History Historic Stock Car Photos

Bob Siblia looked like a mountain man.. Nice guy too.. Bud Middaugh was a nice guy too and a clean driver.. Loved his maroon and burgandy cars!! John

 

oh my the memories View attachment 1260185

 

Some old stuff View attachment 1260199

 

Middaugh at the berg View attachment 1260208

 

Dick trickle and ed mitchell at the berg View attachment 1260228

 

Ah great to see so many interested in Hberg.......

......I've heard stories about Reading Fairgrounds, Pa. and Danbury, CT that had such passionate fans and great weekly shows from Herb Dodge when he was a columist for Stock Car racing mag........I never saw racing there but they sound like other Hberg's in their days...........

My scrap books have detailed stories and info on over 300 late model drivers from the pavement era of 67 through 73 at Hberg that we'll try to cover here..........

Couple quick comments here.........

jmh........Bob Siblia and Middaugh ran together with Dave Draime in 72' with the Chevelles and I believe Bud was Bob's father in law.............hence the connection......Those caramal and maroon color schemes on those cars where great....I always loved the top hat and cane that Bud had on his cars..........agree that Sibs is a great guy..........spent an evening at his house and they showed me lots of videos of him racing, what an enjoyable time.........


Bushy........Yup I darn near cried when I found out that place was closing.............I was so heart broken with the loss of that track that I stayed away from racing until 1981 (big mistake).........then found a somewhat resurrected Hberg with Pa Motor Speedway at the time when they moved everything up there............To tell the truth I've been searching for another Hberg and a replacement of the Pgh 250 event............I thought for a time when Jennerstown was running great in the late 80's and early 90's while I worked there of a good show like Hberg but they never had a late model event like the 250 (they came close with a few year ending races though)...I believe this big SLM race coming up on April 9th at North Wilkesboro will be the kind of event like the Pgh 250.............not the same but the best we can do in this day and age I hope..........

Been looking over my scrape books to see how I can scan photos from my printer into the computer.....they should fit.............

indybigjim......while looking through some of my 80's late model stuff I saw a shot I have in a book with you big John..........flagging a combined ASA AllPro race where you are on the track with your foot holding the AllPro bull down on the track.......lol!

BTW...Some things people should be aware of about Hberg..............when it was first built the intent was to run horse racing there in 1949..........they ran some auto races until a parmutual betting law could be passed in PA.............it didn't pass for decades after and as a result Hberg remained as an auto race track.........they set it up to have the best lighting available at the time....... Pgh NBC affiliate at the time WIIC said their night lighting was so good that their cameras could use daylight color temp settings.............when track promoter Ed Witzberger paved it in 67 (starting with the inside 1/4 before doing the half mile) they sent engineers over to Sweden to find out why their roads never had potholes in them despite the bad weather........they found out that an elastrometric composition was mixed into the asphalt to allow it be breathe and be flexible during temperature changes.............it also gave grip to the surface unlike any other asphalt compound can.....

.........Can you believe back then they went through all that trouble??

When the pavement was torn up it was carted up the road 10 miles to PA motor speedway and left there in a field.......I picked up a chunk as a suvenior in 1981 and the inside of it was still fresh and sticky with the consistancy of cookie dough!!

Pa motor later ground that stuff up and laid it in the infield of their dirt track in pits..........during a big dirt late model show I was talking to Larry Moore (who ran Hberg at the 250 with his Arca Monte Carlo ride) and told him "do you know what you are walking on??".............when I explained it was the remains of Hberg's asphalt he leaped like it was hot coals and told me with that gravely (no pun intended) laugh of his and said... "Why didn't you tell me I was walking on hallowed grounds ??"......

On more story about this pavement stuff of the track then we'll work on pictures later this week.

Bushy.......... you would appreciate this.........when they sold the property and built a shopping center there I refused to walk in the place and shop there........I found out many other fans felt the same way............but one day I decided to go back in there and take my younger brother with me (he was 14 years younger than me) I took him to the track in 72 once when he was 4 years old but he doesn't remember much but later became a big fan and appreciative of all the great racing that took place there I told him about..........

So I took hiim with me specifically to find where the start finish line might have been at within the shopping plaza...........we ended up going in the Hills deptment store and to the best of my ablity I found where I thought that start/finish line might be.........it was in the toy section of the store..........

So we were just standing there remiscing of all the greats and special events that happened in decades past on the ground we were standing on..........then an employee comes over to us and says "can I help you?"

I looked at her and then my brother and we both laughed........she said, "what is so funny?"

I told her......."mama you wouldn't believe why we are here............we are not here to buy anything.......I'm just trying to find where I think the start finish line of a great race track that used to exist on the land in which this store is on now........"

She looked at us with a slight smile and said, "Boys its not that funny at all..........as a matter of fact I've had quit a few people come in and tell me they were doing the same thing...."

I guess some places are really missed...............

 

Thanks Oldtimer..........you'll never know what you missed......the multigroove racing there was unequaled by any track I've ever seen and I'm talking the pavement era..........I have pictures to prove it I need to posted soon.

 

Ah that post card they sold right???........and used that shot for the 71 and 72 program covers.........it was taken during the running of the 1968 Pgher 250......

 

Start with B&Ws here.............I'm sure you can click on the thumbnail to enlarge...........

This is a shot from opening day.........I believe 1972.

Hberg would try to open up as early as the first week in March......and as a result would get lots of additional Late models from Ohio and Mich that didn't normally run on a weekly event at the track. I remember one year they had 52 late models for a regular show on opening day.

In this photo you will see the #10 of Bill Rousch from Bethel Park, Pa......normally a dirt runner at Latrobe Speedway that would run early events at Hberg............the 84 of course is Bob Sennecker........

