60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

on fire in the pinto (at Martinsville I believe)

 

They get any of the show in? The weather is terrible here this week. I attended the festival for several years when I had my cars. Great time. My # 77 won best of show in the stock car division one year.

 

Here are some pics and info from the track website.
http://www.nhms.com/multimedia/photo/vintage/

 

Anyone who followed the modifies in the 70's and 80's in the northeast knew Richie was the man to beat and for a period of years in the 80's no one could beat him!!!!

When he pulled in the track and other drivers saw the Orange 61 they would say now were all running for second place and that was the truth because he was just that good.

I read some where that he won 96 features events in one year!!!!!!!

That's more events then most guys even enter in two years.

In those days the modified would run on Wed. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and some Sunday shows.

The people at Wilwood Brakes worked with Richie years ago developing their brakes and they said he was always a gentleman even when the set of brakes they gave him did not work the way they thought they would.

The World of Racing is a much better place because of Richie Evans and everything he did for modified racing.

 

Let's not get silly with numbers. Bodine won 55 features in 1978. Evans won 52 the following year. Richie made a couple less starts, as I recall, and their winning percentages were almost identical. They were BOTH superlative seasons. But nobody EVER won 96 Modified features in a single season. It just didn't happen. Had to nip that one in the bud, no offense intended.

 

Ok, this should be lively, who had the greatest asphalt modified season ever, Geoff in 1978, Richie in 1979 or Greg Sacks in 1982?

 

Greg's 1982 season was no doubt great, something like 28 wins in 38 starts ... But you're asking to compare apples and oranges. Greg's schedule consisted of all the big shows, plus the weekly Stafford shows, and very little else. Richie and Geoff endured more than twice as many starts, yet maintained incredible percentages. Greg's '82 was amazing, and I think the world of the guy, but Geoff's 1978 and Richie's 1979 remain, for me, the two benchmark seasons in MODERN Modified racing.

 

March of 1979 Reading. enjoy!

 

Argee.

As someone who involved with a car that we couldn't afford to run but just loved the sport so much we had to try it atleast once. I never understood when it become acceptable to bump and run. Twice we found ourselves in front with few laps remaining. Neither time we were fastest car. In one race we got spun out the other we got nudged on the last lap. They were the only times we got close so was we never got to achieve our goal of atleast winning one feature. But I know I couldn't have rejoice in a victory if we had to do it punting or by doing bump and run. Racing is ego based, so out driving a guy whether it for win or finishing 4th was the rewarding part.

I know when our car got into someone I always felt bad, many times I would go over to see if there was anything they needed or just get the incident behind us. Racing is hard work I didn't want to be repairing our car all week long nor did I want our competition to be doing it either.

I was a big Earnhardt fan but his moves at Richmond with Waltrip and Labonte at Bristol were just idiotic. They and other last lap crap should never be celebrated. Of course I thought Harvick on McMurray at Tally was lame too so I might not be the best judge.

Even if the guy doesn't spin out is an act like bump and run a bragging thing. Hope not.

 

You're quite the card, Dr. John. I thought that you had 98 victories actually.
Honestly I thought that Geoff and Richie had some real competition in this part of the country that was really well hidden!

 

Just like real life.....They tore up Langhorne to build a shopping mall!

 

In Europe, they do talk about it, quite a bit in fact. The main difference, I'd say, is that in Europe the vast majority of racing is in either open-wheelers or sports cars, in which (just as in those same series in US) intentional contact is either frowned upon or forbidden. In US, because stock car racing is so popular, the banging that goes on in it is a more conspicuous element of "racing".
What we Americans call "stock cars", the Europeans call "touring" (or "saloon") cars. In the British Touring Car Championship, for example, there is all sorts of banging, which, as in US, has its supporters and has its detractors.

Examples of the sophisticated, refined, morally-superior Europeans in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZPxrAGcil0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqNtQsIa2Nw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJmIdyEd0o&feature=related

Back to the US, I'd say that, regardless of what the regs say or the officials opine, ultimately what matters are the drivers' "unwritten rules" for a given kind of racing and a given track. If the consensus among drivers at Bowman Gray (which at least as far back as the '60s was known as the "Madhouse") is that it's okay to "move" the car ahead out of your way, then that's the way it works. Accept it or don't race there. Within that, there will be variations in how much you're allowed to move the other guy. As you say, a considerable amount of skill (and judgment, a very different thing) may be required.
At the same time, if the drivers' unwritten rule in a certain series at a certain track is that only "X" amount of banging is acceptable, or indeed none at all, then the justification that some espouse - "I did what I had to do" - is just bullshit. The driver didn't "have to" do anything. He wanted to win, and the only way that he could win was by breaking the drivers' unwritten rules. That's not right, no matter how ambitious or talented the driver might be. Although from the stands it may be difficult to know what the drivers' unwritten rules are for a particular situation, when one driver is consistently involved in incidents, it's usually a pretty good indicator that he's breaking them.

