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Aaron Madden's car. Opening night, 1976 at Tulsa.

Another picture of Aaron's car and the fence he went through and Roy Bryant's car.

-Ray

Ray,

Yes, this is the old Hill&Kearney #10 it was a Nance 4-bar it was a good car especially on the high speed places. It had 4 differant length torsion bars 28 in LF,29 in RF.30 in LR & 32 in RR. It was orginally driven by Dee Zellner then Roy Bryant drove it and then MP, we won a few races with this car at OKC and Tulsa some were controversial but we had a great time racing it. We kept it at B&T for a while then finally the Old Man let me bring it down to the shop to keep it there, I was pestering him pretty bad by that time, everytime we needed something engine wise I was banging on the door. We had a motor that Bub had built and MP hated that thing said it had no power, Hill had Boyd build a motor and it was a rocket but didn't run but about 20 laps and would break. MP was hammering on me pretty bad so I had the Old Man mix up some fuel and we put it in Bubs motor and that thing was fast for 7 hot laps and melted the pistons, I've posted a story about that night in here before. I went home and took it apart and The Old Man helped us out with some parts so we could race again. This car and the Och #1 were our first cars that we had the Offixco/Carbone Wars with. We converted this car to a USAC car and it was Larry&Bubs first Champ car, we ran it a few times and really other then our WG/FNJ trip we did pretty good, later it was painted Blue like the Gambler #86 Hill&Kearney Special and I believe Schrader and Ricky Jennings drove it.

The race I wanted to run it in the most was Hutch in '81 we took it as a back-up to Och's #1 and it was almost a half second faster but we didn't think it would make 50 laps so we ran the Och #1 and of course MP won, just a few weeks later MP would be hurt bad in Mussato's car at Knoxville and would be done for the year. One of my high lights after that was JP drove it at a State Fair Race and almost won off the back. We played around with the Old Mans Rich Coil Over Car for the rest of the year finally converting it to a 4-bar Paul Ott and John Ewell did the driving, Ott almost won the 50 lap Fall Nationals at Lawton but ran off the end of turn 1 on a restart with 7 laps to go. Finally sold that Rich Car to Fred Tucker.

Ray,

I remember this night, this crash really messed up Billy he had head problems after this crash for a while. DJ all I can say is GOD was looking out after him because he should have been dead, I know it messed him up bad and he had problems for a long while afterwards. The pics in here of Aaron's crash were also devastating he should have been killed here also, you know shows you how tough the drivers were back then, he had his leg all torn up in '63 with the driveshaft deal, then survived know telling how many knocks along the way to the Hutch Fire. I remember in '75 I was standing in turn 1 at OKC and it was like the 2nd or 3rd night back out for him and he crashed in turn 1 backing it into the fence and immeditely there was a fire, scared the living hell out of me so I ran up to the car cause he wasn't getting out and calm as could be he tells me to undo his belts cause he can't work the latch!! Call it what you want but back then our driver's were FEARLESS.

David in 1975 at Tulsa Bill Chilton would pit next to us. Did you come to Tulsa anytime with him? They towed the race car with a van and I remember getting to it a few times that summer when it was real hot. They would leave it funning with the AC on and it sure felt good. Did Norman take car of the Hill and Kearney #10 car for a little while in 1979? I remember seeing him tow it with his blue Ford van, the trailer had a real long tung. I had quit helping in 1979,I changed Jobs, we had our first son and I was upset with Norman over how he had split with Mike.

Ray

I think I was 13 and George was driving Paul Cunningham's #8 car. Couldn't get in the pits back then till you were 16 and even then had to get a notorized release, so we had to wait in line at the pit gate and watch the last few laps of the main from there so we could be the first in the pits after the race was over.