Also trailered here waiting to get in are #7 Don Grergory in the Jegs Chevelle......behind them is Herb Scott's #8ball 64 Chevelle.....also see Augie Sandman in the #47 Ford Torino.......

 

Hberg:
i live near bud and bobby...what is your name,i may know you.no bud is not bob,b son-in-law ,an uncle i believe. i worked on draimes crew in 72.check pic.i,m 2nd. from right. View attachment 1260342
jerry

 

paving of the berg in 1967 View attachment 1260418

 

Bud Middaugh wins first P View attachment 1260419 itt 200 on pavement

 

Colella to run
the berg View attachment 1260424

 

colella quits the berg View attachment 1260425

 

Bushy............oops that's right Uncle............I knew there was a relations there just old memory fading on that............

Love the stuff you posted..............My name is Mike Nelson............Sibs raced a lot at Jtown and Motordrome and I got to know him well then..........it was the year he won the opening feature events at each track and decided to go for the Nascar regional/national short track points and ended up hanging out in WPa short tracks for awhile......

I first saw him run pavement in Western Pa after Hberg closed when Clearfield paved in 86 with the 63 car that had Cheifton Trucking sponsorship Indian head on the car........was that the same sponsor that was on the old Fairlanes that Jeep Iacobucci raced?

 

Look at some of
the names View attachment 1260475

 

View attachment 1260483 a very sad day in racing

 

Speaking of motordrome...i was at martinsville last year watching the truck race on saturday and started to bs with this guy next to me.turned out to be steve peles the drome promotor at one time...course he knew bobby......what a nice guy

 

Jack Sullivan lived at the end of our street in Charlotte NC. As I recall he built engines for the Petty syndicate :0) (GO THE 43!!!)

 

Don't know if its been mentioned here but there is a big? event here at the old Middle Ga. Speedway in Byron this weekend [11-12th] with a car show and other events taking place Fri. and Sat. I'm taking the '47 Sat. There is a show and shine and a judged show as well.

 

Mike, Glad to see someone with the knowledge and pics. from the glory days of Western PA. finally posting on here. Show us what you got!!! Reno...

 

Bushy...........wow that list from the 70 race.........I was there.........it was a rain shortened event checkered at lap 168 with Bickerstaff winning.........it ran into the night.

I loved how they started 44 cars on that track then...........they didn't that except in 73 when they started 36......I couldn't figure out why the drop in field but it seems the Pgher became part of a series called the "American Jetway Series" or somelike like that........a tour of big late model events I think? Maybe that was part of the change.

so you talked with Steve Pele there?............he was a good one. That crash at Motordrome that broke his back seemed to be the thing that hastened his retirement from racing as a driver after he came back......they designed a special seat with aerospace padding and such to accommdate his back and he still ran great but he didn't run much longer after that. Couple years back during the North/South shootout when they had supers with the mods at Concord I missed a chance of seeing him. I was talking to late/model and super drive Tim Ice and he told me Steve was hanging out with him in the pits (didn't have a pit pass at the time) Steve was done there because his daugthers worked for Chip Gannasi racing at the time I believe.

BTW...........don't post anymore photos of that race track being torn up (sacrism off)!!!!.....lol!

Its just to painful to look at even today......

 

Bushy...............TC's told me that he would have probably kept promoting racing at Hberg if he knew that the 73 oil embargo wouldn't have held back cars or fans......he like myself and others thought local short track racing would suffer and maybe even fade away when fuel costs tripled over night back then................TC said if he knew how resilent the fans and competitors would have remained despite increased travel cost he would have probably continued to run the place until 79 or so.........at that point he felt the noise and land value issues would have made it impossible to manange into the 80's and beyond......

......but that is so typical of tracks built out in the middle of nowhere to have housing built around them and noise/land value issues shut them down.......I remember reading that article of TC's disappointment in Pgh media you posted.......however, before when Witzberger promoted the place used to put Pgh newspaper sports writers on the payroll to come out and write on a weekly basis....thus the coverage they got under his wings......

 

Me too!! John

 

View attachment 1260619





cushman wins berg 1970

 

Okay lets start with a comparison.........

Below you find a shot of Hberg during the 1968 Pgher 250..........

Now compare the shape and layout to a similar shot from the air the first year of paved racing at Jennerstown speedway from my old business card....in the next photo........


If you have been to Jennerstown when it was paved then you have been as close as you can get to the half mile paved track at Heidelberg.......

 

View attachment 1260627




71 opener at berg

 

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early 71 at berg

 

View attachment 1260630




6/71 at berg

 

Here are two shots of racing from 1968 season (I think?) at Hberg with the first shot.....

84 Bud Middaugh leading 40 Tom Collela

Bud told me this old Chevy impala late model of his just loved to race......when he later drove the chevelle he told me this car would sit in the garage looking at him as if it wanted to talk saying take me out and race me!!!..lol! I loved how he used to dirt track this car on the pavement out of turn four at night in a feature while leading.......

TC's 64 Chevelle is a Bobby Allison build car which Eddie Allison (a cousin??) was a crew chief on for the season..........when Tom and the crew struggled to figure out the pavement with this car Bobby came up one night, got in it.....set fast time, won the helmet dash, heat race and darn near lapped everyone in the feature..........after that set up Tom ran pretty good with this car ever since........he later sold this car to Ray Thomas of Cleveland who campaigned it at Hberg in the familiar Orange #12 scheme of his cars.....

and second shot.....

95 Jim Cushman leading 26 Carl Smith.....need I say anything about this two iconic Ohio pilots???........I will tell you that they enjoyed racing Hberg when it was first paved with all the experience they had running on black top..........Cushman especially had early success at Hberg while the local Western Pa dirt drivers were learing to race the new black top....

Enjoy......more to come.......stay tuned.