DS HALL OF FAME 2009 UPDATE

            I’m happy to share good news about the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame with this Update.

            First, legendary promoter Earl Baltes has confirmed that he will participate in the induction ceremony scheduled for November 1, 2009 at 1 p.m. in the restored Bam Opera House in Miamisburg, OH.  Earl and partner John Marcum leased the Dayton track in 1966 from owner George Flanagan for a four year period.  Baltes spent almost $500,000 (in today’s money) on improvements to the Dayton plant before the first race could be run.  Here at DSL we’ve already told you the shock that Earl got when John Marcum backed out of having to pay his half of the improvement bill.

            Baltes will be signing special Hall of Fame autograph cards at the induction event.

            Second bit of good news: we found one of Buster Blackford’s relatives.  OK, actually it was Bernie Coppock who tracked down Blackford’s granddaughter.  Alright, alright; to be completely honest it was Mrs. Coppock that came through for us.  That leaves just Charley Engle’s family unaccounted for and as we have mentioned several times in the past, it’s unlikely that we will be able to find anyone related to Charley to appear on his behalf.  But fear not: we have a Plan B.

LEE RAYMOND TO OFFER ADDITIONAL SOUVENIR

            DS/HOF 2009 inductee Lee Raymond will be signing Hall of Fame cards prepared especially for the induction event, but he will be bringing along an additional souvenir for memorabilia collectors, photo cards of the famous 1988 Chevy Beretta he drove in ARCA events.  The car has a fascinating history.

            It was originally constructed for Jim Coyle by Norm Negre who had to stretch the wheelbase 10 inches and widen the car by 8 inches to get it to fit the ARCA specs.  In its maiden outing at Atlanta at the end of the 1987 season the car was a rocket.  Lee has said that the Beretta was running near 172 mph while the Cup teams were struggling to reach the high 160’s.  In the ARCA event Lee brought the car home in second place, though there are still those who believe that the car could have won had it not been held back.  (We’ll have to ask Lee about that!)

            In the 1988 season, Raymond drove the car to another second place finish at Atlanta, then two wins at Pocono.  In the final race of the season (Atlanta again) the car was torn in half in a wicked wreck that left Lee uninjured but completely finished the car.

            Lee won’t have the Beretta at the Hall of Fame event, but he will have the collector cards and I’m sure that he will be willing to share his story of the rocket ride in the tiny Chevy Beretta.

NO KIDDING REPORT ON HOF TICKET AVAILABILITY

SOLD OUT--NO TICKETS

REMAIN FOR THE HOF

INDUCTION ON NOV. 1ST

            I realize that in this day and age almost everyone who is offering anything for sale shouts that you absolutely must “act fast” in order to participate.  “These won’t last long at these prices!”  “Last chance!”  “Don’t be left out!”  You get the picture.

            After awhile we get sort of numb to these exhortations, and I’m sure that a few weeks ago when I said that I had fewer than 100 tickets available for the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame induction ceremony on November 1^st you probably thought yeah, right.  He’s probably got 500 tickets and I’ll be able to buy what I need at the last minute.

            Well, FODS, I wasn’t kidding.  As this is written I have fewer than a dozen tickets remaining for the event.

            I won’t sell any tickets after October 23, 2009, so that I have enough time to properly prepare an order for the food, but I doubt that my tickets will last that long.

            I recommend that if you have not yet ordered your tickets for the HOF event, please call me at (937) 219-5851 (cell) to see if any tickets remain BEFORE you go to the trouble of sending along a check.

            Here’s my address again:  Mickey Thompson, 135 Heatherwoode Blvd, Springboro, OH 45066-1579

IS IT BOTHERING YOU LIKE IT IS BOTHERING ME?

            The fact that driver Gordon Reid, who lost his life at Dayton Speedway, lies in an unmarked grave continues to gnaw at me.  How about you?

            Once we get past the upcoming Hall of Fame festivities, those of us at DSL are going to see if something can be done about that.  We’ll keep you posted and we might need your assistance.

            You can read about Reid’s tragic accident here on the In Memoriam page.

            How’s this for irony:  Reid and the Engle-Stanko sprinter were heavily used to promote the race in which Reid ultimately died.  Here’s a photo of Gordon Reid in his Sunday best appearing with the Engle-Stanko car in from of the old Biltmore Hotel in downtown Dayton, along with a photo (sorry about the quality) taken from the Dayton newspaper at the time.

