Features VINTAGE SPRINT CAR PIC THREAD, 1965 and older only please.

I was at the western world at Manzy, in I'd guess 1971 or 2, was push trucking, saw Dub go thru the trun 3 wall, badly hurting his arm. was a bad night, Jimmy Cox died, in a crash, and a car went into the stands. Was a bad night......

 

Thanks for posting that Roy! That's one of my favorite stories in that book.

Glad it was shared here,

J Shaw

 

Roy,

What a great tribute to your friend Crocky.

 

Aaron,
I watched your dad race back in the old days in Oz and finally got to meet him at IRP (now my home track) one night when he was in the US visiting with Crocky. I just got back from Australia and while I was there I got a copy of Tony Loxley's Speedway's Sensational Sixties book which brought back a lot of great memories.

Roo

 

Aaron, I remember meeting you, but something else I can't remember is who Crocky said gave him the nickname Moose??? Was it your Dad?? I know it was someone from Australia, he also spoke highly of a guy from Australia named Kim Benithon? I might be off on the spelling of his name.

 

This is off the Racing History site tonight.
HG



CROCKY WRIGHT, 90

Ernest Schlausky, A.K.A. "Crocky" Wright, one of midget car
racing's most
respected historians and a widely beloved icon within the sport, passed
away in a nursing home on the west side of Indianapolis, Ind. on
Wednesday, December 23. He was just three weeks short of his 91st
birthday.

A passionate devotee of midget car racing for more than three
quarters of
a century, the New Jersey-born Crocky probably did more that any other
individual to chronicle the history of midget racing on the East Coast.
A
prolific writer, even into his late 70s, he wrote literally hundreds
upon
hundreds of articles for a variety of weekly racing papers over a period
of several decades (typically, merely in return for credentials at the
pit gate) in addition to a number of books. He authored an ambitious
six-volume history of East Coast midgets; a stats-filled hard-cover
history of the fabulous short-lived late-1930s high-banked Nutley (New
Jersey) Velodrome; a 1961 tribute to the life and career of the then
recently fatally injured Johnny Thomson (for which Crocky turned all of
the proceeds over to Thomson's widow); a similar effort shortly
thereafter praising injured driver Rex Easton (turning all of the
proceeds over to Easton's family), in addition to a variety of midget
racing yearbooks, biographies on other drivers, a history of East Coast
three-quarter midget racing, some fiction work, and even his own
fascinating and sometimes amusingly irreverent memoirs, which
nevertheless contained some surprisingly haunting and tender passages.

Crocky, who was honorably discharged after four years with the
762nd Tank
Battalion in the Pacific theater during WWII, aspired to be a driver
himself, dabbling with it off and on over a period of more than 20
years,
mostly with the American Racing Drivers Club. He never achieved much
success, but he could still say that, yes, he did indeed race against
Len
Duncan, Dutch Schaefer, Ernie McCoy and even a very young Mario
Andretti.

When Crocky first became enamored of midget racing in the late
1930s, he
was actually an even bigger devotee of "night" motorcycle speedway
racing
on cinder tracks. His hero was Emerson "Crocky" Rawding, an East Coast
standout who briefly raced in England before having to leave his
equipment behind in the rush to jump on a States-bound ship when war was
declared in September, 1939. Not only did Ernie Schlausky assume his
hero's nickname, but he also copied the black and white checkered paint
job of Rawding's helmet, turning it into a trademark of his own.

While motorcycle speedway was never successful in returning
after WWII,
Crocky did take part in some of the futile attempts to revive it. He had
better luck as a stunt man, performing as a member of a troupe formed by
another leading speedway rider, "Putt" Mossman. Under Mossman's
guidance,
Crocky perfected the stunt of crashing a motorcycle through flaming
boards, something he introduced to a whole new audience at the
Indianapolis Speedrome at age 70, and again at what was then
Indianapolis
Raceway Park at age 77. Crocky was very proud that some of his
accomplishments were documented along with those of Evel Knievel in an
exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Crocky championed the cause of numerous drivers over the years,
most
famously Tony Stewart, who Crocky discovered as a 16-year-old
three-quarter midget driver in Rushville, Ind. in 1987. He soon became
Stewart's volunteer "PR" person, a fact the eventual multi-USAC, IRL and
NASCAR champion never forgot. When Crocky himself was inducted into the
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in a 2005 ceremony at Sun
Prairie, Wisc., who should walk into the room just as the induction was
taking place but Stewart himself, having gone out of his way to fly a
considerable distance from a NASCAR engagement for the purpose of
surprising his longtime friend.

