New from West Central Ohio

I am not normally a joiner but made the H.A.M.B. an exception. A friend turned me on to this group and has shown me how the posts here are not only informative but they can be very entertaining, so much so that I wanted to be able to add my two cents worth on occasion.

I grew up watching dirt sprinters and modifieds in Ohio and Indiana with my father and little brother. I had the good fortune to see men such as Bill Vukovich, Jack McGrath, Eddie Sachs, Jim Hurtubise, A.J. Foyt and Jimmy Clark race at the Speedway back in the day. As I got older (about 1961 or 62) Drag racing consumed my interests. I attended my first National Meet in 1965 at IRP and have been back every year since then. I have seen a lot of changes in the facility there and in the competition. Saw Garlits shave his beard, Lynda Vaughn as a youngster, Wild Willie Borsch run from guardrail to guardrail, but, over the years, what I miss the most are the high winding stars of Modified Elimimator.

I have just about always had an old Ford of some sort. Seems just about every one of them has been hit and destroyed along the way. Guess I tend to drive them too much, that increases the possibility of loss, and I sure have experienced that. At present, my daily driver is a new to me 1978 Fairmont wagon. I also have an old ’64 Ford Country Sedan with a little 302 and a four speed that I drive most of the summer. It’s not fancy but it’ll shoot a flame. Another prize possession I have is a ’56 Merc four-door hardtop. A good friend is helping me with this mess. It’s a recycle project that seems to either be on jack stands or laying on the ground. If possible, we may have lowered it a little too much, but to scrape is divine. It also will have four four-inch diameter cannons coming out the back for a little fire if necessary. I think this project will be lost to my seventeen-year-old daughter to drive to school as she has helped with construction and has the opinion she would rather drive the old Merc than a Honda or whatever all the other kids drive to school. I figure that’s cool, but it means another hot rod/custom lost. I have a ’56 Ford Parklane wagon laying all over the garage and basement that now will have to be put together so I can have something cool of my own.

 

Welcome to the HAMB.

Doc.