    ---Photo courtesy of Spencer Riggs and Joe Heisler

A NEW FODS CHECKS IN FROM KENDALLVILLE, INDIANA

            I had an enjoyable conversation with brand new FODS Carl Burchette (hobbyhorseproducts@att.net) who called the plush DSL offices the other day to order tickets for the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame event.

            Carl is a long-time photographer who spent many days at Dayton Speedway with his camera.  He sent along a newspaper clipping that appeared the day after Elbert “Pappy” Booker (DS/HOF 2009) was tragically killed at the Dayton track.

            Carl is also looking through his collection for Dayton Speedway photos that we might post here at DSL.  I’m looking forward to seeing Carl’s photos and I know that now you are too!

            I’ve added the Booker article and photo here on the In Memoriam page.

            By the way, Pappy’s son Jim will be on hand at the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame festivities and will be signing special collector cards showing his famous father at the wheel of the Hal Special.   

TIME FOR HOF 2010 NOMINATIONS!

            I know that this is hard to believe (it sure as heck is hard for me to believe anyway) but it’s time for us to open the nominations for the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame for the Class of 2010.  The nominations will close at midnight on December 31, 2009 and voting for the Class of 2010 will begin on January 1, 2010.

            All of those nominated for the Class of 2009 will carry over to the second year of the Hall of Fame project (except of course for those who were elected to the Hall) and be eligible for the Class of 2010. You can see the current list of 2010 nominees here.

            In addition, I will include additional nominations offered by the FODS community.

            When we began this Hall of Fame project last year I remember receiving a substantial number of e-mails after the nomination period ended.  Those e-mails all took me to task for not including a host of guys who ought to have been on the ballot but were missed.

            I didn’t keep track of any of those “missed” names, but now you once again have the opportunity to nominate those deserving individuals.

            Send your nominees to me here and I will add them to the 2010 list of nominees that is posted here.  Please: No voting until January 1^st!

1967 DAYTON 500 WINNERS

            First-time FODS Jim Robinson (robinsonracing15@msn.com) recently checked in with information on the Dayton 500 won by his dad.

            I noticed you do not have the 1967 Dayton 500 on line. The race in September 1967 was won by Jim Robinson of New Albany, Indiana driving in relief of John Sommerville. John ran the first 250 and handed the car over to my dad.  He passed Iggy with about 100 laps to go and went on to win. I have attached the victory lane picture

Sincerely,

Jim Robinson

Robinsonracing15@msn.com

502-548-1550

            The photo Jim provided is our Pic of the Week(s).  Check out the Pic of the Week here.

            Thanks Jim for checking in at DSL Central!

FODS REMEMBERS BOB KORN KARS

            Another first-time visitor to DSL!  Steve Zechman (Zechman@hotmail.com) sent along a nice note and suggested that Bob Korn (DS/HOF 2009) would be a good source for information on Dayton Speedway and on Korn’s many race cars and multiple appearances at speedways all over the Midwest.

            Here’s some of what Steve said:

            Thanks for the great work you guys continue to do with the Dayton speedway web site.  It is my suggestion that Bobby Korn car builder of so many winning cars be contacted.  He may have some good pictures of the speedway along with the many number 72 cars he built. 

            Harold Smith was his driver and won 40 feature events in one season. I'm sure he has some pictures of Harold.  The fans of your site would enjoy seeing these pictures because many of the older fans such as myself saw the 72 win so many times at practically all local tracks in Ohio. (Cincy midget bowl, Dayton, Kilkare,Shady Bowl, New Bremen, Columbus,)

            During the 50's one class of cars billed as the "Roaring Roadsters" brought weekly crowds to the Dayton Speedway every Saturday night  for good racing on the 1/4 mile track.  A fellow who is Winchester's track photographer sent me an email showing the picture posters of  Dick Frazer and Tom Cherry.  Upon receiving these they were upside down.  In trying to turn them 180 degrees I lost them on my computer.  As I recall they were both from Muncie, In.

            Those cars looked good and put on quite a weekly show.

            If only we had digital cameras back in those days........

Steve Zechman

            Thanks for checking in, Steve and as a matter of fact I have been in pretty regular contact with Bob Korn for the past few months.  I think that I have collected enough articles and photos to give Bob his own page under the “People” tab here.  Check it out.  So far I have a reprint of an article that appeared in the Dayton Daily News on May 6, 2004, and some photos.

