I knew they would have to be fast, which they were, and both won a main event during the week. That year, as soon as I got back from Florida, I took all the pop bottle money I had and searched every sporting goods store I could find until I found a black pair of boxing shoes. I immediately threw away my chrome-painted bowling shoes that I had worn up to that point and was ready to take on the world.
What a riot it was to travel around the country and see all these great racers in action. I loved heading out on Friday morning for St. Louis to run some bullring down south, except for the trip down Route 51 (which at that time was only two lanes). Until we got to Bloomington from Rockford, where I lived, it was non-stop semis to pass and train signal arms coming down in Rochelle that kept us in line for what seemed like hours.
When I finally got to Springfield in my luxury liner Bel Air, I would get to watch guys like Dean “Whiskers” Shirley, Bob Wente, Roger Branson, Merle and Gary Bettenhausen, Duke DeRosa, who was wrenched many times by a young pair of brothers, Rusty and Keith Kunz. They also helped their brother, Chuck Kunz, before Keith took the wheel himself later in the decade.
Unfortunately, the world lost the greatest of them all back in 1971 when Bob Tattersall died. If you never got to see “Tat” run Little Springfield you really missed something great. He would use the fence every corner with his rear bumper to shoot him back down the bank and down the straightaway.
And, of course, one of the all-time great attractions was Pencil Jim, and the loud whistle blower on top directing pit traffic. And then there was promoter Joe Shaheen, who after drinking a few cocktails would get on the microphone and bad mouth the USAC officials for whatever he thought he could do better.
When I got down around St. Louis and all those great, short high-banked dirt tracks around that area, I could watch guys running their Offys and Chevy 2‘s. Guys like Joe Walters, Ronnie Taylor, Kenny Schrader, Arnie Knepper, Danny Frye Sr. and Jr., Nick Gojmeric, Gene Gennetten, Jon Backlund, “The Missouri Charger” Big Al Murie, Wes Stafford, Shannon Finley, Deputy Dog, and so many other great characters.
I got to drive a sprint car for Paul Tobias one season and had a great time driving his Stapp car and hearing his many stories. I always loved going to parties after the races at Danny Frye‘s house. George Middleton would tell race stories, and guys like Pancho and Jimmy Caruthers would hang out there and I would listen to every word they said. Before I left town, I always made my customary stop at Joe Dooling‘s race shop to have him build me a new axle for the one I crashed the night before or straighten bent parts.
Back then I ran with Chicago-based UARA. They always had some exceptional pavement drivers that we ran with at places like Blue Island, Grundy County, Illiana, and, of course, Joliet Memorial Stadium. Guys like Newt White, Tommy Steiner, Rich Vogler, Jim McClean, Dennis DeVea, Rich Corson, Bruce Field, Bobby Richards, Jim Gates, Denny Cullick, Ron Canterbury. Anyone in Bob Lockard‘s upright or Badger cars were always fast wherever they raced and won a lot of races.
When I headed east and ran with CORA or AMRA of Norm Powers, we ran up in Michigan or Indiana on both the dirt and pavement. They had exceptional racers like George Janson, Mike Fedorcak, Jack Calabrase, Danny Johnson, Jimmy Hettinger, Denny Lott, Mark Alderson, Jeff and Jerry Knuckles, Freddy Linder, and Don Vogler, just to name a few. We always had a few guys showing up out of the blue like the east coast great, Nokie Fornoro, who on occasion would show us the short way around.
I saw so many greats run at Eldora‘s 4-Crown, USAC, or WoO shows. One day Earl Baltes told me that Don Hewitt was “the bravest guy to ever walk through the gates.” I never got to watch him, but his son Jack took over in his place and was probably the best I ever saw there. I was thrilled to run second to Jack one year in the 4-Crown in Greg Wilke‘s car.
I got to watch guys like Jan Opperman, George Snider, Pancho, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Doug Wolfgang, Bubby Jones, Rick and Steve Ungar, Larry Dickson and Gary Bettenhausen (The Larry and Gary Show), Mike Mosley, Chuck Gurney, Mike Gregg, Billy Englehart, Bill Puterbaugh, and so many others. Eldora was a real man‘s track back then. There were times when it was so heavy and rough that it could rip your belly pans right off. It was usually a good race track with a couple of grooves, but the fast way was by the fence, much like Belleville, Kansas. Most cars probably did not have power steering back then so it took a strong, tough guy to win.
The ‘70s were about as good as it gets for drivers in USAC, with even the greatest of them all, AJ Foyt, running an occasional sprint or midget race, It wasn‘t uncommon to see Indy drivers still running the open-wheel divisions finishing the race in oil-stained uniforms, unlike today when after a long race their uniforms are way too clean. I watched A.J., Johnny Rutherford, the Unsers, Jim Hurtubise, Mario, Jimmy Caruthers, and a whole bunch more run the dirt and the Speedway in the same year.
The midget division was loaded for years, with guys like the Caruthers, Pancho Carter, Sleepy Tripp, Rich Vogler, Gary Bettenhausen, Bubby Jones, Billy Englehart, Mel Kenyon, Leigh Earnshaw, Kenny Weiland, Bobby Olivero, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Chris Cumberworth, Tom Bigelow, Jerry Weeks, Robin Miller, “The General” Larry Patton, Johnny Parsons Jr., Larry Rice, Tommy Astone, and so many more. I wish I could list them all! Not to mention, I haven‘t even touched Badger, Manzanita, or Ascot drivers due to space. Maybe another time.
It was a great time to be a racer, when you still had a chance to run the Speedway on your talent and rich dads weren‘t buying rides. A time when guys like Paul Leffler or Doug Caruthers would tell you where to stick your money, because they wanted talent. I am glad I got to be around these tracks and drivers. There is a huge bowl of talent out there today, but something about the dangers back then just made it so fascinating to watch. Gone is the smell of Nitro in the Offys, the hand brake on side of the car, the cockpit cover and open trailer, and those hard-driving, hard-drinking, stand-on-the gas guys behind the wheel. I guess all these guys are old men today, but they are still just as great.
So, I‘ll head back to my de-seeder and dream about the days gone by for a while longer. Maybe the good old days are still coming, but they better hurry or I may not get a weekend pass from the old racers‘ home. And, no matter what, I still hate Joe Namath for beating my beloved Baltimore Colts, but mostly for making that damn commercial. KO
For emails, phone calls, medical advice, Cages are for Monkeys books, T-shirts, de-seeding instructions, or insults, contact me at [email protected] or (815) 621-9288.
