I guess you might say I have always been a car guy who takes great pride in having the latest and best kept cars in the neighborhood.
I guess you might say I have always been a car guy who takes great pride in having the latest and best kept cars in the neighborhood.
I like to have cars that are popular at the time and dependable, knowing that I can jump in them at any time and make it to the race track no matter where the race is being run. For the last couple of decades or more, I have relied exclusively on what my good friend and race car sponsor, Honest Jack‘s Used Cars and Marine, sells me when I need another ride.
Honest Jack has his business with his brother, Uncle John, located in the thriving town of Stoughton, Wis. For those of you that may not be familiar with where Stoughton, I can tell you if you know where Beaver Crossing, Neb., (the home of the great Jan Opperman) is, it is nowhere near there.
Honest Jack has always provided me with cars that he saves just for me. I have been able to purchase not only a slightly damaged and cracked Gilligan rowboat but also a couple of Yugos, three Ford Pintos and even an Edsel, although, due to the harsh Wisconsin winters it had quite a bit of rust.
But as Honest Jack explained to me, the rust makes it worth so much more due to the patina when I am ready to sell it. I must admit Honest Jack has not only been a great sponsor and help to my racing career, but he has also provided me with great advice and wisdom.
So when I stopped by his shop after returning from the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, he once again amazed me with his infinite wisdom when he told me, “Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories.” After I left his place, I thought about this profound statement and decided he really is right on.
I have many memories of attending Turkey Night at many different venues, including 605 Speedway, Irwindale Speedway, on pavement at Saugus Speedway, Bakersfield Speedway, Perris Auto Speedway and at Ventura Raceway for the past five years.
These were all good events and had deserving winners, but none of the Turkey Night memories can compare to the golden days of going to the hallowed and sacred grounds of Ascot Park to watch the 100-lap Turkey Night Grand Prix every Thanksgiving night.
As a traditionalist, I think the race should be 100 green-flag laps. I certainly understand and respect having it 98 laps today as the No. 98 is closely associated with the lifetime successes of the Agaganian family. For traditionalists, there is a solution to the lap controversy. I propose that they still call it a 98-lap race, but have the scoring people not score a couple of laps and continue the race making it a 98-lap race on the scoreboard but really it was 100 laps.
Also, the race must be held at Ascot Park on Thanksgiving Day, or it will have an asterisk by it (but will still count for points and money).
I talked with Cary Agajanian and he admits he and his family are also traditionalists, but when the crowd for the Saturday night race was so large, it would be difficult to argue with a promotor about the change. Since I don‘t have a dime invested in putting on this classic midget race that only the Chili Bowl and Indianapolis 500 can rival, I guess my thoughts aren‘t that important.
I remember the first time I walked into the pit area at Ascot for Turkey Night. I made the trip with my old friend Mickey Stroud, towing one of Howard Linne‘s beautiful black Edmunds Sescos that Mickey was driving for his dad, Jack Stroud. As I crossed the track for the first time, I was looking down the track at all those beautiful white sign boards along the backstretch with names such as Parnelli Jones Firestone advertising companies and racing products. And over in turn one, I saw the large sign with the big blue word ASCOT standing tall. I remember seeing all those good-looking USAC midgets lining the inside pit walls and parking all over the quarter-mile track preparing for the biggest midget race of the year.
I get that same feeling walking or driving out of the tunnel at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the infield seeing the track every year. I can‘t even describe that feeling, but if you‘ve attended races at Ascot or Indy, I bet you know what I am talking about.
I remember seeing driers such as Billy Engelhart, Jan Opperman, Rick Goudy, Pancho Carter, Gary Bettenhausen, Mel Kenyon and Billy Vukovich running cars with small tires and no side panels. They threw those cars hard into the corners high, wide and handsome with dirt flying into the crowd on every lap. The drivers wore open-face helmets and goggles. There were no tear-offs.