            In the meantime, here is the only photo we’ve ever seen of the Korn car that Harold Smith drove to an amazing 40 feature wins in 1957.  That performance netted Harold the Ohio State Champion’s crown that year.

AN ARCA HISTORIAN NEEDS SOME ASSISTANCE

            Jim Hehl (jhehl@fgcu.edu) needs some help gathering photos for an upcoming ARCA event.  Here’s what Jim wrote.

            I stumbled on your site looking for old racing photos. I double as ARCA co-historian in my spare time having grown up at the Flat Rock and Toledo Speedways. We are working on our annual banquet. We are going to profile each year’s champion with a photo from that year. In particular we are looking for Marvin Smith.

            We have a lot of photos of him, but not from his champion years of 1978 and 79. He drove the large Oldsmobile cutlass in ‘78 and the downsized version in ‘79. If you could help with any of these it would be much appreciated or perhaps put me in contact with someone who may?

            I’m also looking for late model photos from the 60’s – 80’s from Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

Much Thanks!

Jim Hehl

            Can anyone out there help?  If you think you have what Jim’s looking for, please get in touch with him.  In the meantime, the crack DSL staff of Rick, Rand, Jerry, and Geno have been alerted and are no doubt working to find those missing pix.

            Thanks!

NOT DAYTON SPEEDWAY, BUT…

            I received an email from David Ray in Texas and even though it doesn’t pertain directly to Dayton Speedway there is a link.  Ft Wayne was similar to Dayton Speedway (and Winchester Speedway and Salem Speedway) but isn’t usually included as one of the famous Midwest “hills” because it was never paved.

            And of course Frank Funk (DS/HOF 2009) who once owned Dayton Speedway (and some would argue saved it from becoming a landfill in 1936) also promoted Ft. Wayne for several seasons.

            Here’s what David had to say.

            Hello,

            I read an article you had about FODS.

            Althought I do not have any Ft. Wayne Speedway photos, the one I do remember of the speedway hung for many years above a table at the Speedway Cafe at Lima Rd. & Coliseum Blvd.

            When they closed that place, I called the owner and pleaded with her to save that photo! Or donate it to a museum. It was a rather long panoramic photo that was pieced together and framed. I was very polite and clear....she needed to save that photo.

            I was also ready to pay dearly to keep that photo intact or to make another copy of it. I even contacted the younger Stovall brother of Scott Stovall who took photos at Baer field to make a copy of it. Can't remember his name but he took photos at Baer Field and Avilla for many years.

            Several days later I called the last owner of the Speedway Cafe and she said she had donated it to the Ft. Wayne Historical Society. Hopefully she did.

            I never verified it. So if you live near Fort Wayne, you may want to pay them a visit or call them. Personally I would visit them and see if you can take photos of the original framed print. It is a very unique print for it's time.

            As a kid, I remember my dad took me out to the old Fort Wayne Speedway many years after it closed when the F.W. Fire Dept. did a controlled burn on the old wooden grandstands. This was probably around 1963-65? As I remember, the Speedway was located behind the Old(?) Allen County tractor building on Ley Rd & Industrial Blvd.

            South Anthony Speedway.....Last time I remember (late 80's early 90's) there were some slight remains of where South Anthony Speedway once was. From what I was told, there was a mound of earth, part of the old banking that sat next to what use to be(?) Franks Nursery on

            WARNING TO ALL FODS:  Please note that the website address in David’s email is angelfire.  Expect pop-ups by the handfuls.  More importantly, make sure that your virus protection is ON and functioning.  I visited just a few of the links on the subject page and quickly accumulated not one but two Trojans.

            So why even give you the address to begin with?  Assuming that you can wade through the pop-ups and that you have your virus protection and firewalls working, there are some terrific vintage pix.

            Your call, but be cautious please!

ANOTHER POTTS CHECKS IN

            Who’d have thunk it?  Our official flagman, John Potts, has an official brother Bob (rpotts10@insightbb.com) who shared the flagstand with John on many occasions!  Here’s the note from Bob Potts.

Mickey,

            I cannot remember if we ever met or not.  My name is Bob Potts and my brother is John Potts - yes, that John Potts. My racing experience began when the new promoter of the Sportsdrome in Jeffersonville, Indiana moved into an apartment next to ours. It had to be fate.  John was 8 years old and I was six months and falling asleep during the feature events at the Sportsdrome.

