Oval trackers...stand up and be counted!

then you proably watched Jim Morrison, Sammy Sauer, Dave Strickland, etc. When we ran there we always worked out of Roger Mauro's car dealership.

 

I have been working on the 7 car Sprint & midget for the last 6 years. Drivers have included Troy Rutherford, Jeremy Sherman(won 5 straight main events at Arizonas manzanita speedway), Tracy Hines, Josh Wise, Bill Rose, Johnny Rodriguez, Jay Drake, Damion Gardner...I worked on the #3(in pic) driven by Rip Williams for 5 years winning approx 30 mains. Have also worked on other sprint cars/midgets and stock car prior to these, along with a few others. Worked on Stewarts car the year he won the chili bowl aswell.

 

I started working on dirt cars when I was about eight years old. I ran my first stockcar in 1976-7and then a vaga mod.78-81. Since then I have ran in diffrent class. I ran Dwarf cars and built 264 dwarf cars in the mid to late 90. In 99 I went to Vintage cars and am still runing some shows now. This is the 34 chevy mod that I race now in mod or super mod.

 

Speaking of Ed Howe I meet him at the Snowball Derby a big race in Fla in dec. The year was 1971 or72 he brought a couple of cars with 180 degree headers and went real fast.When we herd those headers WTF or 6cyl?? He sold several car down south after that. I am still involved in racing 1958 until present I have a openwheel modified IMCA type,a camero street stock. A vintage flathead 34 ford, a enduro dodge, and I am the tech inspector/pit stewart for the local asphalt track on fridays. It will reopen next year.I hate to think of all the nice cars I have tore up during the last 47 years of building my own cars or helping others here are some.32, 34,36, 38,39 41 46,55,60.61. 62 fords 34,39,55,56.57 chevys.64,65,68/72 chevelles,69,75/81 cameros,71/72, 75 montcarlos,71 barracuda,81 dodge omni,74 dodge big car, and that does not count all the demo derby cars that I destroyed but it was lots and lots of FUN..I am not able to post photos but I will try to get a friend to scan some in for me and post or Email.. later Bobby..

 

I've watched you race at Angell Park a couple of times and everybody ends up upside down there...!!!!

It's nice to see your family members featured in the "Hall Of Fame"...!!!

I'm working with a Guy who bought Brett Bodines Roadrace Taurus and we've run in this class a couple of times this year.

I probably met you Gene...!

 

hey bobby,
did ya know smut....he used to come to nashville in the 70's and kick but,
is alton still around?

 

me in A.J. Watsons car at the hoosier hundred 1990 will scan more pics if there is an interest

 

Gotta love the dry slick..Musta been in hot laps no rubber down yet.

 

Awsome picture Roy. Do you have any of the Offy powered midget you spoke about?

 

Hey I was talking to my dad and he wanted to know if you remember A guy named Joe Gibba ? spelling? He said he ran a johnson out board motor in his midget? Also said that Sammy Sauer was killed in a late model in the mid 70's

If you could post more pic's that would really be cool.

 

I have never worked on a race car but I have been going to dirt track races since 1958. My summer calendar is worked around races. This summer I went to Indiana for Sprintweek for the second year and attended the Knoxville nationals for the 14 th time.

Names like A.J Watson bring back memories from the past. The greatest era of dirt track racing. I would love to see more pictures.

 

Been involved in round tracking since I was able to walk. Still am, on a daily basis, dirt and asphalt.

I wonder why some days....

 

Wyatt, If you are asking about Alton Jones, he is still around. Talked to him not too long ago at the Birmingham fairgrounds raceway.

 

will look through my pics I do have some but I gotta find em

 

Never drove any but turned wrenches once in a while for my brother and nephew at Orange Show Speedway and Route 66 Raceway.

 

glad to here alton is still around...hav'nt been to b'ham in a while.did you ever
get to see gary bulough run there, the all pro stuff...it was truly a sight to see.

 

I raced from 1960 and raced about anything that ran on dirt until 1990. I was still involved in racing, building cars or wrenching on them for other people until I restored a 1931 model A vintage sportsman car in the winter of 1999,2000. I have been racing it from 2000 to the present time. In 2003 at the Dixie Vintage Nationals at Woodstock Georgia K-Nine Racer and I had one hell of a race. I was watching the video of that race the other night and counted 13 lead changes between us in the feature race. Let me tell you, Bobby and that 34 ford flathead car run hard. I haven't had that much fun since the hogs ate my little brother.

Andy

 

Yes Wyatt I did...was involved with All Pro in the beginning, and all the way up to '93. Balough was a heck of a driver, just couldn't keep his nose clean. Billy Harvey was another good driver from the Balough Florida stables. Many a great driver has passed through the short tracks of the south.