During the mid-1970s, I saw Gary Patterson run one of Howard Linne‘s 2×4 cars wide open for 100 laps, with four wheels in the cushion and barely breathing the engine every lap. I saw Bubby Jones driving one of Doug Caruthers‘ cars win Turkey Night over Mike Shaw. I also saw one of the best racers, Leland McSpadden, run wide open in any car he drove. Another I enjoyed watching was Whitewater Strongman, Tom Bigelow.
When the 1980s rolled around, it was the changing of the guard at Ascot as most of my heroes were starting to retire. That decade at Ascot started out sadly when my close friend, Bobby Carey, was killed during qualifying for Turkey Night in 1980. Bobby was the son of my longtime car owner, Lee Carey. Bobby and I towed Lee‘s car to California from Woodstock, Ill., in a truck and open trailer. I helped Bobby strap into the car and wished him luck before he pushed off.
But on his first lap, he bicycled the car and hit the wall. He never regained consciousness and died two days later. It was a devastating blow to Lee and his family and me as well, but we ran the Pontiac Silverdome a couple of weeks later. It was Lee‘s way of healing. Every once in a while, racing reminds us how dangerous it is.
The biggest winner of the ‘80s and until Ascot closed in 1990 was the amazing Ron Shuman, who won six Turkey Night events at Ascot between 1979 and 1990. He won two more at Bakersfield after Ascot closed.
Shuman had a driving style we all studied and tried to copy but no one ran it like he did. He didn‘t drive it down as deep into the corner like Leland McSpadden, but he was able to get off the gas early and back on it before the rest of us. He would drive away from us exiting the corner. He performed one of the most amazing feats I ever saw winning the toughest race in the country year after year like he did.
Chuck Gurney and Brent Kaeding won at Ascot, too, with Gurney topping Turkey Night twice. Rich Vogler, Sleepy Tripp, Jeff Heywood, Sonny Nutter, Tommy Astone, Hank Butcher, Robbie Flock, Jeff Gordon, Mike Streicher, Ricky Hood, Jack Hewitt, Johnny Rutherford, Ken Schrader and Tommy White were among the great drivers one had to contend with to join A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones on the Turkey Night winners list.
All good things come to an end. There was one last shot at glory as Ascot raced for the last time on Thanksgiving Night 1990. The pressure of running this final race at Ascot started the day we heard they were shutting down. Many believed missing that show would haunt you for the rest of your life.
More than 100 cars (107 took time) showed up that night with every major team and driver present. Making the race was going to be as difficult as winning it.
I remember being very nervous as I prepared to qualify. I was driving a car owned by Randy Brem, of Houston, Texas. I thought I had a couple of good laps, but I wasn‘t sure until the last car went out that I was really in the show. I felt like I was on the bubble at Bump Day for the Indianapolis 500.
I ran all 100 laps and finished 12th. I was so proud to have been there for that last time. After the race, the party began with people tearing down any memorabilia that didn‘t move. I saw a couple of street cars come through the backstretch billboards and a fire truck show up to put out a small fire or two.
When the lights finally were going out and we all had said our farewells to this palace of speed that will never be duplicated again, I felt a sense of grief.
It was difficult to explain the feeling of knowing it was not going to happen again and as a final tribute I climbed up the backstretch scoreboard and mooned the sad crowd, saying “adios” for the final time.
I guess Honest Jack had it right once again — as I thought of this past it brought back so many memories — all of them good for a lifetime. I miss Ascot every day. I hope Turkey Night will continue to bring us memories as the years fly past.
I know the new names such as Larson, Grant, Kofoid, McIntosh, Seavey and all the new young guns will be trying to continue this tradition of getting their faces on the Aggie Trophy. Great job Cary, J.C., Chris and family. Some things never change.
For emails, phone calls, books, “Cages are for Monkeys,” memories, insults, stripeless Zebras, contact me at (815) 621-9288 or [email protected]