            Both John and I worked at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway in Louisville.  John as flagman, me as a track steward.  We got to know a number of folks while working there.  Harry Hyde, Andy Hampton, Jesse Baird, Charlie Glotzbach, Earl Balmer.  The list could go on and on. The demise of that facility was one of the very low points in racing history in the Louisville area.  That was the sweetest small track you ever saw.

            John Marcum of MARC (this was before the name change to ARCA) came calling one season and ask if we would begin working with him in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.  I worked for ARCA for about 4 years before work and marriage came along. 

            ARCA would run Daytona, Salem, Winchester, Dayton.... then some small dirt tracks at county fairs in south eastern Kentucky.

            We got to know a number of ARCA drivers - Benny Parsons, Jack Bowsher, Dick Freeman, Iggy Katona, Les Snow.  The list goes on and on.

            The third year of my involvement, Marcum decided that 4 eyes on the track were better than 2.  He moved me into the flagstand with John. He would watch 3 & 4 for developments (and the layover flag) and I would watch 1 and 2 for any problems, especially on restarts.  This was in the days before the headphones and mics and we would simply elbow the other in the back for attention.

            Sometimes we would work the flagging on the small county fair tracks from the track itself.  During one practice session in Prestonsburg (or Paintsville or Clay City) the drivers got together and decided to see who could come the closest to us without actually touching.  I remember tire tracks on the toe of my tennis shoes from Igga Katona.  After finishing on a dirt track we would have to stand underneath the water truck to get the dirt and mud off our white shirts and white pants.

            One of my fondest memories is of Frank Canale who handled the scoring for ARCA.  Generally he was in a spot directly across from the flagstand and would constantly gesture toward himself and yell 'Watch ME  Watch ME' for permission to start the race from the pace lap.

            One memory I have differs from your official history of Dayton.  I thought I remembered a 600 lapper as the last ARCA race of each season.  I must be mistaken and it was the 500 lapper.  Anyway, it was always a gamble to see if we could get finished before it got too dark to race.

            John is now assisting with a small track in Corbin KY and I have retired from the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville.  We keep in touch through email and every couple of years my wife and I go see my brother and his wife. 

            I apologize if this rambled, but there are so many memories I hardly knew where to begin and where to end.

Bob Potts

rpotts10@insightbb.com

            Bob correctly remembers a MARC/ARCA 600 lap event at Dayton Speedway, but there was just one.  I touched base with the DSL ace researcher Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net) and he had the info (of course). 

            The 600 lap grind was held at Dayton Speedway on September 16, 1960, almost 40 years ago.  It was the last race of the 1960 season at Dayton and the event was won by Iggy Katona who came across the finish line 5 or 6 laps in front of the second place car.

            From newspaper accounts, the race was almost as hard on the spectators as it was on the drivers, cars, and crews.  Attrition was huge and when all was said and done the race was more bore than spectacle.  It was never tried again at Dayton Speedway.

            Believing that our official DSL flagman John Potts can stand a few elbows in the ribs to keep him honest, I am naming Bob Potts John’s official brother and our official DSL assistant flagman.  Welcome to DSL, Bob!

AND NOW, BOB’S BROTHER, JOHN POTTS

            Our official flagman, John Potts (indybigjohn@roadrunner.com) checked in recently just to assure everyone that he was still among the living.  Here’s what his note said:

            Just to let you know I'm still breathing and still visiting the website. For an old racing history nut like myself, it's a very welcome time when every update is finished.  I just wish I could travel more so I could get to the installation.

            As you know, I spent many happy days at the speedway, both in the pits and

in the flagstand.

            Those Dayton 500s were some of my favorite races when I was working with

ARCA.

            I seem to recall one year when, for some reason, we ran the "Dayton 500" at

Eldora, and Les Snow was the winner.  Anybody else remember that?

John Potts

            As a matter of fact, those of us here at DSL remember it very well.  For a time, the Dayton 500 was a sort of traveling event.  Here’s our Rick Patterson’s (elvis334@att.net) reply:

Hey JP

            Great to hear from you!

            Yep Eldora held the event once, New Bremen several times in the 70's, and it was even run at Tri-County Speedway in Cincinnati once. 

