60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Ray Delisle

George Chalker

Ken Rauch

George Knight

Ed Laythrop

 

Nrom Chaloux

bruce Carmen

Jeep Herbert

 

That picture is at PINE BOWL SPEEDWAY a 1/4 mile track outside of Troy, NY.

The first year I started racing, I ran there on Sunday afternoons. Think that was 1966-7. The track closed shortly thereafter.

I think this was the first paved oval track in New York State. As a kid I remember Kenny Goodermote winning a 200 lap race there in the 62JR Harvey Ford Coupe. He beat Gene Bergin in the M-3 Chevy Coupe (maybe M-6). There's a good story behind that win.

I also remember a 100 lap new car stock car race there. Again, but this time in a red & white '55 Chevy, Goodermote won. Later I remember his wife driving the same car on the street to work.

The midgets also ran there and always put on a good show.

When I got older, I got an afternoon paper route. Goodermote was one of my customers. It was always fun listening to racing stories from him and the other racers that would come around.

One of the best Goodermote stories is about the beforementioned '55 Chevy. Kenny bought the car and financed it through a bank. Back then there was real good local racing coverage in the newspapers.

Pictures of Kenny and the '55 were published numerous times in the paper, as he was a frequent race winner, especially with the old UNITED Racing Sanction under Harvy Tattersall. The astute bank loan officer saw the pics and put 2+2 together . A car I financed is being RACED ???

He called several times about the car and even came to Goodermote's shop looking for the financed '55. Kenny always had an excuse for the cars whereabouts .

He didn't get caught, kept winning, paid for the car and made money racing. That's the good old days .

I have some other stories that are even funnier than that.

 

Andy Haley at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1970. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Mike Loescher (88) crashes with Bill Torrisi at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1968. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Mike Loescher (Coldwater, NY) coach at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1968. (Parked next to Dave Nichools' No. 34.) Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Merv Treichler at Langhorne, Pa., 1970.

 

Richie Evans, approx. 1973. John Grady photo.

 

Richie Evans' coupe at his gas station in Rome, N.Y., 1969. Check out the price of gas: 33.9 cents/gal.!

 

Richie Evans at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1970. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Richie Evans at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1970. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Richie Evans at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1969. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

awesome stuff yet again.

Otto Graham on the hook



bill wimble



Langhorne

 

John Blewett Jr. and ??? is that Tom McCann??? I doubt it!





Charlie J and Bugs

Paul Snopek

 

Bob Paine

Red Smith

Deforest Chalker

Tom Hardik

Bentley Warren, I got it right!

 

John Henihan

Gordie Struble

Carl Fellows

Bill Stroshal

 

Richie Evans 1970. Gater News clipping.

 

Must be Dover, looks like the 1st time Evans made a lap on the track, check out his hand holding the roll bar. Like: "WHOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA THIS THING IS PULLING SOME HEAVY G'S!!" What an amazing shot!

 

Great photos once again guys!

 

you know i love the pics of the race cars,but whats in the background (cars/people) is just as cool!!!!! keep em coming

 

Bullfather: those Langhorne pics are really cool. Actually, that Richie "overhead" shot was taken at some obscure (for him) track, like Evans Mills, or something -- and the photog was in a crane! I should have kept the caption when I clipped and scanned it.

As for background fun, I wish there was one pic I still had. It was a color 4x6 (by Gordie, of course) of Cam Gagliardi in the orange No. 54 Camaro Modified at Lancaster in 1972. There's a guy in the background, holding a cigarette, that has the body language and the facial expression of a person who was just told, "Oh, by the way, your wife just won the lottery and she left you for your dad," or something horrifying like that. Wish I could find that damned thing...

 

ALL PHOTOS IN THIS SET ARE SCANNED SLIDES FROM THE TERRY LYNCH COLLECTION:

Richie Evans' Pinto on the truck at Oswego, 1972


Richie Evans with his coupe, 1970


Richie's coupe, 1971


Richie's coupe on the hauler, 1970


Richie's coupe, 1969


Ken Meahl coupe, 1971

 

THREE MORE FROM THE TERRY LYNCH SCANNED SLIDE COLLECTION:

Maynard Troyer, 1969


Not sure what year this is, never knew Mike Loescher had a Gremlin!


Ed Mooney, 1970

 

Ohhhh we still get to rib the rookie! lol Make sure the pin is attached, the one's that don't have them are defects, just throw them to the way side! It posting and it will change!!! You could be a senior member like my pops, but that's because he get's around in his scooter! haha love ya still, he can go faster then me on legs with it!

Dr. John can you top yourself? I swear it gets better and better!
Some my earlier posts I kept asking about my stasis but it changed near or after 500.

 

I can't believe how far back that engine sits in that #88 coach...It's almost sitting in the middle of the chassis..
A quick THANK YOU to you Dr.John and Bullfather for all these great pictures!!!!

I forgot about ALL the fun I had back when we raced "REAL MODIFIEDS" ;-3
and we had to go to junkyards for parts,not these fancy speed shops

 

Acctually.......many people dont know......it wasnt a Pinto, but a Bobcat....

Lee used the mercury bobcat body because of the rear window. it was slightly longer than that of the pinto...............therefore giving him better sight of whats behind him.



...........and if you have any photos of Lee and his car i would very much appreciate it...... im trying to get some photos together for my dad who was Lee's best friend and crew member.

Thanks
jeff

 

Mike's Gremlin is probally from 1974. It looks like the car that later had a Vega body on it.

 

Thanks Jeff - always cool to find out more about a car. I thought I had scanned in the pic I had f Lee's last Pinto, but can't find it on the computer. It's not a great shot by any means, but when I find it I'll scan it and post it.

It's funny, one night in the pits after the races at Shangri-La in the late 1980s Daryl Lewis and I were talking and Lee's name came up. I guess Daryl worked on Lee's crew way back in the day. Anyway, everyone around the hauler (I think Randy Hedger and Sege Fidanza were around at the time, along with others) all commented that Lee was a very solid competitor. He never won a whole bunch, but he was as clean a driver as there was.

 

The old Pine Bowl is still there - it's posted, so good luck getting up there, but no one has developed the property yet, at least through early last year.

 

Bill Strosahl, 1966 at Shangri-La. Fred Smith photo.