Forum: Racing From The Past (go)
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don't think i can make-it. i'm a vegetarian!!!

Hello gary yea sluggo steve gastineau steve sanders and randy floyd all helped to keep things fixed that I could destroy. But all in all we sure had some goodtimes back then.

Hey, I'm still around, just been super busy. The 7th should be no problem, sounds like a lot of fun. Glad everybody's still keeping this this goin, still got a lot to talk about. Been working on the Stealth, gonna run it this year, the Eagle is intact, savin it for back-up, just in case.

Got a new axle put together for Peters. Yes he is the iron man these days! Kinda pissed off though, Sprint Car & Midget had a top 20 list for 360 sprints for 08', so Peters wins the NCRA champinship & doesn't make the top 20! Oh well, we know the truth!

Keep on doin it, see you guys soon, Jim.

Jim,

Good to hear you on here again, glad your going on the 7th, I talked to Jerry Havill today and he's going, Shane said he would be back in town so he should be there, I'm calling Joe Farley tomorrow to see if he is up to the trip, Tom Mercer should be there also. Donnie Bishop maybe able to go, Shane is going to check with Mike Laden to see if he is able to go. Old Corvette Center guys should be there, Gary Cole says he'll be there and he's checking with a couple other people also so could be good group with JD,Brian & hopefully Mike will be there also.

To All;

Other Stan ordeals, those burning drain pans of methenol were also a favorite place for Stan to throw your 100 dollar bills, there were a couple of people that Stan asked if the had a 100 and then would throw it in the fire and see how fast they would react to get it out. Stan was pretty fast at Lawton and ran there alot he had that old Winnabago and you would see it parked all over the turnpike, you could pull over to see if they needed help and there wouldn't be anybody around if you started looking and there were any ponds around chances are Stan & Tom or who ever was with him would be out there fishing a couple of time if I remember right the were shot at by Farmers and run off. At OKC on the 1/2 mile when he had the Walker car he bought from Darrell he flipped real bad going into turn 1, I was standing between turn 1 & 2 watching when I saw Stan up in the air man he had some altitude, still don't know to this day what started it but he kinda came off the outside edge of the 1/4 mile flipping it hit real hard a couple of times coming to rest on all 4's, I was the first one there and he was knocked dingy and moaning, I finally was able to pull him out and get him on the left rear tire I believe he might have been a little nut-sacked on the croutch strap and couldn't breath well. When he had Estes old Rich car and ran it as a modified he was always tough with those big ole Fords, at the time I was a corner worker and I hated it when he raced because Jack would always make me go right out to the edge of the infield so Stan wouldn't run in it, because Stan had an issue with running afew tires deep in it, I know more then once he used me for a pick!! When he first started driving he had Larry Wilson's old car which was a good piece, he would go out to the track and practice until somebody came by and ran him off, I've pulled up out there and he would be making hard laps wearing no helmet or firesuit. We went to '81 SPDY one time to run a weekly show, we made the A, started 15th-16th for some reason there wasn't alot of cars got up to 6th and on the last lap something broke and he went off the end of turn 1, well there weren't 8 cars that finished so we went up to get paid and they didn't have us scored, well come to find out you had to get the checkered flag to get paid, well Stan was pissed he did some hollering and screaming at C. Ray but all we were paid was heat money, on the way home I drove and just as we crossed into OK the lights went out on that Winnabago man it was dark I was up on that wheel hollering and he was laughing, he hit the dash and poff the lights came back on, that's when he tells me sometimes they do that so just beat on the dash. In '84 we went over to Tulsa to run a NCRA race, Shane was gone so I just went with Stan, we drew good and won our heat and started 3rd, on the start the front row cars got together in turn 1 and Stan was able to get by on the inside and get the lead, he led for a few laps and then fell back to 3rd for a few laps, finally a couple more passed and we fell back to 5th but then a couple ahead of us had problems so we moved back to 3rd about 1/2 through, Stan was running right on the bottom and the top seemed to be getting faster cars were passing us on the outside but I wasn't where I could signal him to move up but I figured he would get the picture as fast as he was getting passed but he didn't, I really don't know what happened to a couple more of those guys that were ahead of us but they pulled off and we moved back up to 5th with about 10 laps to go, I think Donnie was leading and he lost his brakes or something broke and those lead car all kinda of jammed together but in that scramble Stan was able to close right up on them, also by then it was pretty far around the top in turn 2 and in a couple of laps he was able to get back by a couple more cars to be in 3rd with about 5 to go, well know I'm thinking we've got a shot at this and sure- nuff he passed for the lead on the bottom off turn 4 on the 48th lap and won, it was Stan's 1st NCRA win most people couldn't believe it falling back as far as 7th at 1/2 way then coming back to win, that's what I mean about Stan he never gave up he always gave a 110% this win rates as 1 of my all time favorite NCRA wins!!

David, Been away from the puter a day or so, but sounds as if the 7th is good for all.

I talked to Jeff Leep today and he and his brother and Alice will attend from what he told me, got lots of pics from way back, See if I can see Jerry Hailey this week, also will call Glen Hunter and see if he wants to go. I think Joe Wood Sr. is going to make it to this get together.

Feb.7th @ 6:30 to 7:00 at Round Up Pizza on S.E. 29th between Sunnylane and Sooner Rd. in Midwest City , I will go by there this week or next and see if they can reserve a table or two in the back for us on the 7th.

Sounds like attendance will be up for this get together, hell I can't wait.

JD,

Talked to Bobby Kraft and he is go also, I'll try little Joe again tomorrow, I need to call Butch Roberts about some mower parts see if he can come.If everybody shows might have 20-25 people, that would be neat!!!

