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Topic: # 29
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May 24, 2017 at
06:26:48 PM
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03/24/2017
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On the eve of the weikert memorial, I was wondering if anyone had a favorite driver of the beefmobile,
Weld, Capt. Crunch, Davis, The man from Mifflintown, Wolfgang, The Mouse, ETC.
For me it was Weld because PA was the hotbed of new sprint car technology, second to none
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May 24, 2017 at
06:34:09 PM
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05/31/2007
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I moved to PA in 1988 and lived there during my childhood. Kenny Jacobs has just moved in to the 29, and I remember even as a kid thinking that was a potent combo.
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May 24, 2017 at
06:57:45 PM
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07/16/2008
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Easily Keith Kauffman. I remember Bob saying in victory lane at Port one night that Keith is the best driver to ever strap himself in a sprint car. I will always agree.
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May 24, 2017 at
06:58:09 PM
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Mine were Wolfgang (he was so dominate at the time with Davy Brown Sr & Jr as his crew) and Bobby Davis Jr
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May 24, 2017 at
07:52:14 PM
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I remember that about every race I attended from 84-85, if the Weikert car was there you knew who was going to win. I was a big Kauffman/ Hamilton fan in those days. A friend introduced me to Doug back in those days and he was super cool to us 20 year old kids and I've been a fan of his since then. I remember when Bob hired the mouse and I always liked Kenny. I witnessed his high flying flip out of the park at the Big E, and was glad to see he survived to race again. Kenny was a good racer and was always happy to see him in PA. I sure miss the days of car owners like Bob Weikert.
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May 24, 2017 at
08:26:49 PM
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11/30/2004
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This guy.
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May 24, 2017 at
08:28:51 PM
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Very cool picture!!!
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May 24, 2017 at
08:46:13 PM
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Great Picture of Wolfgang. He gets my vote.......I think he won right around 125 races in the 3 1/2 years he was in the car. Including the some of the Big Races.....what a racer!
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May 24, 2017 at
09:28:05 PM
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Sure looks like Davey Brown Sr. with the glasses, possibly Davey Jr. in the 29 shirt. Good stuff.
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May 24, 2017 at
11:27:45 PM
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This message was edited on
May 25, 2017 at
05:12:30 AM by fiXXXer
I'm a little too young to remember the glory days of the Weikert 29 in the 70's and 80's but my pick will probably come as a surprise to everyone. I'll always love Kauffman and I remember him winning some races in that car in the 1990's but for me, it's Judd Shepard. For those who don't know, he's Jeff's brother. When I was a kid, the 29 car was on display in the infield at Port Royal. Pretty sure it was one of the beef nights. To this day, I still say beef night was the single most awesome racetrack promotion I've ever seen. Mr. Weikert put together a hell of a night for the fans. Free hamburgers and birch beer....All you can eat. He did the same one year with roast beef sandwiches. But anyway, Judd was signing autographs beside the car and we got there way early before most people were there. I was just looking over the car and he came over and started talking to me asking me my name and where I was from and all that stuff. I know I talked to him for at least 15 minutes. He left me sit in it, showed me how the wing slider worked, explained the various gauges and all that. It was really cool for a driver to go above and beyond for a kid like that. Needless to say, he made my day and then some. Like most of Mr. Weikert's drivers, his time driving the 29 was very short but he made a lasting impression on me and I'll never forget it.
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May 25, 2017 at
01:36:09 AM
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Bob called them beef burgers , NOT hamburgers.
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May 25, 2017 at
05:14:34 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: tenter on May 25 2017 at 01:36:09 AM
Bob called them beef burgers , NOT hamburgers.
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Haha! I forgot all about that. Mr. Weikert sure was a larger than life character. Very few owners were as entertaining as he was when someone put a mic in front of his face.
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May 25, 2017 at
05:24:06 AM
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the 29, wolfgang, and the browns were without question a super team back in there run together. at the time stanton and gambler were probably on top of the chassis business. wolfie and the browns laid out there new design on a roll of heavy paper stk and the rest was history. many say that design led to the start of schnee. which i do believe is still in business today. wolfgang started his on chassis business back in south dakota, anyone running his cars ? is he still in business ? i've heard he shows up at knoxville for the nationals and that's about it.
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May 25, 2017 at
05:29:06 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: Nerf Bar on May 24 2017 at 06:26:48 PM
On the eve of the weikert memorial, I was wondering if anyone had a favorite driver of the beefmobile,
Weld, Capt. Crunch, Davis, The man from Mifflintown, Wolfgang, The Mouse, ETC.
