I find it rather ironic, that after starting this series of stories, various things come up.  Things that have been recorded or kept.  How I have been fortunate to have been able to "get my hands on", or, via the internet, get, and read certain facts.  Things that others have written or recorded, as I have been doing, to keep a certain part of history alive.

Just very recently, via an e-mail, I was informed of a certain scrapbook that had been put together by one of the very best photographers that covered motor racing, back in the 1940's, here in the east.  The scrapbook was being offered for sale on a well known web site that deals with selling various items.  The individual that had the scrapbook listed, basically was not a race fan, and had no idea what kind of value the item was worth.  He says that he was amazed at the amount of race fans that were in attendance at Hinchcliff Stadium, in Paterson, NJ.  He quoted a figure of 11,500.  He goes on further to say, "Could someone tell me the size of this sport at that time, I was just wondering, because that seems like a great deal of people to watch an event".  Yes sir, that was a lot of people, and the 11,500 figure could be very close to the amount of fans in the stands, at Hinchcliff, on many occasions, when I was there.  And, I went there many, many times! 

This individual, the one selling the scrapbook, goes on to say further, "But now, most of all the fans who loved and watched these great drivers, who made history, are probably gone and dead, and the younger generation doesn't even recognize these great men of racing history, who started it all".  I have to agree with the preceding words.  Today, I am 64 years old.  When I first started going to Paterson, I was all of 9 years old.  That was 55 years ago.  Surely, there are not many of us, those that were in the stands back then, around today.  To show you how little this individual knows about our sport, he wanted to know what the "bigger cars" were!  He apparently knows nothing of sprint cars and Indy cars.  This person goes on to describe the beauty of the racing machines that he is able to see in the photos.  He tells of drivers "history" stories that are included in the book.  One, that of Johnny Ritter, really caught him by surprise.  He tells of reading that Ritter suffered more broken bones than Evel Knievel, and of his close brushes with death.  He observed the photos of various crewmembers, in "victory lane" photos, there arms up-raised, in victory, still clutching wrenches in their hands.  Boy, what I would give to read the "history" of Johnny Ritter.  He was, and still ranks, as one of my favorite drivers, even though he left us back in 1948.  Ah yes, Johnny, I remember you well!  That canary yellow outboard powered midget!  Your first night out with your brand new "Offy", at Hinchcliff, it too, painted canary yellow.  Johnny is gone, but I still remember him.  Sure hope that there are a few out there reading this that remember him too.

Well, it has been a week or more, since I got that e-mail.  I sent an e-mail message to the "individual" that has the scrapbook for sale.  No reply.  And, to make matters worse, the scrapbook has been taken off of the e-bay web site.  At the time it was taken off, there had been no bids on it.  I was hoping I could work out some kind of "arrangement" but I guess they were not interested.  Thought I was going to cry when I received no response, then the item was taken off e-bay.  It has, so far, not been put back on for bids.

Alright, now to get back to some racing, from back in "the good old days".  Pocono Raceway.  They held a midget race at Pocono, before the big track was completed.  It was run on the 3/4 mile oval that was in front of the grandstand.  The oval used the big tracks main straightaway for it's own straightaway.  They held a "practice" session for the midgets before the race date.  A big problem developed.  Tire wear!  Seems that the tires were "burning up" pretty quick.  The solution?  An easy one.  A mandatory pit stop.  The race was scheduled for 100 laps - 75 miles.  If my memory serves me right, the race was co-sanctioned by the ARDC and NEMA.  I made the trip to the race by myself.  I remember that it looked like there were not many fans in attendance.  But, then again, we were sitting in a pretty large grandstand.  I had taken a book that I had bought.  It was written by "Crocky" Wright, and it covered every midget race that was ever held at Hinchcliff Stadium, in Paterson, NJ.  I was hoping to get some autographs that day.  I happened to look over to my right.  Another "fan" was heading my way, but he was being stopped along the way by quite a few others.  Handshakes & talks with people that recognized him.  And, I recognized him also.  And I was lucky to have him sign his book.  Yes, it was "Crocky".  Have you ever misplaced something that you cherished?  Yep!  I did!  Wish I knew where that book is!  Got quite a few other autographs that day too.  Back to the racing.  Again, I have to trust my memory.  Jimmy Kirk-Mike Sheehan-Sesco engine.  Combine all three and you end up with a car that was a LOT faster than all the rest.  A little to fast, I believe, for the NEMA.  I think I can recall that "If that car runs, WE don't" is what was said.  It seems that the Sesco was not an "approved" engine, at that time, for NEMA.  The Kirk/Sheehan/Sesco combination did not run that day.

