salvage yard and cut the axle tube or snout off of a 1-ton truck housing. Now go back to the shop and place the tube over the stock spindle of what ever car ch***is you happened to be running. Now tack weld everything into place with just the correct amount of camber and caster. Then you would go find the best welder type cat that you knew because your so called Safety Hub was now an invention that depended on the quality of the weld in a big way >>>>.

 

I find it hard to beleave you and Combs drinking beer together. Which shop was his? It isn't the one you and have talked about putting a shop in is it?Down the street from grandma and grandpas. the old ford shop.

 

Some interesting cars there. I like the Hudson.. and the one '55 Ford with the braces welded into the wheels and the burned paint where they re-clearanced the front fenders with a torch - thanks for posting those -

 

Some of those cars actually were pretty good looking cars, must have been fresh builds.....before having been run in too many races. I was also suprised how many 4 door cars were used, the supply of useable 2 door cars must have been shrinking. Gene

 

i really liked those picture. really great
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I know its been a while since the last post but I just found this via you tube. Great stuff! Friday night Salina, Saturday Hutchinson or Dodge City and Sunday Great Bend.

 

Oh the humanity.....just kidding, I'd rather see them perish in battle than in a pasture, plus mine's worth more now too.....

 

To answer 2 of the questions. The main reason for 4 doors were they were cheap. You did not have much money so you managed it very well. 2 doors commanded much more money and the wheel base was the same on the 55 thru 57 chevys and the 55 56 fords.. The reason for so few 57 is the same answer. cost. I have been given lots of 4 door parts cars and some became race cars. Bobby..

 

Wow. These really take me back... I was working at Easy Jack's Auto Parts, outside of Junction City (just got out of the Army). They ran a couple stock cars out of the shop, driven by Jack's sons.
I went with them once - to Dodge City, I think. They filled me full of beer all the way there. When we unloaded the cars, they asked if I wanted to warm up the 6 cylinder '57 Chevy on the track. They didn't have to ask twice. I got it fired (finally) and eased it up onto the track. Got up a little speed and approached turn 1, expecting to slide around at a 45 degree angle - but the six was hotter than I thought and it slid sideways (picking up more speed), into a pole, wiping out the fresh front sheetmetal we'd installed and painted the day before. That was the end of my stock car racing career. But I still remember it with a grin.
Thanks for posting these. Didn't see this coming...

 

The '56 chevy two tone number "0" was Mell Potts, well know in salina. Owns a radiator shop on Broadway, just a stones throw from where poverty scanned the pictures, yes it is a small world after all. Great find!!

 

WOW Poverty! I got that ghost feeling too when I saw this #22 55 Chevy because of the Johnson's Harley Davidson logo on the rear 1/4. That was my late friend's dad's place. We lost Steve in a dirt bike accident in the min 80's. Thanks for posting these.

 

Jack Welch was also a track announcer (Easy Jack) at local tracks. His two main numbers were 39 & 49. They may have run as many as 3 or 4 cars but two for many years. All baby (sky, light) blue in color. The track you were at was probably Great Bend and Golden Belt Speedway on a Sunday night. I don't recal the Welch's going way out to Dodge, but they sure could have.

 

Max Sloan #22, I would call Max one on the legends from Great Bend, KS. If I remember right the black roof was that felt that was popular for a few years.

 

Great pictures !!!!! Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

Here are some more old Stock car photo's from from the 50's and 60's in Austin, TX.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=525029

 

Yep Warren, The roof on Max's car was FUZZY !! LOL. Go back in time to the 70's when "Mighty Mouth Fred Phabe" was announcing at Salt Hawk Speedway and I can hear him like it was yesterday " And in the 22 from Great Bend it's Deeee, Max Sloan" Fred had a way of introducing the drivers with a certain flare about it >>>>.

 

Another trade mark of the Welsh team was the BUZZARD !!! All of their cars had the Buzzard on the side !!! >>>>.

 

I'm thinking they had other drivers besides a Welch also. I believe they go way back to the days of Plaza/J-Hill Speedway on the hill at Junction City

Fred was better than the alternative when Fred did his radio thing in the fall and football announcing.

 

how kool thanks for sharing

 

Speeking of Y-BLOCKS !! back in about 1971 or 72 the Wichita drivers would invade the Salina track on Fridays about once a month. The particular night that I remember a cat named R.B Flynn showed up with a 57 Ford that cleaned house. The locals protested his engine for tear down inspection !! Can't remember the size his engine was but his flat-top Y-Block spanked all of the domed piston small block chevs !!! >>>>.

 

Actually those semi late drivers from 81 were some of the best in the business. RB Flynn, #70 was one of them. Bud Haehn, The Lutkies, Steve, Mike, Larry & Tom. Pinky Mullens. There was so many of them 50 to 100. They had their own show at 81 on Saturday nights all to there own. Not many outsiders ran on there ground on Saturday. Big difference in rules to run there. I went to a few of them and the A feature was a mirror of the 1st lap and the checkerd flag lap. It was crazy bumper to bumper and door to door. But like you said they would run Salina and A few even showed up on Sunday nights at Great Bend. I'm not sure if they changed engines or not.
Drivers and fans whine now days about racing on Sunday nights. It was a pretty good haul from Wichita to Great Bend. I now a few did it and some like Bud Haehn and Bill Mills did it every Sunday
But didn't the high points car start at the tail end back then. That is where the term cherry pickin came in. A car would show up with little or no points and was able to start on the front row and by the time the big dogs got to the front the cherry picker was gone. If I remember right Van "The Man The Kirby Man" Gemmill had "the cherry picker" lettered on his car in these days were talking about. Red #11. Sorry I got to ramblin.

 

I know, I showed my photos to Mel and he showed me a bunch more from his own s**** book. It was fun.

 

I remember the baby blue paint and the buzzard - not much else (I was all of 19 and - did I mention the beer?) that track could've been Daytona, for all I know. I do remember eating my lunch inside the shop during bad weather days and staring at those two Chevys, while the Welsh Bros gave me the business - they razzed me about crashing that '57 the whole time I worked there. In hindsight, they treated me a lot better than I deserved. I was just a punk and extremely damn lucky to be there...

 

Wow, what great pics!! I use to go to Dodge City, it was McCarter speedway I think then, down by the so. park and race with Lloyd Pickering from Kinsley. He and a big tall guy named Roger Miller, no not that Roger Miller, lol. This was about 69-70. Pick, as I called him had a 55 chevy with 2-2bbl holleys. Wasn't there a guy from Hutchinson who did really well with fords? ****ie Hendershot was his name I believe? Fun times. Lippy

 

These are great shots!! Thanks Paul.

 

**** Hendershot #16 from Hutchinson was track champion at McCarty in Dodge and Golden Belt in Great Bend. The car was from Great Bend. He is absolutely one of our Kansas Legends. The car can be seen in one of the photos. It is a 55 Ford. Always blue and white. **** was killed racing at Salina Speedway in the very car with a Maverick body on it. But it was still blue and white #16.