What a great post keep em' coming. I LOVE the number 13 car with the crazy black cat painted on it towards the front of this thread....
Getting back to my point. This is Basil "BT" Barber of Iola, Kansas and the Model T Ford in which he finished third at Winfield, Kansas in 1913.
as you can tell by my name i am in total agreement about dirt oval racing being the main influence in hot rodding. Hot Rod magizene / wally parks created nhra drag racing and have always pushed it when in realty oval track racing has always been the back bone of hot rodding. i am from the midwest and could go to 5 or 6 dirt tracks in my area i remember when kenny weld left are area for pennsylvina and i asked why and was told there were over 50 tracks in the area. new dirt track are currently being built all over the country. we have a new just opening here in phx.
No doubt about it,this is a major part of our varied automotive history.Thanks for the photos.Hate to think how many early cars were destroyed though!
Here's a few sent to me by HAMB'er ford6man27. " Here is a couple of pics. of my cars.The old one is the trophy for setting the fast time record at Crawford County Speedway just north of Van Bueren Arkansas in 1967. The red #27 car was winning the Cornhusker Vintage Nationals at Columbus Nebraska in 2005." He started racing California Jalopy Association in 1960. Check out Parnelli Jone's car (painted by Von Dutch). The picture of all the cars, on the Balboa Stadium track, was starting 77 cars 4 wide on a 1/4 mi. track. Andy is still racing and winning wth his Model A.
Some did it on the ice 'flats' too. Jan 12 was the 103rd anniversary of Fords landspeed record in the ol,999 on a frozen Lake St.Clair. They added a cinder path for traction but it still took some balls I think to pull off 92mph in that jalopy. Note the 'crash cap' Ford is wearing made out of flame retardant wool. Ha
This is one, cool thread. Andy may not remember me, but, I raced with him in Missouri. I am a member of the Gateway Vintage club. I think he was at I-55 raceway in Pevely, MO. I drive the red/white #25 coupe('41 plymouth), and his car is much cooler, lol!
Nice pictures. I agree...many of the original "hot rodders" were just trying to make their cars something like what the professional racers were driving.
Dirtsurfer, I remember racing with you and your #25 coupe. Had a real good time at I-55 speedway. Enjoyed running Schraders track,just made for the old cars. Short track with a lot of banking. Your #25 is a sharp looking coupe. Hope to make it up there again this May. Looking forward to seeing you then. Andy
You should check out this show: Dave Despain on Assignment: Daytona. It's very good, and they pretty much say auto racing started there. It's gonna repeat on Speed on Friday night in my area. You can find tv listings for your area here: http://tvshows.aol.com Thanks, Kurt
I think the #7 car has HAMB written on it. Most of the photos I've posted here came from the mid-west. The #12 car had some sort of aircraft engine.
Another Model T sprinter i like. I think the camera was playing tricks in 1916, rather than a high-tech camber setup.
Well, I have to say that R.E.Olds has the unique distinction of having the true 1st rail job after seeing this picture . Dick Kraft is mis-credited with The Bug now that this pic is out there . If ya like this kind of stuff, there is a book by Harold Osmer called Where they Raced It has alot of early history about the tracks & how they played a pivotal role in populating many areas in California.
The Jalopy Journal