 

Im impressed. Been following USAC for years. Name please? Just to see if I remember you. Ive wrenched dirt mods for years then spent a year in a late model Dam I hate fenders! Then wrenched a sprinter for a couple years. Now I just go sit in the stands drink a lot and enjoy the show. October 19th we have the Jackson (Michigan) speedway old timers nite here in town and ill be there with my old man and my kids for dinner and cocktails. Alway a good time and plenty of good stories. My dad never raced there just wrenched (no Balls) and he got pissed at me when I got into the late model but it was more fun than sex? Too bad the track although I hear its still there but I havent checked it out doesnt run and hasnt for years. My 2 boys are headed out friday to Gas City Ind.for the I guess final sprint car race of the season. Yup were all race fans. But mostly sprints and supers. Woo Or the new NSL hopefully, Auto Value USAC we hit a lot of em... SOD All Stars man the list goes forever.
Dave

 

I've built and run a couple of circle track cars over the years, ran the last 3 years in a NASCAR modified class that's been getting faster and faster every year (the whole class seems to turn it up every year) Wrecked the last one hard 2 weeks ago and walked away from it, and am going to be building my own this time if I cant find a good DirtWorks or the like soon...

Winfab - let me know when you open up shop - might as well support a semi local business...

 

Oh ya .... and thank you ... I read your other post ya more pics please.
Up here In Michigan years ago the guy that owned the car he (oops edit mode) (my dad) wrenched on raced with alot of big names... ahhh the good old days.
Dave

 

I ran around the texas motor speedway in my 55 straight axle car last weekend , does that count?? can't wear a mullet though wouldn't fit in around here at the dirt track. here in okc it is dirt track and pickup trucks not hot rods.......but i like looking at them on there trailers full of tires...

 

Built a '66 Olds 442 to run the local 1/2 mile dirt tracks when I was a Junior in high school(1972). Somehow talked three of my buddys into helping finance it. Won the very first race I ran, middle car in a three wide race for the flag. Should have quit then. Raced about four more years . By that time I was starting to know enough to build a good car but was smart enough to know I couldn't afford it. Now I race radio control oval cars-cheaper and it doesn't hurt when you hit the wall.

 

Just 13 lead changes and 2 feet at the finish. shit that was fun. As per the question on smut. I helped him from when he started out of Tommy Andrews shop and was on his crew at the first sportsman race a daytona. I talked to alton last month he hasnt aged a bit. If you went to Bham and nashville I was partners on a sporstman car driven by Roy Milligan no 19 { he and I built our first car in 1958 a 38 ford} he was one of my favorite drivers very aggresive but he took good care of the car he was killed the summer of 75.I sure miss him. I just sold smuts 77 road race and combo talledga chevy cup car to a collector in south carolina.boy does he have his work cut out for him. Pinstriper is to modest if were not for his company being at the southren all star and all pro and NASCAR and so on lot of car would be on the trailer and not racing. I am glad to call him friend. If it were not for him these associations would not be as sucessful as they are. He has also letterd many cars for me plus he painted a HD and striped two of them. Also I have enjoyed the fellowship with Andy {ford6man27} one of the few guys I am not afraid to race on the outside of. he can drive inches away from you and not worry.

 

Long, long ago.......

 

These are the first two I designed and built the chassis' for in the late 60's.

 

sounds like we have been down some of the same roads. i grew up with sterling and his dad.....really miss him alot too! we are in the process of trying to restore the 34 ford coo coo tore thru the south with. when we were kids i never dreamed his career would turn out the way it has. still take in a few races a year. that hot rod jet he has goes 550 mph.
pinstriper, did you ever know the pulaski flash?

 

The Pulaski Flash?...Memory ain't quite as good as it should be..You aren't refering to the sign painter named Flash? Wasn't he from up in that area. Pulaski Speedway... you had to have a heck of a hauler to get up the mountain to the track..LOL Never forget the time I went up to the speedway and followed an Amish buggy for about 6 miles on that winding two lane...

And it was the first time I had ever seen a Walmart with a stable area in the parking lot.

 

Yes, I'm one of those kind of people, a certified oval tracker.

Here's a quick story why I sometimes hate to admit it .

I'm headed back home after a night of racing at a dirt track. It was a 300 mile drive and I know I looked pretty well used up. Car is on an open trailer covered with mud.

It's about 2am in the morning, I'm exhausted and can not drive any farther. I started looking for one of those 'El Cheapo motels. Found one that still "had the light on". Not the nicest place, but I saw some folks in the parking lot and a few room doors open.

I pull up front and go inside to get a room. Clerk (probably the owner) comes to the desk and I ask for a room. He asks, "Is that your race car out there?". I reply, real proud like, "Sure is!". His reply was, "We don't rent rooms to your kind of people". I'm flabergasted .

There's probably a few drug deals going down in the parking lot and the crack whores were probably going from room to room selling their ass, but he won't rent an oval tracker a room .

I'm too tired to argue, say screw it and left. Probably a blessing I did. That encounter woke me up enough that I finished the drive home.

So, what did this tell me? On the list of desireable folks in society, dirt oval trackers rank somewhere below drug dealers, pimps, dopers and whores .