Great Oregon Racers

Enjoyed that video a bunch Marty! It was fun to see so many new cars being run. Looked like some of it was single runs, so maybe qualification, or just a testing day for some?

 

How about the Chevy Suburban tow car making some passes !

 

I'm sorry...but I seem to be missing Kenny in that picture. Where is he? Haha! Cool car, though.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Yeah, and most likely a brand new truck also! Seemed to be holding his own in his runs.

 

Here are some stills I shot at Madras in 1962.






http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/Badge01/scan0004_zpsadf9df8f.jpg

 

I am lucky that I wrote descriptions on the back. First picture is the Reath Automotive B/MR car out of California. They broke the record on this run. The second picture I have listed as the Skeans and Pickering B/GS. Third one is two B/C. No info other than the near lane won. Link at the bottom will take you to number 4 which is the Skeans and Pickering A/MR which broke the speed record on this run at 155.49

 

Here are a few more.

 

First one is a car called the Astronaut. The second is the COG's dragster with a dodge engine. Third down is the Willamette Racing injected chevy dragster. Bottom picture is also Willamette Racing B/C.

 

GREAT STUFF! This is what this thread is all about! MORE! MORE!
Wasn't Madras the "World's Longest Dragstrip"? Being a WW2 airfield, seems like it was something like 21/2 miles long!

 

Thanks for posting these, #1 is Jess Van Deventer from National City, Ca. #3 in the near lane was called "Lil Ugly", it was a wild one to watch!

 

#1 Is Ernie Hall, it would be the first Dragster that Ed McCulloch drove a year later. # 3 is Beckner and Becker out of Albany, #4 is Bob Duedall also from Albany, that B/C is fully restored and owned By Jim Lindsay from Shedd. Thanks again for the walk down memory lane.

 

Very cool pictures from Madras! Love seeing those early cars!

 

The car may be past the HAMB 1965 cut off, but the owner/builder was an absolute machining asset to quite a few great Oregon drag racers. Going through boxes I stumbled across these pics of Frank Wusz and his Mopar powered Triumph I took some 20+ years ago at Frank's place. An absolute hell of a craftsman, hell of a machinist and one hell of a nice guy. The Triumph was his last project and like everything else he had through the days, Mopar powered. Thinking he lined up against Danny Kilcup with this little hot rod during a C.T.A. reunion at Woodburn. I wasn't there but Jim Livingston told me the story and he was impressed both the old farts went through the quarter mile in the same lane they started. Surely somebody has a story or 2 of Frank's "Thumper" or the machine shop of I'm thinking Stark and Norris? in downtown Portland.

 

I remember Stark and Norris well! I worked at a nearby company for years, and remember their work showing up at local tracks often. I never knew why they closed, and always wondered what happened there?

 

While at Stark and Norris, Frank Wusz did the balancing and blueprinting for my dad on all of his rides including "Adios 1" after he bought it from Bill Ireland. That was 1 slippery 390 for it's day. Almost a bit too good. Ireland used to get pissed when his old '61 would do a number on his '62 lightweight. Never heard as to why they went away either but dad pointed out where they used to be every time we went by. Pretty impressive machine shop and a good group guys

 

Marty, do you have a larger scan of the program for the St. Paul Rodeo? This would make a great print to frame. Thanks for sharing all your stories and archives. The history lives on!

 

Hey guys. There are a lot of great pictures here. Some of them include shots in Washington. With that being said. Does anyone have pictures of the Poage & Goddard AA/GD. It set the National record in 1971 TWICE! I know it maybe a duple years past the 1965 cutoff but it is a cool as hell car. I need all the pics I can get.
Thanks!

 

Hi Guys: Does anybody remember a racer named Ray Horn
he raced in stock class, and also,
He announced at McMinnville
He was on the radio in Portland

MarkVI

 

Ray raced a '58 Pontiac called the "Grey Ghost" in F/SA, however he was no match for the new Barracudas of Loren Bennett (who held the national record), and Joe Colletti's "Kingfish", who dominated the class. Ray was a great announcer.

 

What year did Loren Bennett hold the F/SA national record Marty? I know Dick Ott had the F/SA national record with his black '65 Dodge Dart, 273 two barrel around mid 60's or a little later.

 

Vall,
Loren set the record in 1965, when he was working as the shop foreman at Allen Chrysler/Plymouth. Terry Tindle (Bob's younger brother) owned the dealership in McMinnville, and was able to persuade Loren to quit his job at "The Corvette Corner" at Lyman Slack Chevrolet, and come to work for him in his new dealership. Loren was the master of Rochester fuel injections and had been at Lyman Slack for quite a while. Loren took a new, silver 235hp Barracuda and made it "haul ass", running in the 13's, promptly setting the record that year, and closed the chapter on Pontiac's dominance. It served as his daily driver as well. Loren and I have been friends since he moved to McMinnville, and we both made the move to Hillsboro about the same time. Loren opened "Scientific Auto" and had a chassis dyno, it was smack in the middle of Hillsboro. You could cruise by there on many an evening, and see an hear him, or Larry Kalsch, running a Hemi S/S Dodge, Cobra Jet Mustang, or big block Chevelle on the rollers, with open headers!

 

That's sort of ironic, as he and Dick Ott seem to have similar lives. Dick left Lee's Auto Parts as the machinist, and took a job as service manager at Town and Country Dodge on 82nd Ave. around that same time. I can't seem to locate what year he set the F/SA national record with his black Dart, but around the same time.
Dick left T&C Dodge to start his own machine shop down the street near Baxter's Auto Parts, and stayed there until he passed away.

 

The first rime I ever went to Woodburn was in 1980, and I recall seeing a black 50s style kit car looking thing (Kellison maybe) with an injected early Hemi and a quick change rearend. Anybody recall that car. How about the guy from the Slo Pokes with the stock factory Thunderbolt 64 Fairlane.

 

The black sports car you saw was the Bud Kennedy car that was built by Don "Duck" Collins around 1960 and featured in Hot Rod when it was red. The guy that owned it in 1980 was Bob Cope. It is fully restored and owned by a member on here. The Thunderbolt was owned by Mike Seelbinder, of the "Poks".

 

I still have my 65 Dodge WO 51 A 990 Hemi car, last race was at Polar Dragway, Palmer AK, Labor Day weekend 74. Still looks the same, logos and all. Alaska is the real "FAR" PNW!!! LOL

 

Just viewed it, pretty sure a couple of shots of my 60 Impala in it. Next to the last race before the Army got me!!. I held the A/S record off and on there 61 thru early 63. Just Sayin!!

 

My 65 Dodge has 76 miles on it, never on the street, totally unmolested, no tubs, roll cage and so on. I plan on leaving it that way. Have an orig SS block, correct every thing else cept exhaust, has Jere Stahl SS headers for it.

 

Davey, You must have raced against Jim Fry, in "Big Red" a few times. If memory serves, he set the MPH national record @ 102 around that time.

 

yes, i remember him!!! Lol i think he was out of the portland area as was the met blue 60 el camino.

 

Stumbled across this pic while looking at the Drag Cars In Motion thread. Looks like a certain Ford with a familiar name on the door in the staging lanes. Original post claims it to be in Canada. If Marty Strode and I ever get together at the Pizza Caboose I'll tell him the story of Bill Ireland wrapping a golf club around a tree the last time we played together. He was teaching me a life lesson of following rules....I'll never forget it.