60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Danny McNamara Islip All Star Modified, hey Rich is that in the back ground? Maybe one day I'll find you! Where's Waldo?!?

Larry Antenellis 57 and Jack Malone 78

Larry Badaracco

Larry Flynn

Larry Huber at Dorney Park, another track lost to a roller coaster

 

Larry Lafayette

Larry Lafayette

Larry Lafayette

Larry Lafayette

Len Fletcher

 

Larry Lafayette

Larry Ross

Larry Sanna

Larry Wilcox under Jap Membrino

LaVerne Pangrazio and Dave Van Valkburg

 

Billy Descovick 1966 Reading Fairgrounds
Just after photo was taken, Descovick hit the first turn wall head on and Broke his arm

 

I was a 16 year old photographer when I took this picture. I had heard of Pete Corey from his coming to Reading but I didnt know he had an artificial leg and I asked him to kneal down. He smiled and did it. I noticed he had trouble and my father who had taken me to Fonda told me about the leg and I went back to him and apoligized. He said " No problem Kid"

 

I love this thread, always learning something new (old) everyday, even from my son. Psst, don't tell him I told you that. Thanks for that bit of info King.

 

Yeah...Corey lost his leg in a racing accident at Fonda, when the boards from the gaurd-rail came through the car. He survived and raced again, but with the prosthetic leg.

Tough S.O.B.

 

Look at that engine . An FE Ford, probably a 427, with injection and a Vertex mag .

My shorts are gettin' tighter .

 

I remember Deni running at Malta on Friday nights.

Then I went to Daytona in '70 & '71 (can't remember which year) and saw him running a Chevelle in the Sat. Permatex race. If I remember he ran in the top 5. Can't remember where he eventually finished.

If I remember right, Deni got in a borrowed Modified later, wrecked, got a head injury and left him handicapped. A shame, 'cause he was a talent.

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Denis Giroux at Martinsville

 

If I remember right, Deni got in a borrowed Modified later, wrecked, got a head injury and left him handicapped. A shame, 'cause he was a talent.

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Denis Giroux at Martinsville[/QUOTE]


I don't remember what car Giroux was in when he wrecked, but I do remember hearing it had a conduit roll cage, which a number of guys did back then to save weight.

 

Jim Hoffman

Al Tasnady falcon modified

Al Tasnady

Bill Grecco

Bill Wilson

 

Billy Brennan Hemi mod

Billy D.

Bobby Buskirk

Bobby Gerhart

Bobby Gerhart

 

Dorney Park

Frank Myroncuk Cougar modified

Fred Schultz

Geoff Bodine

Grbac

 

Jackie Evans

Jack Wilson

Leo Cleary

Leo Cleary

 

Al Tasnady falcon modified

Actually that's Tas in the famous Junie Donleavy (famus 'cup team owner) Fairlane sportsman car... usdually driven by Sonny Hutchens...

 

Picture of Al Tasnady in the #90 Fairlane is at Trenton Speedway, was doing good until he and another got together. I think this car was owned by Junie Donlevy.

Picture of the #39 Modified that Tas drove was the first of the modifieds built by Davey Piscopo. Bud Olsen was the 39's first driver.

The 39 built for Langhorne and Trenton was Ford power from Holman and Moody by Tasnady's request. Al won a race at Langhorne, but somehow through scorers and officials, the race was given to Dutch Hoag.

 

I don't remember what car Giroux was in when he wrecked, but I do remember hearing it had a conduit roll cage, which a number of guys did back then to save weight.[/quote]
Remember there was a guy from Maine hanging around the old stock car garage in Katonah,N.Y.in the mid sixties. He could stick weld conduit real nice, and built cages ,nerfs etc. for lots of the local Danbury cars. One night Don Moon's cage sheared right off, and the officials started drilling the cages after that. Some of the wise guys tried to choose which pipe got drilled, but that didn't last too long. Most of the replacements were water pipe, not much better, have removed some of them with a sledge hammer. Suprising there's so many old guys left.

 

If you post pics TRY to put where they are from. My uncle raced at Fredericksburg Speedway till it closed then at Silver Springs Speedway(west of Harrisburg,PA)that closed the end of 2005,now they are racing at Williams Grove Speedway.
I think the cars were called hobby cars then to early modifieds then changed to limited late models.
If I could figure out how to post pics I have lots, or go to www.silverspringspeedway.com

 

Just use Photobucket.com start an account you can click on the photos for the code to post pictures!