For me it was Weld because PA was the hotbed of new sprint car technology, second to none
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Great picture saphead
There was a rough little bar a quarter mile down the road from Williams Grove. It was a little early for the friday night race so I stopped for a cold one. When I walked in Bob Weikert was sitting at the bar, so I decided to sit next to him. I started talking about his new young driver, Bobby Davis, and I told him he had a great eye for young talent. Well thats all it took, he strted buying me beers and we had a great time. Bob Weikert sure loved sprint car racing.
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May 25, 2017 at
06:20:56 AM
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06/10/2015
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Reply to:
Posted By: alum.427 on May 25 2017 at 05:24:06 AM
the 29, wolfgang, and the browns were without question a super team back in there run together. at the time stanton and gambler were probably on top of the chassis business. wolfie and the browns laid out there new design on a roll of heavy paper stk and the rest was history. many say that design led to the start of schnee. which i do believe is still in business today. wolfgang started his on chassis business back in south dakota, anyone running his cars ? is he still in business ? i've heard he shows up at knoxville for the nationals and that's about it.
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Doug retired and sold all of his chassis building and welding equipment this past Fall. During his career he laid out his own chassis design more than once. He used Bob Trostle's facility to bend and weld back in his Weikert days. For the #8d period he used Brian Schnee's shop (his brother-in-law) to build his chassis. Per a conversation with Bob Trostle once at the Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Bob said: "Doug Wolfgang's the best damn welder in the country". He earned and deserved his retirement, but from a selfish standpoint I hated to see it. Doug readily welcomed visitors to his shop, and now when I get to Sioux Falls that's one less thing to look forward to.
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May 25, 2017 at
08:24:28 AM
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11/30/2004
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I found this random photo on the net. Check out the swanky Weikert Operation in the background complete with spare car on the open trailer. I believe this could be the 1985 Kings Royal and they came loaded for bear.
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May 25, 2017 at
08:33:07 AM
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12/13/2016
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Reply to:
Posted By: Nerf Bar on May 24 2017 at 06:26:48 PM
On the eve of the weikert memorial, I was wondering if anyone had a favorite driver of the beefmobile,
Weld, Capt. Crunch, Davis, The man from Mifflintown, Wolfgang, The Mouse, ETC.
For me it was Weld because PA was the hotbed of new sprint car technology, second to none
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Hard to pick a favorite, but I'd have to go with the unknown kid from Memphis- Bobby Davis, Jr. He was as full of piss and vinegar behind the wheel as Bob was behind the mic! Whether you liked him or not, Bob was a hardworking, honest (sometimes brutally, and lively character who helped out many.
Attempting to be a voice of reason in a world full of
irrationality.
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May 25, 2017 at
08:45:58 AM
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12/04/2004
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I remember Doug showing up at the Nationals in 1984 with the 29. Rumor was he was just in the car for the time being (no internet of course, our only info was from Speed Sport). He put on quite a show, it was amazing the way he ran that car. We still didn't figure he would be in it come September, let alone the next couple three years.
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May 25, 2017 at
09:02:50 AM
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11/30/2004
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Lifetime Kauffman fan so it is the Man from Mifflintown for me. My first race at Port Royal was 1981 and Keith won by at least a straightaway in the #29. Went to the Grove in 1983 for an early season race, Bobby Davis Jr. was the driver. It rained early, we were standing in the frontstretch parking lot not long after it rained, here comes Mr. Weikert walking thorugh the parking lot. He stopped and talked to my grandfather and me for at least five minutes. He knew my grandfather from him working at Port Royal. The nicest guy in the world - have two clocks of the #29 and of Kauffman (1980 wingless & 1993 winged); 1/18 diecasts of Kauffman and Wolfgang in the #29; 1/24 diecast of Kauffman; t-shirt of Kauffman from 1994 and t-shirt of when Jacobs ran the car in 2007 (made a brief comeback for the Dream race I think); the #29 transnporter diecast of Kauffman; probably forgetting something too. He was and will always be my favorite car owner. Long live the BEEFMOBILE!! See you at Port Royal this weekend!!
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May 25, 2017 at
09:58:32 AM
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Joined:
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03/24/2017
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Reply to:
Posted By: Nerf Bar on May 24 2017 at 06:26:48 PM
On the eve of the weikert memorial, I was wondering if anyone had a favorite driver of the beefmobile,
Weld, Capt. Crunch, Davis, The man from Mifflintown, Wolfgang, The Mouse, ETC.
For me it was Weld because PA was the hotbed of new sprint car technology, second to none
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Great pictures and stories, believe it or not I still have a Paul Pitzer tee shirt and it still fits. going to wear it at Port Royal this sunday
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