I do not know what happened between the practice session and race day, but for some reason, tire wear was not really a factor during the race.  I remember an awful lot of leaders in that 100 laps.  Some drivers got the lead by making a pass.  And others got it by inheriting it, when the leader, at the time, pitted, on his mandatory pit stop.  As the race progressed, one driver kept advancing towards the front.  A favorite of mine, Russ Klar.  Russ was driving the Nagy Offy.  What was the number on it that day?  Thirty six, or nine?  I think it was 36.  The announcer made the comment that Russ had not pitted yet.  This was at about 70 laps or so.  Every few laps, the same message came over the loudspeakers.  And, I being rather observant, was agreeing with him.  Russ had not made his pit stop.  80 laps.  85 laps. 90 laps.  95 laps.  Still, Russ had not pitted!  The white flag comes out, and it was for Russ.  After all, he was leading the event.  Through turns one and two.  Down the backstretch.  Through turns 3 and 4.  Russ made a sharp left onto "pit road".  He stopped in his "area".  Quickly they lifted, by hand, the front end of that Nagy Offy.  A crewmember hit the "knock-off" on the left front.  Off came the wheel and tire.  Another one gets thrown on.  The tire and wheel get secured with the "knock-off".  The crewmembers that held the car in the air, let it down.  Russ is ready to pull out, go down "pit road" and cross the finish line.  To the best of my knowledge, and I have made a mistake or two, in my lifetime, the car/driver in second place still had not come out of turn 4.  But, for some reason, Russ was not allowed to leave his pit area!  Why?  What happened?  Guess what?  I STILL am not sure why he was not allowed out of the pits!  There must have been some rule, a rule that stated that you had to pit within, or by, certain laps or lap. 

Who won?  I had heard that it was Ernie McCoy.  You have to realize, back then, if you did not subscribe to an auto racing publication, we were not very well informed.  So, for the longest time, I was under the impression that Ernie was the victor.  Now, as you know, time flies.  So, I guess it was five or six years ago, while I was sitting in the grandstands, at the Orange County Fair Speedway, in Middletown, NY, that I recognized a gentleman that writes for the Area Auto Racing News.  Guy Smith.  Guy, and someone else, sat directly in front of my son and I.  Over the course of the night, I asked Guy about that Pocono race.  He, at the time, was not sure, himself, as to who the winner was, so he said he would check it out.  It was not to long after that night, a week or two, when in his column, Guy informed me that the winner was Johnny Hubbard.  Again, if my memory serves me right, Johnny was in the Ed Darrell Offy that day.  Car number 83.  I spoke to Russ, later, after the race, in the pit area.  He, himself, was not sure what had happened.  I am not exactly sure of when that Pocono race was held, but it had to be around 1969.  While talking to Russ, we got on the subject of the Maier BMW powered Cycle midget that he had driven back in the late '40's.  "I still have that car, down in my basement", he told me.  He wanted to bring it out to race again, but he said that "They did not know what "class" to put it in".  As far as I know, as of today, March 13, 2002, Russ still has that midget.  I have heard some stories about Russ.  Not good news, either.  Heard that he took a fall, while crossing an expressway on Long Island.  Received a broken hip.  Then I had heard that he needed some surgeries.  Seems he needed a by-pass and some work on one of his valves.  All this for a fella that is in his, what, mid eighties?  I, along with many others, are wishing him a full recovery.  And, I do not think, that as of this day, Russ has ever announced his "official" retirement from the sport!

I went back to Langhorne in 1970, to see the Indy cars race.  The track had been changed.  It was paved, and the "backstretch" had been straightened out.  Instead of one big circle, the track resembled the letter "D".  I went there with a couple of fellow workers from the store in Suffern, NY.  Went down in my '55 Buick.  Sad to say, they don't make cars like that anymore.  What a "boat" it was!  I noticed, when leaving the Garden State Parkway, to get on the Turnpike, the way the roads had been re-constructed, with ramps here and there, it actually seemed like we were heading North on the "pike".  But, being early in the morning, the sun was still on my left shoulder, so I knew that we were heading South.

Back in '70, one of the engines that powered the Indy cars was the twin overhead cam Ford V-8.  It had, what was referred to, as, "the bundle of snakes" exhaust system.  What a sweet sounding engine that was!  Bobby Unser won that day.  He beat his brother Al.  There were, out of the 27 entrees, eight drivers from here in the East.  They did not do to bad, either.  Bentley Warren, who, believe it or not, is still racing today, placed 6th.  He was followed by Wally Dallenbach (Sr.) in 7th, Mario Andretti 8th, Jerry Karl 11th, Steve Krisiloff 13th, Gig Stephens in 22nd.  Failing to make the show were Al Loquasto and Ralph Ligouri.  Others in the field that day were:  Mike Mosley, 3rd, Jim Malloy 4th, Gary Bettenhousen 5th, Dick Simon 9th, Gordon Johncock 10th, Billy Vukovich, the son of Bill Vukovich, Indy 500 winner in 53 & 54, and the father of Billy III, placed 12th.  Rick Muther 14th, John Mahler 15th, Bruce Walkup 17th, Karl Busson 18th, Bill Simpson, yes, he from Simpson Safety Equipment, finished 19th.  20th was Bruce Jacobi, Sam Sessions 21st and Darrell Dockery finished last, in 23rd position.  Roger McCluskey did not qualify, and Johnny Rutherford had an accident on his qualifying attemp.