Hey David, save a spot for me and my dad. After being snowed in that past couple of days I put a couple of photo albums together. Looking forward to it!

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

It sounds like by next winter your will need a full blown banquet room. With a couple hundred people attending. I think it is great. Maybe during the summer months it could be held before the races like tailgating at a football game. Dig up the picnic tables.

Posted from Bowling Green, MO

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Maybe bring a pen and pad and all who attends sign in on the sheet if they choose to.

Sure would be something if we doubled the folks of the last get together.

Went by and got the room in the back at Round Up Pizza reserved for us on Feb. 7th, reserved about 4 tables , but I bet we will have the whole room and at no cost , just like us to spend money on the Buffet which is $6 including your drink and that is our rent money for them , got it reserved for 6:30 and I told him we might be there until they close and he had no problem with that. Talked to Glen Hunter and Bob Cleere and Bob Nelson and they are going to try and make it as well as Charley Ford.

David give me a ring when you get a chance, need to ask you something.

Sure looking foward to this , should be a good time and bring your pics and looking foward to asking some questions to those that show up that run in the 70's and 80's, just ought to be a flat out good time.

Too All,

When we went to Dallas for the Winter Nationals in '84 things were pretty heated, Nance, Carbone, Offixco, Hillenburg, Ewell, Sewell and a few other's were all gunning for us. We showed up and Phil was on us about that wing valve, he made us take the handle off even though it wasn't hooked up to anything but the cylinder. We did terrible in the heat Shane was also driving Thrope's Rio Air Sprinter and was having some minor issues there, we lined up 8th on the start of the A-FEA. The track was slick but wide you could race pretty well all over it all of the Nance cars were in front of us, before the start the old man told Shorty in paid $500.00 extra to win, well that was better then putting fuel in it, as money was a good motovator for Shorty. On the start he went to the front pretty fast Heckel was leading Ewell 2nd & Sewell 3rd when Shorty moved into 4th, on about the 10th-12th lap I noticed something wrong with the wing, as Shorty went down the straights the wing was moving back and standing up pretty good and going into the corners it would slide back forward about 1/2 way, on a yellow he kept pointing up at the wing, on the restart going into 3 Shorty went in right on Sewell's RR there was a LITTLE contact and Sewell went spinning on the next lap coming off turn 4 Shorty drove by Ewell & Heckel on the outside and just went on, there were a couple more yellows and everytime Shorty would be looking up at the wing but there wasn't anything I could do but it was ovious that the wing was moving alot!! When Shorty won he didn't stop on the front stretch he pulled in to our pit and jumped out and ran to Thrope's car to get pushed out for the sprint car A-FEA. he had no sooner got out when I looked down the pit road and here came a shit storm!! Man there was a bunch of pissed off people that wanted us DQ'd I remember Jeckel very vividly calling me everything in the book Sewell and his guys were pissing and moaning and I was prepared for the brawel, Sandy had went with Shorty to get him ready in Thrope's car so that left me and the old man at the car, the old man told me as the herd was running up step out and meet them I'll keep them off your back which I did there was alittle shoving but no punches were thrown, about this time Big Phil came up man we were all a hollering at each other, Phil had me start the car and move the wing valve which didn't have a handle on it but the wing didn't move and that satisfied Phil but not anybody else,Thrope had showed up about this time and then some more hollering started and he challenged all those guys on but didn't get any takers. Now Jeckel was right that wing did move on this day but the reason being a fitting broke and let the fluid out, when we put the wing on the old man had built a valve to bled and pressure up the system, that's how it worked, when you opened the valve you could push the wing forward or back and close the valve and the wing would stay where you had it but when the fitting broke it would not hold!!! Well that's the way '84 ended for Suchy racing we had finished very strong but alot more was to come in '85 & '86 some of it bad(old man getting sick) but the racing was nothing short of AWESOME!!!!!

Well bushwacker, looks like you're busy. So, if you don't mind, this "okie" is going to continue. I'll be sure to check into that cell phone thing. You might want to go see if you can get that bug in your A#$ removed by a specialist.

Gary, it's really cool that you've come on board here.

David, really enjoy those stories from the frontlines during those days.

The history belongs to all of us, and these cars are too special to let die or be fragmented. What we see here is a movement, even simple things such as "planning a party at the Pizza Hut", help make that movement go forward. This is our own unique slice of the worldwide automotive movement going back to traditional ways.

KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, ARKANSAS, MISSOURI, NEW MEXICO,LOUSIANA and who knows where else.

Oh, I'll be at the Pizza Roundup too. Looking forward to it! I'm more of a lurker in that room, the real experience is to see all these individuals talk about what they know. You hear things that won't be put on any forum board for a number of reasons. Those unwritten stories we all love.

Bring pictures guys, you just never know who's day it will make! More than once, at different events I have seen grown men nearly cry over getting to see a picture of a car or someone that they knew in those days. Those bridges we thought were burned long ago still remain to a degree, they wait on us when we're interested. Just because you can't go back in time doesn't mean you can't stand on the bridge and get a view, it's there.

Anyone have one of these?

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

Wish I had one of those along with the memory to go with it. That's cool

I can't help but wonder what the punch line was.

I have yet to hear one bad thing about this driver. Chances are if you knew him, ya liked him.

The great D E Suggs

Another favorite in all corners I've talked to.

Brain is that a shot from Mike M. at Lawton, I think they have nearly the same shot in a Lawton Speedway program I have of Ken H. kneeling.

Ken use to come down to Lawton and do very well on Sat. nights in the late 70's with the 6 Cyls.

Both Ken and D.E. very smooth and always consistently ran up front.

Looking foward to this Sat.