60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Boy is that SOME brake handle in old #4 !!!!

 

Ok, here a car and driver that not all of you may recognize. After winning everywhere in eastern sprinters since 1960 including the '64 Williams Grove 'Nats, Lou Blaney of Hartford, Ohio decided to dabble in modified racing in 1978 after an almost 20 year layoff from the coupes. His longtime backer, Bill Thomas bought Dick Tobias's '75 Syracuse winning car and with Lou behind the wheel began a winning streak of well over 200 modified features. I attended Reading's last Daniel Boone 200 in '78, and the folks sitting next to me were more impressed with how well "this Blaney guy" had run at Syracuse that year than they were with Chamberlain and Brightbill.

On a summer night in '81, Lou turned over his Big Block powered sprint car to son Dave...whom you may have heard of... and concentrated on the mods. He finished second in the Schaffer race at Syracuse in '81 in a "New Breed Lightning Racer" built in Struthers Ohio behind Merv Treichler' Troyer Mud Buss. Lou made the cover of Stock Car Racing mag in early '82 with this car. He ran so well in selected NE races over the years and completely dominated the W/Pa mod scene to the point of being the only Ohioian inducted into the DIRT Hall of Fame in Weedsport. Lou, at 67 didn't race last year because of back problems, but may make a few shows this summer. But there will always be a race ready #10 red Bicknell in the Blaney family race shop just in case.. In case you haven't guessed, Lou is one of my heros and good friends too.

Jan

 

I still have the Gater Racing News with the pics of that car sitting up against the wall between turns 3 & 4. AND ......... yes it was in the spring 'cause the race got rained and snowed out in October.

Let's see now, where did I store that paper. Sounds like my mission for the morning. I'll be back after a brief pause for these messages.................

 

Sorry for the brief interruption .

Found the paper in record time. Scanning the pics took a lot longer.

Here's the pics . Don't tell anybody, But I was wrong . The wreck was off turn #2, not 3 & 4 like I thought.

 

Here's an earlier version of the #666. Bobby Bottcher drove this one.





The Mustang #406 in the Gator article was Rich Ricci's....which started life as this 39 Chevy with a Profile tube chassis. Later it was the Tyler's "King Salvage" #97





And here's one I'm sure modifiedracer will have some comments about. Was this a Modified or Latemodel?

 

The black #27A driven by Harry Peek (RIP) at Fonda Speedway.

At this time Fonda had a so-called Late Model support division to the Modifieds.

Harry ran this car in that class prior to making the move up. Most of the guys ran early 50's Chevys with a straight front axle. I think the engines were limited way down in cubic inches. Maybe a bored out 283. One of my college buddies was gonna' run in that class, but I don't he ever made it.

It was a good class with great competition.

Harry made his mark at Fonda. Gone but not forgotten.

 

Jim Shampine's asphalt Modified at the Syracuse dirt track

 

I was a huge fan of Shampine and his 8 ball when I was a kid, never saw him run on dirt...only the supers

 

Here's Jim Shampine's asphalt SuperModified and asphalt coupe Modified from 1972:

 

How bout the injectors on this old coach? !!!!



this was one of Ray Evernham's early pavement pounders:

 

A few Late Models...as they were referred to. Anything 1949 or newer was considered "late model"

 

Anyone who spent any time hanging around New York race tracks will really love these two books. Hundreds of great pictures of racing the way it use to be

 

Really great stuff. It just doesen't get any better, Thanks.

 

Also a great source for racing books...from a former racer:

http://www.coastal181.com/





And this book by Ace Lane, Jr. features hundreds of his father's photos of Northeast oval racing. EXCELLENT book !!!

http://www.acelanephoto.com/book.php

 

Cool "news reel" video of 1960 Daytona sportsman race with 37 car pile-up crash footage. Latemodels and coupes racing together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eb3Sf6Kf1I

 

That's good footage of the "Big One". Will Cagle was involved in that wreck. He was telling me about it at lunch last fall. He'll be back up here and I'll see him in a week or two. I'll ask'em what his car # was. I didn't see a #24 in the clip.

I do remember him saying he was messed up and they took him to the medical center. The story after that gets pretty messy. Something about morphine, upset stomache and garbage cans. I'll have him give me a refresher on it.

Do ya' have the clip of the BIG Langhorne wreck from the late 50's or early 60's? I saw it someplace. It's incredible. Cars crashing for about almost a minute, fire and smoke. Carnage Deluxe.