 

Reading 1979. enjoy!

 

New Britain,
You are, as the English would say, spot on with your comments!

 

I don't think it is right to loosen up the leader. It is a cheap and easy way to make a pass. If you are not fast enough to pass, then you don't deserve to win. I also believe the leader should not block. So it works two ways, if you don't want to be spun as the leader, don't chop and block.

The best racing is clean, hard racing. To see someone make a pass by setting it up a lap ahead, driving off line, making the pass is great. You know it took skill. Opposed to being a little faster on one section of the track, ramming the leader so he is loose and slides off line, and driving by.

 

We left Danbury to meet my uncle at Middletown on Saturday nights, so I missed a lot at Danbury into the 70's . I wish I could have gone more.

In the news photo my neighbor was the 64. He said the hole cut was to see better on the banking of Lebanon Valley. The reason he told me he fell back is because he finally started to run fast and finish races. So he started burning up tires and could not afford to buy enough good ones. He built the car from a kit, troyer or something. Did all the work. Butch Wood helped with the motor. I think he said it was a Z28 motor built up. It still had the big drum brakes on the front. The seat was a bomber seat. I think he sold it for 1200.00 when I was in high school. I was too dumb to buy it.

 

these are the above pdf, scanned wrong.

Me in the kart in 1969. I still have the kart, but not the engine, a left hand West Bend 580 I believe. If anyone has one let me know.

 

JChimbolo,
There's a go-kart track just South of Syracuse, NY that used to have a class that used those West Bend engines. The guy that ran it (maybe owned it too) is Rick Martel. Cherry Valley is still in business, I think. If you check out their website (cherryvalleymp.com), you can probably get in touch with Rick & find out if he knows of any West Bend engines. Cherry Valley is a great little track that I used to love going to in November, after the GVKC kart track in E. Avon had closed for the season. We'd race for turkeys (really)! Sadly, I was not lucky enough to win one.

 

some early shots of Geoff Bodine...pre valiant days....the last one pre-modified days....

a Fred Smith Photo of Geoff with his coupe, Graeme Bolia's 15 in the background





2 John Grady photos of Geoff's coupe









one from racing through time







and a pre modified shot

 

The two guys racing one another that were compared over the last couple of pages...Bodine and Evans...




At Pocono





At Langhorne





Lancaster?







Langhorne




with Bugsy Stevens #15, Dick Clark in the 16x and Merv Treichler in the #58, don't know who is in the blue #50

 

A few more Fred Desarro shots I came across...


at Freeport in the bicentennial vega




not sure where?





in an early ride before Kozella and Boehler





Ole' Blue

 

JBull,
Blue #50 coupe is Denis Giroux

 

A few more of Geoff

 

The picture of Geoff in the Valiant leading Richie with the red and white guardrail is indeed Lancaster coming out of turn four.
The picture after that of Richie and Geoff side by side is from Wall, NJ.

 

I don't believe it to be from Wall, Wall had 2 board rails for a fence

 

I might be completely off-base, but I think that the middle and lower photos, with the writing on them, were done by Fred Smith. AIUI, his photos were handed on to John Grady for him to look after; perhaps that resulted in unintentional mis-attribution.

 

Thanks. I'm not the world's biggest fan of the English, although they do have some good expressions.
My favorite ("favourite") is, "and then it all went pear-shaped".

 

I was going through old programs and found this. 1972.

 

a few more of the Ed Cloce modifieds....

Jim Shampine in the Dodge Colt....





might be Chuck Ciprich in the car in this shot...








the original hemi cuda (Langhorne ?)






a John Grady shot alongside Eddie Peinezak #3 and in front of Bugs Stevens #15(Utica Rome or albany Saratoga?)

 

I've got a lot of pictures and clippings of Geoff Bodine, Maynard Troyer, and Charlie Jarzombek....I also have a lot of scanning to do....I'll try to space them out as to not bore the non fans of these three....

the Valiant years.....Geoff battlling Ray Hendrick at Pocono...




and again...





and again....





on the front row




in the pits next to Richie Evans





and again




Geoff on the way to his first ROC victory at Trenton in '72 battling Paul Radford #26 and Joe Krukowski in the #71




at speed





in a wreck with Sonny Seamon #50 and Don Diffendorf





at speed at Pocono (with Joe Kelly maybe in the Dick Barney #14...renumbered #44)