Speaking of accidents, there was one BIG ONE!  Early in the race, Sam Sessions had a problem, in front of the grandstands, between the "fourth" turn and the start/finish line.  His car hit the guardrail.  His fuel tanks, which were on each side of the car, let go.  The car, with Sessions in it, slid down the track, and came to rest with the front end under the railing that separated the pit area from the racing surface.  There was fire everywhere.  At the place of impact, there was fire on the track, guardrail, and between the guardrail and the grandstands.  Plus, there was a trail of fire down the track, to where the car had come to rest.  Quite a few cars ran through the flames.  And, some spun, in attempt to miss it.  Involved along with Sessions, and unable to compete further, were Stephens and Dockery.  Now, if my memory serves me right, that race was televised a week later.  I remember a camera shot, from inside the pit area, that showed Session's car, after hitting the guardrail, sliding down the track, and getting stuck, under the pit rail.  The camera focussed on Sam.  He was pointing down, with his hand, showing those there, that his feet were trapped, and he could not get out.  Again, trusting my memory, the camera shot caught the windshield melting!  I just wonder, out of all those that might be reading this, if anyone else was there that day.  And if anyone saw the telecast, the following week?  That race, that day, really made an impression on the guys that went with me!

The Trenton Speedway was a place I went to a couple of times, with a supervisor from work, who was also a race fan.  Well, "race fan" might be stretching it a bit.  The only place Mr. Reed would go to was Trenton.  There were a few of us "produce managers" that were fortunate to get the "invite" to go with him, to Trenton.  Back then, you did not order tickets in advance.  You just went up to the ticket window and made your purchase.  And, back then, everything was done on one day.  Practice, qualifying, and the race.  Funny how things have changed, isn't it?  All the modern "technology" and they need to practice days before a race.  And, they also have to qualify before race day. 

On one particular trip to Trenton, and we always went there in Mr. Reeds car, after the race, he tossed me his car keys.  "You drive home", he told me.  He had a big Cadillac.  I think it was dark green.  No problem.  I always enjoyed driving.  Things were "calmer" back in the 70's.  But, there was still quite a lot of traffic on the Turnpike back then.  Then, you would leave the Turnpike and get on the Garden State Parkway.  THAT is where you hit the heavy traffic.  Seems like everybody must have spent the weekend down on the shore in southern New Jersey.  And they all were heading home at the same time too.  This particular day, I managed to get into the middle lane.  I have to guess that we were probably doing all of 60 to 65 miles per hour.  Yes, things were slower back then too.  The Parkway was then, and is now, a toll road.  But, you did not get a "ticket" when you got on and pay when you left it.  No, there were toll barriers, barriers that were spaced quite a few miles apart.  They "got you" in both directions.  So, you basically had "races" between toll barriers.  Well, as I said, I was in the middle lane.  Heading into Newark, I observed some "kids" on an overpass.  Just standing there, leaning over the railing, watching all those "nutty" people hurrying home on a Sunday afternoon.  Then something different happened.  One of the "kids" dropped a soda can from the overpass.  And, he was over the middle lane.  As soon as I noticed him dropping the can, I took my foot off of the gas pedal.  That little re-action, my getting off the gas, meant a lot.  The can hit - right in front of the Caddy.  When it bounced up off the road surface, it hit the undercarriage of our car.  Lucky?  I would have to say so.  I doubt if the can would have broken the windshield, if it had hit it, but luckily we never found out.  What would have happened if it had hit the windshield?  Remember, we were in the middle lane.  Probably could have had one hell of a pile up.  Come to think of it, that was the last time we went to Trenton with Mr. Reed.  Oh, it was fun.  We would meet, in Monroe, NY.  Drive down into New Jersey.  Stop at a Grand Union.  Help the produce manager finish setting up his department, then head to Trenton.  Oh yes, I would take that Sunday off.  Yes, by then, all the food stores were opened up on Sunday.  As I said, above, I did not consider Mr. Reed a race "fan".  He came from Middletown, NY.  Middletown is the home of the Orange County Fair Speedway.  Guess who NEVER went there?  You got it!  Bob Reed.

Well, I guess that about does it, for Part VII.  I am sitting here, wondering, what will happen before I start my next part?  I know we are going racing, this coming weekend, March 15th & 16th.  Indoor Go Kart racing, up in Syracuse, NY.  My grandson, Brett, is hoping on improving on his second place finish, back in December.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the "Open Wheel Racing" website. TVR would like to express our thanks and gratitude to John LeVan, the editor of OWR. Check out the latest open wheel racing news at www.openwheelracing.com.
-DZ

Who were your favorites? If you'd like information on how 
to contribute stories and/or photos to TVR, click here!
   

Top of Page    Back    Part I    Part II    Part III    Part IV   Part V   Part VI