 

I've got that Langhorne pile-up on VHS tape somewhere. There were ove 100 cars in that race. Reminds me of what we call an "Enduro" race these days....but back then, they were the top Modified cars and drivers (well at least some of them were) racing for top money.

 

It was definitely rebuilt and it went on to win many more races. It has been restored by a guy here on Long Island who brings it out for all the vintage events he can make.

This crash happened on the mile at Dover Speedway in turns 3 and 4.

 

...

 

Talk about "back-seat drivers" !!!!

#44 is a 1936 Chevy, the un-numbered car is a 1937 Ford.


Tasnady's "Cozze Coach" has been restored (or replicated?)

 

Nothing like two coaches goin wheel to wheel.

Actually, the 37 ford has a number under the mud, it's #19, Mr. Excitement (check my nick!) Kenny Brightbill.

Tas is in the 44. Pic is from the Reading Fairgrounds, circa 1970.

 

Here's an "under construction" photo:

 

<P>This is THE car that started me down this path.
Tulsa had a 1/2 (INSIDE) 5/8ths mile clay oval that I could hear from my bedroom window as far back as I can remember, 1974.
A friend of mine GAVE me a Zink super modified chassis about 10 years ago, The story goes that John Zink sold out to a "Large" company. John Zink was a manufacter of home HVAC equipment. They were bought by some huge company. First thing the new company did was dig a HUGE hole and bulldoze the race shop and bury all the cars, parts, etc.
Plant is no longer around 41st and Peoria in Tulsa, long gone.
but that Zink super-modified chassis is at my dads house in a storage shed. 100" wheel base. No sheet metal, nothing but tubes. Probably only good for building a drag car, maybe not (super OLD), but at least I have it. Probably worth $40 dollars.
Many a night I watched Emmett Hahn battle Ray Crawford (Hillenberg Special, black car, setup = good vs. evil. HA! father of Donnie Ray Crawford, WOO super dude) for the super modified win.
Thanks for reminding me of my youth.
<p><p><p>
If it was better than Tulsa in the 70's, I'd like to hear bout it.
Lets not forget Jerry Stone, "Stoney". inventor of the sprint car starter...starter was only used at the shop for tuning, etc. worked off the halibrand rearend, turned the crank from the back of the car. <p><p>If you have EVER tried to start a car without a transmission or starter, you will appreciate this device. Wish I could find a vintage late 70's early 80's pic of Stoney. <p>
I remember going to either Shotgun Sams, or Ken's pizza after the races and usually a driver or two and is crew would be there.

Just noticed looking at the pics, check out the TINY primaries on those old headers. WOW.
Those cars were "the shit" back then to me though. I was at that Large 1/2 mile every Saturday night checking them out.
Lost interest when they moved to North Tulsa, 360" motors, 410's traveled etc.
Worked at a shop that sold Gambler chassis for about 5 years, crewed on a 360 injected sprint, ran with 410 WOO when they came around, got tired of seeing $30,000 WESMAR engines blown by driver/owner stupidity, and a $10,000 chassis come back to the trailer in a 5 gallon bucket.

 

"The story goes that John Zink sold out to a "Large" company. John Zink was a manufacter of home HVAC equipment. They were bought by some huge company. First thing the new company did was dig a HUGE hole and bulldoze the race shop and bury all the cars, parts, etc.
Plant is no longer around 41st and Peoria in Tulsa, long gone."


Unbelievable, that they would just destroy all the racing equipment like that. Probably some dim-wit company lawyer advised them that they shouldn't sell any of it due to possible liability if a new owner got hurt racing it.

What a shame!

 

That car looks very similar to a car that my uncle bought from Johnny Caples in Albuquerque in '67 or '68. My uncles name is Willie Nunez, and he raced the car in the El Paso,Tx. area for a few years. I have blueprints of the Caples car hanging in my shop.

 

What a great post.

I really dig the East Coast modifieds and I know they were fast and provided many a "thrills and chills". I always wondered why that style of racing never took hold around here.

I have to say though that '60's and early '70's late models really float my boat when it comes to stockcar racing.

Joel






Raceway Park, Blue Island, Il.

 

Here's the "Twister" another S/W super that probably went wheel to wheel with "The Golden Greek" at some point. Must have been a real handfull with that blown SBC.

 

I haven't seen many....but there were a few oval cars with blown engines. It must have been quite interesting to whoa it down for the turns!