White there will be no services or viewing, a celebration of
life will
take place at a date to be determined later at the Latimore Valley
Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania where Crocky will be interred at a burial
plot located within yards of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
<o> </o>

 

Roy,
Kym Bonython was the promotor at Adelaide's Rowley Park Speedway, my original home track. His family are from the "old money" group in South Australia and the fact that he raced short track was somewhat out of character. He ran Offy powered speedcars (midgets) with the last being one of the Kurtis "roadster" units.

Roo

 

Thanks for posting that obituary, Gene. I still haven't seen anything on the Star's website.

 

Roy,
I'm actually at my dad's now (I came down to see Stewart race but unless he's got a boat I don't think thats happen today) He remembers Crocky being nicknamed "Moose" but doesn't remember where it came from. Kym Bonython as ROO said was the Rowley Park promoter and a real showman, he's still around. Whilst we don't move in the same circles we have passed word on through a mutual friend, according to dad it was Kym that convinced Crocky to come down under. Crocky worked with Kym and his influence was evident in the imports brought in by Kym (mainly ARDC) that Crocky suggested (Len Duncan, Jim Maguire, Dick Brown, Jim Kirk). I am sure Kym too will be saddenned by the news.
Kym's Kurtis Roadster was the Hank Green car, Leroy Warriner brokered the deal, the car is still here and runs regularly at vintage meetings.
Thanks again to all you guys for the stuff you have posted re Crocky, I have never been to an online wake before, this is a nice way to celebrate all things Crocky.
Aaron

 

Good stuff Gene..

Thank you!

JD

 

He deserves more than this small post on the H.A.M.B. but at least I can do this for now

 

I will never forget you Crocky

 

Roy,

Thanks for sharing your heartfelt memories with those of us who never had the opportunity and good fortune to meet Crocky. Wish I could have.
Eric

 

Thanks for posting the photos, Roy.

 

Many thanks Roy for the pictures of Crocky !!!

 

that's my father Bob Courtwright in the 46 midget

 

Just was told that Ken Coles has a new website,jam packed with photos of Sprints, Midgets Dirt champ cars and Indy cars,etc.
Very high quality stuff!


http://www.colesracingphotos.com/

 

Great photos. Ken was one of the best when he was active. He needs to put a "contact" button on that site.

 

I agree!

Would like to send him my compliments.

There are some real gems on there that should give us topics of discussion,too.

 

Well, thanks a lot Buildy... just spent another hour re-living the past instead of working. It's an awesome site that deserves even more time.
PK

 

Yeah-I should have warned it will keep you from doing work if you go over to that site-LOL

 

OLD Kentucky open wheel cars. Check them out on old timers page. go to. Kentuckymotorsportshalloffame.com

 

This is just a test for mlight9 to load pictures

 

Second test.

 

3rd & final test.

 

1 more

 

Nice to see you on here Jeff. Ken Johnson from the Reading Fairgrounds Club. The Club owns those Micro Midgets that Red Riegel drove. If you ever get up to one of our events, Ill see that they are on display. We just recently had the 30th year closing of the Fairgrounds Reunion and over 3000 people showed up and about 40 Stock Cars and 30 cuctom cars. About 35 drivers also showed

 

Heard this story down at Lincoln (PA) Speedway that Dubs father was put in the ambulance of the person that died by mistake. Is that true OKBOB?

 

Kenny Weld, Tampa 1974

 

Hey Mr. C ..

How are 'ya?

Your name came up in conversation with Jon Petraitis not long ago.