            If remember right they planned on running that one at Dayton Speedway.  But with only two weeks to go the Dayton Speedway management decided they could not afford to run it and gave it to Blair Ratliff who was managing  at Tri-County.  Keith Ploughe and/or Ross Smith won that one.

            Rick

            How about it, FODS, do any of you remember attending a Dayton 500 at a track other than Dayton Speedway?  Share your recollections by contacting me here.

FODS JOHN SURGES: EVEN MORE ANNOYING

            Regular visitors to DSL know all about John Surges (vintagemodman@msn.com).  John is a Wisconsin native who found and saved for us those amazing ‘50s era stock car slides that I’ve posted here.  (There are many, many more but I haven’t had a chance yet to scan the slides in.)

            John also apparently has as his stated goal building the world’s largest collection of vintage race cars.  You can see his collection of four vintage racers at the top of the Surges-Richardson page here.  (The ’57 Ford done up as the Frank Smith #1 is now complete and I posted a photo of the finished product on a recent Update.)

            His collection was four cars.  Was.  Until recently when he purchased two additional projects!  (I’m convinced that he does this just to irritate the heck out of those of us who constantly talk about a vintage racer but haven’t a thing to show for all the day-dreaming yet.)

            Shown here are the beginnings of his two new projects, a ’55 Chevy and a ’66 Chevy.  I think that John already has a race car in mind to model the ’55, but he could use some assistance with the ’66.  As John points out, there weren’t a lot of ’66 short-track Impalas.

            If you think that you have an excellent candidate for the ’66 for John to replicate, shoot him an email.

            Or here’s an even better deal.  John has agreed to sell the ’66 Impala to any FODS who

might be looking for a winter project.  The car is in excellent condition with a brand new floor.  And John has all the glass.  An enterprising FODS could go several different ways with the car; a street cruiser, a vintage racer, or maybe a streetable machine with a vintage racer look.  John’s price: $1500, and the money will go towards turning the nifty ’55 into a vintage racer.

            If you are looking for something to do this winter other than curse the cold, contact John at the email address above.

            And remind him that he is welcome to keep one of his vintage toys here at my house though it would be a long, long drive from Wisconsin to visit it!

            By the way, John also sent along some photos taken at their Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame gathering this summer.  Here are two that I thought you would enjoy.  The first is a beautiful tow rig, a yellow and black Ford pulling a trailer with a matching midget.  The second photo shows a beautifully restored Henry J stock car.  I must admit that though I have been attending races for almost 50 years I had never, until this photo arrived, ever seen a Henry J stock car!

            Thanks, John.

DAYTON RACING BEFORE THERE WAS A DAYTON SPEEDWAY

            An event that we ought to consider as the very first Dayton 100 was run well before there was a Dayton Speedway.  In August, 1929, a two hundred-lap 100-mile event was held at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.  (If you’ve been to the fairgrounds and seen the track, which is pretty much unchanged since 1929, it might be hard for you to imagine race cars careening around the place.  Those early racers weren’t aware of anything remotely approaching safer barriers.)

            The event attracted the top names in auto racing.  Mauri Rose was entered, as was Al Theisen, and Beckett.

            The day was not without incident.  Three cars went through the fencing, but the drivers were apparently uninjured.

            There was one death.  A mechanic who had to push a stalled car the length of the track that sweltering August day was overcome from the heat and humidity.  He passed away at 6 p.m. that same day at the hospital.

            Our Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net) is gathering all the facts about the event and we’ll present them to you soon.  In the meantime, here's the front page from that long-ago time.

A NEW FODS FROM THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

            Steve Struve (1sstruve@embarqmail.com) sent us this note from Las Vegas (or “Lost Wages” as some of you might know it).

            Wow !  What a Web Site !  Thanks for compiling and maintaining it (everyone) !  Memories……

            I first attended a race at Dayton Speedway when I was five, or six.  (1952 or 1953).  I’m 61 now, yet I still remember many nights (and later, days) attending one form of racing or another there.  I have some photographs that are buried somewhere in my storage unit.  I will try and find them and send anything relevant along.  I do have a black and white photo of Chick Hale’s fire – my Uncle Jimmy took it that night (I was there) and I eventually got a copy from him.  I have a few other photos from other local tracks, but most of them are 35mm negatives. (More on that later).