Tony

TA,

Hope you had a good Christmas!! I remember George driving the #8 he was one of my favorites at OKC. Brian has posted some video of races at OKC that Shorty gave him, in one of the last ones he posted it shows Terry Doss in Nalion's #73 hot laping with George in pursuit. I always liked it because they ran that Ford. That car was fast on the dry slick and George was smooth at OKC, I always liked the battles he and Holman and Benny had, it was great racing back then. The Old Man had ran a Ford with Bobby Reynolds and they were pretty competitive but after awhile you just couldn't get more out of a 289, so Pat went to the chevy's. That last Ford engine is in an old jeep that The Old Man and I used to take hunting in Colorado, it still runs on my uncles farm to this day. Some where I have some pic's of Nailon and Evard Humphery with Pat in Colorado hunting. Pat liked George alot and he had alot of fun racing with him and throw in John McDade and that was an onarey crew.

Bkcr,

Billy had a parts store and machine shop on south Agnew right up the street from Brothertons Garage, when Jarvis and I raced together Billy machined some parts for us. Billy really started going pretty good at OKC & Tulsa in '74 & '75 but when he flipped it shook his head pretty bad. As much as I loved racing at that big track it finally wore me down, it was just before it's time with the cars we were running at the time, I don't mind telling you I feared for MP everytime we raced there because he didn't know what running the bottom was about, I always knew he would be running the cushion or above it. I just finally saw to many people lose there life or get hurt bad, when Court got hurt it bothered me alot I really liked him alot and we are friends to this day. I would love to race there today with the modern safety equipment we have know, it would still be dangerous but who said racing was safe.

David you are right about about the big Tulsa track it was hard on equipment and harder on drivers. I remember one of the top Kansas drivers, he won a NCRA championship when he came to Tulsa he hated it, he ran below the pole when he could and all he could talk about was that concrete wall on the outside of the track. I remember one night talking to Bill Chilton after he ran second to Mike, he knew that he was beat when Mike was outside him and he looked over and the right front wheel was about a foot in the air. Did Bill have a guy named Mike helping with his car? he was a big man with dark hair and moustache. In 1975 Mike and Hershell Thompson were really battling for the modified championship at Tulsa. Mike won it but Hershell really made us run as hard as we could each week, what I am getting to is that after David Moore stopped driving the #17 car Norman could have picked just about anybody that he wanted to drive the 17. He told James Warren that he could finish the season at Tulsa in it. Well guess who came up to Norman the next week and said that he would like to give it a try, Don Engel. I saw Don and Norman talking and he told me later that Don said that he would like to drive the 17. Norman was a man of his word and let James drive but he aways talked about what he thought that Don could do with a Ford engine.

You were talking about the rivalry between Mike and Jerry Stone, it went back to the early 70's when they were both getting started. In 1973 they both drove Jerry Wilson's #25, neither one of them did great in that car but Mike did better than Jerry and finished in the top ten at 81, that added fuel to the feud and it just got worse.

Ray

From the Shane Carson collection, Harold Leep Sr. accepts a trophy from this fine young lady, 1969(?)

Ya that be it. I talked to David Johnson the owners son,,he seen the pic on here to. He was there and remembers it well.We are lucky we didnt kill more drivers than we did back then.

Ok area was smart to have the lower Cubic inch rules and wieght rules they had. It kept the cars competetive and safer.. The open Motor cars up around Kc area were worse were my Dad Jack Belk was kiled they were alot faster and lighter and you payed a higher price when you crashed.They hurt alot of drivers from the mid to late 60s on up there. But as the cars got faster in the OK area in the Mid 70s things got more chancy for the drivers also.

Alot of Drivers died from about 65 to 76 all over the country with the increase of speed in all the classes of open wheel ,the best change was when they added the wing it made it like a absorber of the inpact when you did roll. I remember the tracks fighting on letting the wings on or off the cars.The first Knoxville Nationals was won by a winged super Mod driven by Roy Robbins in 1961 and they made them take off the wings in the next years.

And the no wing rule stayed at most places untill the mid 70s.If i remember right Kenny Gritzes I think he was the Arkansas traveler[One of the Greats one to Die in this sport] was forced to remove his wing and died in a crash the next race.That was around 1976 if i remember right.

Also i think the softer Tires have helped to absorbe shock in the cars also. Plus the new safety equipment today is pricless

You made one coment about the drivers being more fealess back then. I will say one thing about my Dad Jack Belk when it came to a Race Car he had NO FEAR,,,,you could not drive a car like he did if you had any fear in your mind, Tim Belk

Win as if you are use to it.And lose as if you enjoyed 
it for a change.Its hard to get to the top and alot 
harder to stay there.

