The other day I was sitting with some of the town elders at the back of Sturgill's Record Store listening in as they recalled days gone by. I had got the conversation started by asking about the local Drive-In Theatre, from there you just let the conversation take it's natural path. On it's meandering course it came accross Wayne McGuire a local racer from the 60s. I knew Mr. McGuire as the auto shop teacher at our vocational school. Only as I got older did I learn the whole story. I kick myself now for letting the chance to hear great stories, from someone who was there, slip past me. Damn the ignorance of youth! As they discussed his wins and later his life altering accident one of the men said that someone needed to look for stuff about him on that there internet. So tonight I did. I came across this and wanted to share it with someone who would appreciate it. I thought of you all. http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/pontiac/452/waynepage.html
great story, its always amazes me the very cool storys you can hear if you actually listen to people..especially the old timers,and they dont mind teling you either!
You're thinkin' of Dehart's Tire and Bible in Morehead,Ky. Sturgills just sells records and antiques. Of course on saturday afternoon there's a pickin and grinnin session. Darvin Sturgill is well known in the Bluegrass arena. The things I've learned loafing there are amazing. It was at that store where I was schooled on the differences between a 216 and a full pressure 235 , of course that was years ago.
Super story, there were a lot of different influences on rods as we know them today,and stock car racing was a big part of it.Almost every small town in America,had a track just outside of town or near by,and from each one of these emerged local heros and guys that new thier cars.And many went on to be big in the hot rod scheme of things.Thats real,old school!
Wayne was my first racing hero. He came south to TN in the early to mid 60's and was a regular at Cleveland Speedway and Boyds Speedway in Chattanooga. This was during the Supermodified (skeeters) era. Loved to watch that big blue #41 battle Harold Fryar, Freddy Fryar, Tootle Estes and the rest. Wayne won more than his share in those days. Later on thanks to the internet i discovered that he won races throughout the Midwest and East coast.
I flagged a couple of 500-lap Super races that Wayne won at the old Fairgrounds Motor Speedway in Louisville. Last time I saw him was in the 90s, when Joe Baird had finished restoring the No. 41 car and brought it to IRP for a photo session. Wayne came up too.
That was back in the day when my father-in-law, Paul "The Ghost" Gose from Morristown, TN raced at Boyd's Speedway, Cleveland, Athens and several tracks in North and South Carolina. Tootle Estes drove one of Paul's cars in the late '50s. Around 1960 Paul won a big feature race at Boyd's Speedway with Wayne McGuire finishing second. Paul's friend, Harry Hyde said that the news of Wayne getting outrun by a flathead beat Wayne back to Kentucky! When I was home for Christmas 2009, I talked with Tommy Williams, who worked for Paul as a young man and was with Paul at Boyd's when he beat Wayne McGuire. Paul's familiar #32 is now restored and at Long's Car Shop in Morristown, Tennessee. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post some pictures! Buckshot40
Here's a shot of his nephew when he did a tribute paint scheme...looks great imo Diggin' the sparks flying off the wall!!
Josh is a pretty good driver himself..that shot of the retro "41" has to be none other than Eldora. thanks for posting this..
I got to see Josh run that car at Eldora and thought that the tribute scheme really stood out. Reading the article posted above and looking at the pics makes the tribute even cooler. One of the nicest looking cars there...and it's so 'basic.'
Here's some photos of the orange #32 that Paul "The Ghost" Gose won so many races with in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and the Carolinas. The #32 was raced from around 1950 until 1967. It was restored by James Long of Morristown, Tennessee. That's Paul's grandsons and great grandson in the photos with me.
I was there at Cherokee ( Gaffney, SC) the night they did the Hall of Fame deal and got to see this car up close and in person. Thanks for posting the pics!
I had the pleasure of watching Wayne race on Asphalt and dirt. The only changes he did was change tires and the gear of coarse, He walked with a limp from childhood on. I only saw him race with Pontiac engines. Gene Tapia said Wayne was hard to out run at the mobile 1/2 mile tar track. His car ended up at Joes garage. After joes death the car was auctioned of for very large{to me} amount of money. Wayne would always go when larger purses were offered. One track owner said that he did not need to offer wayne tow money because he would show up any way. I always wondered how many gear head students he influnced.
The Jalopy Journal