            Most of my Dayton racing time was spent at Kil-Kare, as I lived in Belmont during my youth (Belmont High, Class of ’65), and Kil-Kare was the closest track.  But we would always go to the “big events” at Dayton Speedway whenever there was enough extra money available.  I spent time hanging around Belmont Marathon – I believe the owner’s name was Bud Morrow (?). 

            Bud always had a couple of stock cars there as drivers Emery and Chuck Taylor both worked at the Marathon station for Bud.  I’d tag along once in awhile when the Taylors went to Kil Kare and eventually I ended up working a couple of years at Kil-Kare, after I got out of high school,  for Walt Scherer when he ran the track.  (Glad to see Walt’s picture in this week’s Pic !)  I still have my old Kil-Kare jacket somewhere in the storage unit, but I haven’t managed to fit in it for many years!  I just couldn’t bear to throw it out, I guess!

            As a young adult I did take numerous photographs at many area tracks, as photography was one of my hobbies.  I developed and printed my own photos and had amassed a pretty good collection of prints in a couple of large notebooks.  I kept those photos until well after I was married and would probably still have them if not for my leaving Ohio for a job opportunity in California. 

            The good thing about the photo collection is that it got put to good use – Shorty Miller was just putting together his “Museum” in a Trailer then, and I gave the photo albums to him.  I’m sure he used them well, as he was ecstatic to get them.  I never did get to see the finished museum – I left town before Shorty completed the project.  Even though those photos are gone, I still have all my negatives.  When I find them, I’ll go through them and use my magic Photo Scanner that accepts negatives and creates a “positive” jpeg file, and send along anything I think you would be interested in.

            I left town in the mid 70’s but I never stopped going to races.  I actually tried to recreate my racing venue list several years ago and I came up with over eighty tracks I’d attended through the years.  I had a long career with IBM Corporation, and we always said IBM’s initials stood for “I’ve Been Moved”.  They did move me around from California to Tucson Arizona to Charlotte NC. , with temporary duties in places like New York and Texas.  Now, I’m in Las Vegas (and loving it).  Here, I’ll stay.  (Plenty of good racing here, too).

            I have a bunch of stories and remembrances of racing in Dayton and I will need to make a serious effort to write some of it down and share it with everyone.  If I start with the tall tales now, I’ll be here all night.  I’ll get back to you soon.  Again, thanks for the web site and the tremendous flood of memories it has triggered. Keep it going …….

Steve Struve

Las Vegas, Nevada

            Thanks for checking in, Steve.  FODS across the country and around the globe are looking forward to seeing those pix when you find them! 

 A THORN IN OUR SIDE

            That darn engine that was featured as the Pic of the Week for June 29-July 5, 2008, continues to generate more total responses from the FODS than any other photo on the site!  You can see it here.  It’s clearly a 6 cylinder engine with fuel injection (I originally thought it was the most amazing collection of carbs ever seen on an engine!)  It’s canted over to the left a few degrees and is mounted in a sprint car or midget.  So far we’ve received a million guesses, but nothing definitive.  I keep hoping that the car owner, or driver, or someone who worked on the car will get in touch with me and put us all out of our misery as to the engine’s identity.  So far, nothing.

            New FODS Jeff Spencer (jeff@albrothers.com) has checked in with his memory of a rumor that was circulating years ago…

            I heard tales of someone running a Sprint Car with a straight six out of a Datsun 240/260/280Z years ago.  I believe in the late 70’s early 80’s.

             My first time on the site and love it.  I grew up in a racing family in Michigan, and traveled multiple series for years.  Haven’t been involved in racing for 20 years, but still miss it every day.  Your pics bring back great memories.

            Live in Florida now, travel to a few tracks in the area, but I am convinced the greatest asphalt racing is still in the Midwest, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio.

           Thank you.

Jeff Spencer

M: 239-770-8810

jeff@albrothers.com

            So what do you think, FODS?  Is it a Datsun?  If you can help us identify this engine once and for all, please contact me here.

            Thanks for checking in, Jeff!

TOM LAPPED DAYTON SPEEDWAY IN HIS HALF-MIDGET

            Two new FODS, Tom and Pat Boscher, sent along this note:

            My apologies to Bob Hope, but thanks for the memories.

            Raymond "Red" Boscher, Jr., my father, raced at Dayton many times.  We would drive over from Speedway with Duane Carter, Sr. along with Pancho, Dana, Johnny Parsons, Arza, Joanie. 