Jim Horton

Jim Horton

Jim Horton
This the car today.......sad!

 

Jim Horton

Jim Horton

Jim Shampine in a back-up of Roger Triechler

Jim Winks

Kenny Brightbill and Gary Llug

 

Lee Hendrickson

Len Fletchler, Lee tell us about this ride and the exprience of racing at Danbury, the turns and starightaways?

Lennie Pond Richmond

Lennie Pond

Lenny Fisher, go ole Lenny from Long Island still races, I know he cut back a lot as he doesn't race Riverhead Raceway after an official calling. Lenny decided to leave and go on the True Value Modified Tour, but has cut back on most of them, he might not have even raced any this year, but not postive. Lenny is one the best guys to talk to and I have great respect for the man!

 

Leo Cleary

Leo Cleary

Leo Cleary

Leo Cleary

Leo Cleary

 

Denis Giroux 's wreck occured in a 1974 Stafford Spring Sizzler heat race , at the drop of the green going in turn 1 , the trottle stuck on the number 7 pinto he had rented for the days event, he went over Leo Cleary's right rear sending him some fifteen feet in the air , landing head on into the wall , at top speed... Richie Evans was first on the scene...but could not do nothing to help the knocked out driver...Denis remained in a coma for nearly 3 months, the blow left him with massive head injuries...He had finished third the year before in Daytona's Permatex 300...He today resides in a long term healthcare residence in Quebec City , were he got a surprise visit last year by old racing buddy's Jean Paul Cabana , Jacques Lalancette ,and Guy Chartrand...they spent a full afternoon of bench racin'...
Pictured is the aftermath of the wreck...

 

They finally added the safer barrier there! That wall has ended many careers, turn 1 at Stafford has to be one to the most dangerous spots in the northeast if not all of racing!

 

Doesn't look like a conduit cage to me. In fact, the frame looks to have absorbed much of the impact. I've seen conduit cages collapse around a driver, and it didn't look the same as the photo here shows. While I wasn't there and cannot say one way or another, it's amazing how tales grow with time.

That old concrete 1st turn wall at Stafford can knock the senses out of anyone if you hit it full tilt, and I've seen many cars do just that. If I recall correctly, however, there was only one fatality there, Tony Jankowiak, back in the eighties.

 

This is my uncle Willie Nunez at the wheel at the old Horizon Speedway outside of El Paso, Tx. in '66. The car was originally built by Johnny Caples when he lived in Albuquerque, Nm., and had won the Albuquerque track championship the year before. Jim Yearwood bought it from Johnny and my uncle drove it for a couple of seasons. I do not know what happened to this car. I have the original blueprints for this car and plan to build a replica of it one of these days:

 

Now we know the "rest of the story".

What a terrible waste of talent. Deni would've made the big time.

Jacques Lalancette, there's a name I haven't heard of in a while. For a long time he was the man at the dirt tracks at Drummondville on Saturday and St. Georges on Sunday.

I ran up there in '75 & '76. O'Keeffe beer sponsored the point fund. In '75 I ran 27 shows up there. Made some good money.

Jacques was a real character. He had his own concrete pad pit area and there was always a bunch of decked out good looking females hanging around. He had real good equipment.

I understand that sometime in the late 70's he lost control of his car and went through the pit entrance wood plank fence. A mom and son were watching the races through the fence and the kid was killed.

Then I also heard that he eventually wrecked and was hurt bad enough to put him in a wheel chair. A shame if it's true. He was a great guy.

Maybe you can confirm what I was told.

Those trips to Canada where the most fun in racing I ever had. I'd do it all over again if it was possible.

I went up to Three Rivers for a Trans-Am event about 10 years ago and looked for the St. Georges track. It was on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River and you could see it as you crossed the bridge. It was completely gone. They had some good clay there, much better than Drummond.

On the same trip I went to the races at Drummondville. Bumped into several old Canadian racing buddies. The pits were now outside the track where turns 3 & 4 were. They shortened the track up a bunch and ruined the place. It used to be a a full 1/2 mile or maybe even bigger.

Well, that's progress .