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Topic: OFIXCO- a tribute
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November 09, 2011 at
09:53:36 AM
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I'm a bit off more than usual these days, not really sure on this one
OFIXCO
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November 09, 2011 at
01:16:57 PM
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Thumbs up!!!
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November 09, 2011 at
08:27:54 PM
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Brian,
Great video. Thanks for pulling together this history.
Dan
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November 09, 2011 at
09:01:19 PM
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Good stuff, as usual, Brian!
John Stewart
Retro Racing Custom Model Cars
405.922.6163
[email protected]
Oklahoma City, OK
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Retro-
Racing-Custom-Model-Cars/235624429834292#!/pages/Retro-
Racing-Custom-Model-Cars/23562442983429
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November 09, 2011 at
10:36:03 PM
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Did they ever make it to the Indy 500??
Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes
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November 10, 2011 at
01:45:28 AM
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This message was edited on
November 10, 2011 at
01:47:52 AM by racee14
Reply to:
Posted By: Racing From The Past on November 09 2011 at 10:36:03 PM
Did they ever make it to the Indy 500??
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Great tribute to the Ofixco racing teams. I could find no proof that they ever started a Indy 500.
Ron Shuman raced for Gary Stanton at Indy in 1980, but didn't make the field.
The Ofixco racing teams did however win races in the NCRA, CRA, WOO, and the USAC
Sprint and Dirt Car divisions. Some of the most prestigious wins included several for Jerry Stone
in the NCRA series, as well as wins for Ron Shuman at the Pacific Coast Open at Ascot Park and
the Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute, in non wing sprint cars. And after many great efforts,
a win at Eldora in 1982 in the USAC Dirt Cars
Ray C
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November 10, 2011 at
08:34:09 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: racee14 on November 10 2011 at 01:45:28 AM
Great tribute to the Ofixco racing teams. I could find no proof that they ever started a Indy 500.
Ron Shuman raced for Gary Stanton at Indy in 1980, but didn't make the field.
The Ofixco racing teams did however win races in the NCRA, CRA, WOO, and the USAC
Sprint and Dirt Car divisions. Some of the most prestigious wins included several for Jerry Stone
in the NCRA series, as well as wins for Ron Shuman at the Pacific Coast Open at Ascot Park and
the Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute, in non wing sprint cars. And after many great efforts,
a win at Eldora in 1982 in the USAC Dirt Cars
Ray C
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Ofixco, Oklahoma Fixture Company, was a long time Tulsa business until MR. Stephens retired and turned it over to new owners. The new owners were only in business a few years until they went bankrupt. Somebody tried to start the Comany back up under a new name but they went out of business also.
Ray
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November 10, 2011 at
09:27:01 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: Racing From The Past on November 09 2011 at 10:36:03 PM
Did they ever make it to the Indy 500??
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No. They were aiming for the Indy 500 when there was a mutiny inside the company.
The reason the company fell, from what I get is this-
Lloyd built the company, owned it and ran it with excellent staffing. Lloyd had a passion for racing, but I think mostly the kind of people that strove to be on top and be good ambassadors for the sport at the same time. The company fed the passion to have race teams, the race team fed the drive to push the company further.
As Lloyd sold shares and made others partners in the company- he assumed the comkpany would just keep going like it had been. But the partners became more powerful as the bought more stock until they had more shares as a group than Lloyd.
There had been, or had become a distaste for the racing teams within this new group and some genius had decided the racing teams were holding the company back, and saw Lloyd as the main key to getting rid of these profit sapping race cars, and employees thereof.
Lloyd was informed his race teams had to leave the grounds and were no longer to be funded by the company. They knew Lloyd would leave too, but that was a chance they were willing to take.
So Lloyd regretfully disbanded the teams and left the company he'd built, and wouldn't you know it---the vision and the drive that kept OFIXCO climbing, had left as well.
The key was "Lloyd" , and the way he ran things. Without him, the company could not survive. I understand he just simply stepped away after a few court battles, and watched it fall.
Thus there was no OFIXCO sponsored March/Cosworth team to run in the 1987 Indy 500, or any further 500. That may not have been too bad a thing since the 1987 March chassis sucked anyway! LOL. It took a 1986 March to win the '87 500, after Mario broke late in the race.
But you know what? Lloyd might been frugal and aquired a 1986 March chassis instead, and possibly had an excellent finish his first year there as an owner. Who knows?
That is the best my memory and understanding can retain right now, and it is based on listening to a high level driver from OFIXCO. I trust this mans memory more than I do mine, I most likely have gotten a few things wrong, but that is what I picked up.
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November 10, 2011 at
10:50:53 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: brian26 on November 10 2011 at 09:27:01 AM
No. They were aiming for the Indy 500 when there was a mutiny inside the company.
The reason the company fell, from what I get is this-
Lloyd built the company, owned it and ran it with excellent staffing. Lloyd had a passion for racing, but I think mostly the kind of people that strove to be on top and be good ambassadors for the sport at the same time. The company fed the passion to have race teams, the race team fed the drive to push the company further.
As Lloyd sold shares and made others partners in the company- he assumed the comkpany would just keep going like it had been. But the partners became more powerful as the bought more stock until they had more shares as a group than Lloyd.
There had been, or had become a distaste for the racing teams within this new group and some genius had decided the racing teams were holding the company back, and saw Lloyd as the main key to getting rid of these profit sapping race cars, and employees thereof.
Lloyd was informed his race teams had to leave the grounds and were no longer to be funded by the company. They knew Lloyd would leave too, but that was a chance they were willing to take.
So Lloyd regretfully disbanded the teams and left the company he'd built, and wouldn't you know it---the vision and the drive that kept OFIXCO climbing, had left as well.
The key was "Lloyd" , and the way he ran things. Without him, the company could not survive. I understand he just simply stepped away after a few court battles, and watched it fall.
Thus there was no OFIXCO sponsored March/Cosworth team to run in the 1987 Indy 500, or any further 500. That may not have been too bad a thing since the 1987 March chassis sucked anyway! LOL. It took a 1986 March to win the '87 500, after Mario broke late in the race.
But you know what? Lloyd might been frugal and aquired a 1986 March chassis instead, and possibly had an excellent finish his first year there as an owner. Who knows?
That is the best my memory and understanding can retain right now, and it is based on listening to a high level driver from OFIXCO. I trust this mans memory more than I do mine, I most likely have gotten a few things wrong, but that is what I picked up.
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Brian that is the best explanation that I have heard about what happened to OFIXCO. It seems like the new owners were not in charge very long before they had to close but that is so long ago the it might have been longer. My memory is not what it used to be. Every time I go down 15th Street and see their old building, I think about all that Mr Stephens put into racing.
Ray
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November 10, 2011 at
11:54:12 AM
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Brian,
I looked through several books on Indy Car racing and found nothing. I'm glad you cleared this up,
and also what happended to the great Ofixco Racing Team.
Ray C
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