I received the Jack Zink book fro a Christmas present. The part about the Indy program was very interesting. I was very disappointed on the section about the part about the supermodified program. It was very short and not very accurate. it says that the roadster that was built ran several years, the only whole season that it ran was 1969. He does not mention Jackie Howerton. I felt that this part was just an after thought and not very important to the author.

Ray

I look at it this way at least he said something about Supermods.He probably didint know enough to say much more,,that is probably why he didnt say more.They can only write in a book what they think is true.or arcurate.I have found that out trying to get accurate info on my book.

Win as if you are use to it.And lose as if you enjoyed 
it for a change.Its hard to get to the top and alot 
harder to stay there.

Accuracy on this type of subject is hard to pinpoint well enough to rest easy with, that's for sure.

Hello. I am Larry Torson from Dodge City, Kansas. I have several stories to submit to this site. Please watch for them...thanks, Larry

Welcome Larry!

You know, sometimes it feels like we're all just hangin' out at a shop somewhere. .....cyberspace speaking of course, since I have no idea as to what many of you guys look like! might be a good thing, LOL

One of the legends of Kansas racing. Thanks for joining in.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

The Nance car# 88 that the Johnson's owned that Jack Belk drove in 1970 and 71 was not the car that Doug Johnson destroyed a few years later in 74 or 75 in a Tulsa crash.. That was a Sprint Car built in OK that Doug Johnson and Chick Shaddox overseen the building of.

The car that Jack Belk drove for the Johnson was sold to someone in Ok in 1973 and there are pictures of Odell Anderson driving it in 74 or 75 ,Odeal owned the car and bought it from the people the Johnsons sold it to..Just wanted to clear up the fact that it was not the same car ,,,,and that it was sold to someone in Ok in 1973.

What are the rumors about this car,and what do you think you guess you know about what happened to this car.The where abouts of this car is unknown to the Johnsons who owned it in 70 71 .Sence Odeal has pasted on maybe someone in his famly or someone close to him might be able to help in finding what happened to it.. Tim

Win as if you are use to it.And lose as if you enjoyed 
it for a change.Its hard to get to the top and alot 
harder to stay there.

Odell still had a bunch of his old cars a few years ago. i dont know what his family has done with all of that stuff since he passed.

"its useless to put on the brakes when you are upside 
down"   -Paul Newman

Something else i heard is the night Doug Johnson had this crash was the first night that the Jaws of life was at the race track..I have heard this from a couple of places.. They said that is way the cage is completly cut off the car.. Just wondering if any body else has heard that or not Tim

Win as if you are use to it.And lose as if you enjoyed 
it for a change.Its hard to get to the top and alot 
harder to stay there.

Yes, Vern did build me a parallel front car in the winter of 79-80. Nance thought it was a very bad idea at the time. I started thinking the same way after he charged me $2100 extra for R&D and instalation. It wouldn't have been so bad but the front axel had less then 3 inches total travel. We cut it off, moved the bars out and corrected it. It worked extremely well, especially on a rough or dry, slick track. Bushwacker, I'm sure that you saw the car run numerous times. It was black with gold hi-lites with a number 1 on the tail. The #1 was the result of Frusher winning the championship the year before. I was going to stop here but thought I would add a little proof to the pudding. The first race out for that car was the fifty lapper at Dallas. All the new iron was there, including a few Nance cars. About halfway though the feature Dave was out front and putting cars a lap down. Vern came walking over to where I was standing and said "Larry, you don't have a Nance decal on that car anywhere." I answered him saying "Vern, I'm sure everyone here can tell by looking at it that it is a Nance car but you never cut me a dime's worth of slack on the price." Vern gave me that big old grim of his and said "I can't argue that point." Well to make a long story short Dave lapped the field up to second place(check Lanneys run-downs). I've read this over and it sounds as if I'm putting Vern down but I'm not. I met Vern 51 years ago and I've always thought the highest of him. I've got to say that I've really enjoyed reading these pages!