            I remember the steep drive down to and up from the pit area. 

             After one of the USAC races in the late 50s, Dad let me drive my 1/2 midget around the track.  I remember the back end being much lower than the front as I went through the turns.  They were steeply banked.  Dad asked if I felt the bumps along the backstretch.  I didn't - wasn't going fast enough to feel them.  I think Dad said it was a bit of a washboard effect at high speed.

             The cars I remember Dad driving there were the white 41 owned by Don Fisher of Shelbyville, IN, and a red 88.  Both were flat-head Fords.

            I don't recall many if any Dayton photos in Dad's scrapbooks.  I'll look again and forward what I believe to be of/at Dayton.

In Christ,

Pat & Tom Boscher

            If Tom is able to find any DS photos in his Dad’s scrapbook and is able to send them along to me, I’ll post them here at DSL.  Stay tuned.

            Thanks Pat and Tom!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

            In an earlier Update (somewhere here on the Update Archive 2) I posted this photo of Mike Barr’s wonderful 1957 stock car that he was running at Eldora a season or two ago.  I posted it because it was a great photo and Mike must surely be one of the few, if not the only guy competing regularly now with a 1957 model car.  I attributed the photo to DSL’s Jerry Wahl (jlwahl1@hotmail.com) but I should have known better.  Jerry is a good photographer, but the Barr photo was a great photo, if you know what I mean.

            Nancy K. Lane-Feldner (nancy@panthercreekdesignphoto.com) happens to be a great photographer and (hey, no fair if you are racing to the conclusion of this tale) is actually the lady who was responsible for the Mike Barr photo.  She was kind enough to (1) point out the mis-crediting and (2) let me keep the photo up on the site.

            I fixed the captioning on Archive 2 and I recommend that you visit Nancy at www.splitsecondsports.com to see some more examples of her amazing work.  Once on her home page, click on the Motorsports tab.  She has many photos from Eldora and a few from Winchester.

            And by the way, while you are visiting Nancy’s site, poke around and you will find a page that will show you what Mike Barr’s nifty hotrod looked like this season.

            Thanks Nancy!

MORE FROM AGELESS “METHANOL MEL”

            FODS who have been following along over the past 18 months (has it really been 18 months since I started this site?) know all about “Methanol Mel” Anthony (methanolmel@msn.com) , the 85-year-young race driver who started in the Roaring Roadsters back in the ‘30s and somehow managed to survive those perilous years.  Mel and his son Dennis purchased a vintage midget (see photos of it here) and after some scary medical issues over the summer, Mel is ready to get in the midget and go.

            Here are some fragments from emails he’s exchanged with our Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net).

            I am nearly 100 % recovered from my near fatal operations this summer. I walk a mile or two daily, keep busy, and have regained most of my lost weight back. I am ready to jump in the Offy, as we have not had it fired up yet. Son Dennis has waited patiently for me to recover, then we both will tour the car. It is ready to go, except for adding fluids etc…

            Every time I see Troy Rutman in a race car, it reminds me of a day years ago. We were not racing together, but he was testing an Offy midget on the former 1/2 mile asphalt Portland Speedway. He and Allen Heath were up here in the Northwest on a promotion deal of some kind. They were both either AAA or USAC, and neither were allowed to race with us. They did not dare, as the whole world knew them both, and the press would spill the news instantly. I was hot lapping the Norman Offy, and we both were sort of going at it down the front stretch. Me with a "white knuckle" grip on the steering wheel, (now get this), Troy peeling an orange as he shot on by me!

            He was from Glendora California, and my cousin lived there and hung around with that bunch. For $ .50 Troy offered to roll over a guys car at the end of the block, and he did it, with no helmet or seat belts. He and Heath were a couple hard players, and you best have your stuff together if you raced them.

            Keep in touch and anxious to view any photos you send over. Regards-

            Mel

NUTZ & BOLTZ

            N&B…The folks at Toyota have just recalled about a bazillion cars for a problem that might lead to a “stuck accelerator.”  The problem?  The floor mat!  The Toyota brass isn’t telling us all that it knows, but there have apparently been slightly over 100 “incidents” that might be related to the floor mat jamming the accelerator pedal.  The most bizarre was the Lexus rocketing down the highway at over 100 mph with a stuck throttle.  The occupants called 911 for help!  Think about that.  What the heck has our car owning society come to when (1) someone can’t recognize when their floor mat is balled up under the accelerator, and (2) the people in the speeding car can call 911 but apparently have forgotten about the brake pedal.

