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

Well, Bob Baker from the museum told me that accident resulted in big changes to roll bar safety, so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

This is crazy, but I remember one of the biggest complaints drivers were making about adding cages to their sprints was: "When you flip you'll break your arms on the roll cage!" You did see a lot of photos of sprints flipping with drivers arms sticking up and out of the cage like they were signalling a touchdown. I believe it's one of the reasons they came up with arm restraints.

 

If i remember right in 69 you could run a cage if it was chrome plated,and then only if they decided on race day. It was the same in 70 but after the Neb. fair deal it was not enforced and cages became mandetory in 71 or 72.

Curt Grogan

 

Greg Weld battled USAC over the use of a cage on the "mech rabbit" in 1968. He had it on when he crashed at Winchester. The flip and upsidedown slide damaged the cage bad enough it had to be replaced. Greg always said without the cage he didn't think he'd survived that wreck.

Curt Grogan

 

Good input Curt, thanks.

 

What's the first thing to "go"???

 

Here it is friday and I have no Speed Sport News to read. Sad.................

 

Funny how the next generation can't figure out how to "downsize" when the going gets tough. Internet gets blamed,but one national tire distributor still uses print to get the word out monthly,and they are the "monster" and the are usually one of the lowest wholesalers,as well! You gotta have "THE FIRE" to wanna do it. Just like racing!!! John S.

 

I do not know if Greg flipped at Winchester or not but I do know he flipped all the way down the front straight at Salem and walked away. I think he had the only cage there and he was in the roadster.

 

You are correct it was Salem, sorry.

Curt Grogan

 

Salem, 69

 

And Weld's crash was on a false start where some cars were still going fast while others were slowing down after not getting the green flag. Johnny Shipman was the starter and took some heat at the time but I've also heard that the drivers were in a pretty ragged formation as well. Maybe someone here actually saw the crash.

 

I know some flagmen to avoid this sort of thing, will go ahead and give the green, but throw the caution after the cars get over to the backstretch. I wasn't at this Salem wreck, but have seen it happen too many times.

 

Saw Bobby Diettrich suffer a broken neck at Heidelberg back about 1958 in an ARDC show in a Hespel Midget on a starting "hiccup" over a wheel. Was ugly! He survived . Wonder whatever became of him. Anybody know? Gus Linder wants to know!John S.

 

Interesting little project you have there! Engine and tranny are? Ford? Gary

 

Wow... what a crazy build! I really enjoyed your build photos and the other cars on the Yahoo site. Thanx for letting me peek inside. Gary

 

When I was a kid in the mid '60s, Dad raced at Parkersburg, Marietta, and Athens - mainly. Dad (Luke Easter), Frank Burriss, Larry Dickson, Tommy Dickson, Mac Clingan, Wayne McGuire, Del Schmedlin, J. D. Leas, Paul Barnes, Bill Dotson, Saw Ervin, plus dozens of others, used to have some incredible races on those little dirt tracks. But, every once in a while, I'd see this hauler come in with a black #69 sprint car: Gus Linder. Oh yea! It was show time. I think he was running a 289 Ford at the time. Man that thing would scream. There were other tracks we raced at such as: Heidelberg, Dobbies, Debo, St. Clairsville, Findlay, Millstream, Pennsboro, Hunnington, etc., but I will always remember when Gus would pull into Parkersburg - everyone knew it was really going to be a fun night and you could hear that black car clear back to Pittsburg.

 

Hey Easter, Howya doin. I was working on Frank Burriss' Dils Ford "Duece" around that time and I was just a teenager. When Linder came to town he was ALWAYS tough to beat in the #69 Trevis. I was impressed that Mickey Banas was the owner and chief wrench at such a young age. That 289 was lighter than the Chevys and Gus was a gasser.
Butch

 

I'll tell something else that was tough to beat - the looks of Frank's two daughters: Yvonne and Cheryl!!

 

And where are they now???

 

They, their kids. their dogs. and a few personal items are all packed into an old Dodge mini-van and heading to Bethel Park, PA.

 

2010 at Winchester Speedway Oldtimer weekend. I thought I'd get you all in the mood for the Indy 500. enjoy!

 

Lee - I can't imagine bouncing over the bricks for 500 miles in this thing! Blisters, bruises, cramps, vision problems, hearing problems, breathing problems: these are the best things you could hope for. Everything else would be worse. True pioneers.

 

You said it.

 

Frank always came by himself to the races. I really don't remember the daughters but they would have been younger than me.
I finally got to talk to Frank just a couple a wks ago. I got his ph. # at the ohio valley old fart get together.
E-mail me and I give you his #. He's in NE ohio now
speedwayclassics@yahoo.com

 

Speaking of false starts- At a USAC sprint car race at Reading in the late 60's Nick Fornoro Sr. was the flag man. In one of the heats, on a single-file restart, Nick didn't like the way the cars were coming down for the flag, so he crossed his arms and walked towards the stands in his flagstand. The first car checked up, and two or three cars flipped. I think two of the cars were Bill Vukovich II and Jerry Poland, but I'm not sure. No one got hurt, but the guys that flipped were pissed, and one of them actually started to climb up the flagstand ladder to get a piece of Nick Fornoro. I forget what the outcome was, but I'll never forget that.

 

No Dodge mini vans!!!The rest we can handle!

 

I can't remember.

 

Open wheel drivers have always been some of the nicest people on the planet. However, I've never known any that would hesitate to "interact" with an official. I also remember a couple occasions when a flagman would red flag the race and climb down out of the stand to go directly to the driver's car and personally invite him to load and leave. Ah, these were all good times.

 

I saw it all happen and it was a pretty ragged formation.