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

Joe ,
I remember that car quite well. when Lynn Payton owned that car it was in beautiful original condition. A perfect example of a Hillegass sprint car.
I have a few Hillegass cars, including the Deb Snyder Miracle power sprint and the last midget he ever built. Some years ago I bought the contents of his shop from Ray Drumheller. I gave a bunch of the stuff to EMMR museum They have a great display including his louvering set up.
I`m a great fan of Hillegass stuff.

 

Man I loved that mag when i was a kid! I need to get my old issues from my Dads house, it was a huge influence on me.

Bob

 

Hi Stan,

That was a real sweet car for sure. I sold it to a guy in Lake Havasue, NV some years ago. I still have a lot of pics of that car as well as some or Rod Albright trophy plaques he got with the car.

I'll dig up some more info and post it.

Joe

 

Is the pace car a Hudson?

 

I think its a Kaiser or Fraiser

 

Great shot, thanks Rich....

 

Looks like the stands are packed, wish they could do that today. Denny Z

 

George LeMay, Alberta Sprint Car Champion 1950 & 1951, in the Leco Special

 

Today a promoter has to compete with so many forms of entertainment that weren't available &/or readily available then .. including, but not only many forms of sports, multiplex cinemas, TV, DVD's, video games, computers, the Internet, iPods, iPads, smart cell phones and I could probably go on for hours.

Todays auto racing promoter has to compete with any & all forms of entertainment, that just wasn't available back then. Quiet a task to present a "show" today, that people will come to.

Back when this picture was taken, people were comparitively starved for things to do and the auto racing promoters of the day could more easily capitalize on that.

 

Today a promoter has to compete with so many forms of entertainment that weren't available &/or readily available then ..

not very many "promoters" nowadays, just track operators

 

I found these photos at an estate sale the other weekend. I can't find any info on the drivers.

 

Could that be Langhorne???

Frank Mc Gurk:

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

Champcar stats has nothing for Randolph....

These are Big Cars(sprints) in the photos.

 

Thanks for that!

I found the following mention of Dave Randolph in a 1942 NY Post clipping

Small Car Pilots Resume Feud
Dave Randolph, who appears headed for the 1941-42 indoor midget auto championship, may be headed off tomorrow night when some of, the East's best pilots line up at the Bronx Coliseum in the seventh meet of the season.​

Randolph's most formidable contention is expected to come from Georgie Rice, Ted Tappett, Bill Schindler ancT Ray Nestor, all of whom have a better than even chance to capture the title. Nester is second to Randolph in the point standings​

 

I`m sure once the older guys with more knowledge of the old days see these,there will be some more info!

Wynn`s 1,Sprinter2, Stan, Ken S. Mlight9?

 

I'm glad you don't include me with the "older guys", Tony!

Frank "Wildman" McGurk was a AAA standout of the thirties, even ran at Indy once (though he didn't qualify). He continued racing until the early fifties, iirc, then became a top notch Indy mechanic (e.g. for J. C. Agajanian). The car is the Vince Conze Miller, earlier driven by George Robson, and after WW2 by guys like Walt Faulkner, Jack McGrath or Allen Heath.

Dave Randolph's real name was Bayard Douglas Tewksbury (no, really!), and he was a "coming man" before the war, but unfortunately got killed during hostilities. His #55 car is a red Hal, but I don't know who owned and/or built it.

 

Thanks for the info Michael!

Not sure how old you are, so I gave you the benefit of the doubt-LOL

 

I know that Stan Lobitz & Joe Fiore know the answer to this, so not fair if they answer.

Who built the last sprint car to come out of the Hillegass shop?????

It was NOT either Hillegass &/or Drumheller.

 

LOL!!!! "Track operators" is being nice.

Harold Seaman refers to them as "property managers"!!!

MANY of todays so called promoters run five or six divisions and operate on the proceeds / profits of the back gate and do very little to get people in the front gate / grand stands.

 

Yep, the back gate mentality... they would rather have 6 classes of 10 cars each as opposed to three of 20 cars each because the cheaper classes fund the premier classes.

Most places will have a "pack the track night" and charge people a couple of bucks to get in. More people = more concession sales = more people who may say "Hey that looks like fun!" and consider getting involved = more cars. That only happens once a year. Why? Got me.

ANNNYWAY... Greg/Trentesept - Thanks for the pics! The car I saw was from around 1971 or 1972 (couldn't have been later because Haidinger's closed in 1972) so it was likely the follow-up to the car in your post.

 

If you stop and think about it, drivers from this era were EXTREMELY BRAVE!!

No shoulder harness, probably no seat belt, no roll bar, no roll cage, no fire suit, helmets made out of simple paper mache, no side nerf bars (made it easy to put a wheel under someone).

Almost NO safety equipment to speak of.

 

not very many "promoters" nowadays, just track operators[/QUOTE]

I agree. Denny Z

 

Can anyone identify the driver and car in the attached file? It was posted over on 3Wide's board a few months back. The guy, whoever he is, looks like he's having fun. It says "Boluck"(?) on the cowl, but that may have been added by the photographer.

Thanks!

 

That's a GOOD idea, but it doesn't happen around here.

If (as a promoter) you have empty seats, it doesn't cost anything to give them away cheaply or even for free. Add to that most will buy something at the concession stands and there is BIG PROFIT there, especially in food & beverages.

Back when there were three tracks still running on this NY island ... Freeport, Islip and Riverhead ... the late Don Campi was the promoter of Freeport and also the head of his family's pizza supply business, Cremosa Cheese.
He had many of the italian / pizza resturants they sold to giving away free passes to his track. Many strongly criticized him for it. ....

His reply was .. 'It doesn't cost me anything to give away empty seats. Most all of them are going to buy something to eat & maybe a souvenior or two; which I make good money on .. plus, if I put on a good, exciting, entertaining show many of them are going to come back and pay through the front gate!'

Don Campi was both a smart promoter and truely nice person.

 

Yep - Don "got" it.

 

Found these shot while uploading negatives from Reading.....Rich

 

Michael, Yes, his real name was Bayard T. & he grad. from Hofstra Univ. w/degree.
However, he died of a heart attack while in the Air Force, before wars end.
May I recommmend an excellent book on racing in the 1930's here in eastern Penna,
" HARD times/ hard DRIVING " by Sharpless & Way. My good parents had me in
attendance at most of these local tracks, i.e. Bird-in Hand, Landisville, Lebanon
Fairgrounds, Reading & W. Grove.
mlight9

 

Thanks for the correction, Bob. I have the "Hard times..." book, but haven't yet finished reading it - not enough waking hours, I guess!

Btw, I'm 43 - "middle age" (?)

 

Bakes
looks like Pickles Bickelhaupt to me.

 

Is that one of Pappy Hough`s cars?

 

Jim - That would certainly fit the postwar timeframe and location. Thanks for the info!