            Should be an easy fix for Toyota.  They are telling people to remove the floor mat.  I’m betting that there will be dozens of calls to the Toyota hotline asking if any special tools are required…

            N&B...Another new FODS has joined us!  Greg Miller (gkmiller1@yahoo.com) sent along this note:

            Nice website found by accident.  Below is a picture of the car at Dayton Speedway that my Dad drove for Karl Kinser in the 1967 or 68 season. Standing behind it is my Mom and I. I was 4 years old. My Mom stated that my Dad won the feature for sprint cars that day. The car had either a 427 or 454 Chevy.

            Next picture at Dayton was my great Aunt Mary where part of the track is visible.

            I was wondering if you had or were going to post any results for sprint cars? Karl Kinser is pretty famous after winning more than a thousand features in his lifetime.

            Our plan is to eventually post the results of every race run at Dayton Speedway.  Needless to say, that goal is going to require a huge effort.  We'll give it our best effort.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, here are the two photos (below left and right) that Greg sent along:

            N&B…Yes, yes, of course I forgot to get my driver’s license renewed on my recent birthday.  I did it just so that I could pay the extra $20 fee connected with the late renewal.  And once again I indicated my willingness to be an organ donor.

            And then on the way out of the license bureau I had a thought: how bad off would someone have to be before their life could be improved using some of my parts??  Wow.

            N&B…My team entered the very first World 100 at Eldora Speedway almost 40 years ago.  We knew that there would be some stiff competition from the guys who toured, but we were confident that an entire year of racing at Eldora in the Late Model division would give us an advantage.  It did.  We qualified 57^th.  How does that represent the result of our “advantage” you ask?  There were well over 100 cars entered!  We were better than over half the entries and for us that was like winning, except for the purse money of course.

            I mention this because my good friends Charlie and Nancy Haerr sent me a text as they drove away from Eldora’s most recent running of the World 100.

            Hi foggy,

            Do you remember Butch Hartman from Zanesville? We just left Eldora and watched his son, Bart, win the World 100. It was a great race!

            Charlie and Nancy

            Of course I remember Butch.  Black and yellow race cars.  #75.  And for most of his career he favored Chrysler products, although his greatest success in Cup racing came behind the wheel of Hoss Ellington Chevrolets.

            And that’s the difference between older race fans and newer race fans.  Newbies look at Bart and see, well, Bart Hartman.  Older race fans look at Bart and see Bart and Butch and and 25 more seasons of black and yellow Zanesville race cars.

            N&B…Note to NASCAR: Please, just stop it.  Right now.  The success of stock car racing does not require NASCAR to insert itself into every single moment of the season.  Case in point:  NASCAR has warned the #48 and the #5 Cup teams that they have almost exceeded the rules.  That’s right.  They were warned about almost breaking the rules.

            This is all very annoying to me.  When my team raced in Cup we cheated each and every week, without fail.  We cheated in ways great and small.  We cheated casually and outrageously.  But we always cheated, because they had a name for guys who didn’t cheat:  “Did Not Qualify.”

            N&B…Shame on you if you missed the Oldtimers Reunion at Winchester Speedway on October 3-4.  Lots of amazing cars, and the racing was pretty hot, too.  Unfortunately, the weather on Saturday was cold and windy and not very hospitable for any but the most hardy race fans.

            I took lots of photos and I’ll be posting them to www.public.fotki.com/foggygoggles sometime the week of October 12.

            N&B...I've added a few more photos for Johnny Shackleford here on the In Memoriam page.  They come to us courtesy of Buzz Rose.

            N&B...That sneaky Roger Penske looks to solve his NASCAR Cup issues by abandoning the Car of Tomorrow and going straight to the Car of the Day After Tomorrow (CODAT).  See the photo at left. 

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN…

            That wraps up another Update.  Still lots of things that I haven’t yet posted.  Thanks for your patience while I try to stage the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame event and keep the website humming along at the same time.

            The next Update will be sometime in November after the HOF induction.  With any luck at all I ought to be able to report on the event within the first week of November.

            Until then, stay safe and thanks for your continuing help in keeping alive the memory of that grand old race track, Dayton Speedway.

            Mickey

            October 5, 2009