Forum: Racing From The Past (go)
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the Kansas Oklahoma area?

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Kansas, Danny King, been at it since 70's

Oklahoma , Clinton Herring from Lawton been at it since 70's

My 2 guesses

J.D. your the one that mad me think about this question. I don't really now. Danny King has been at it since the early 70's for sure and possibly late 60's???

J.D. you could be in the top 20? Earnest Jennings but I think maybe he has retired in the last year of so???

I wonder who Jeff Forshee son is driving for? Could it be a Forshee probably not. How about Jim Selenke #43 from Wichita. Jon Johnson although I don't think he has raced this year or last???

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Earnest Jennings is still racing , most likely will be at the masters classic this year he runs a few times each year. will be 80 in October

Warren, Guess I was just going on owner only , not owner/driver, father/son deals, I was just thinking of the strictly owner and find/hire a driver. If it is owner/driver, Earnest J. is the one in Okla. then and yep he still wheels it around the race track at some Champ Sprint shows.

A guy about 2 weeks ago was telling me when we were talking about Don Strawn passing away earlier this year , he said not many of you left that just own the car and not drive it yourself or let your kid drive it. Had not really thought of it but guess that is the case.

J.D.

danny king got started in the mid 70's, hooked up with arnold horner and ray charles.later in 1979 he hooked upwith charlie ochs, with driver dave frusher

Clinton Herring has been at it since the early 50's!

I thought he just sponsored cars in 60's and did not become a car owner till early 70's??, I thought I remember Pete Cherry who use to work for him as a mechanic at his Ford dealership when it was on 2nd St. in Lawton told me that one time, but Pete may have been wrong??.

May have a good point there.

He was telling me about going to OkC with Gilbert Hutson in the early 50's.

As far as I have ever been told or remember Gilbert owned his own cars, maybe Mike M. can shed some light on the subject??.

Clinton has been a car owner as far as I know since 1946. He owned midgets which he took to Taft Stadium in OKC and also ran at The Duncan "Y" , Whichita Falls, Texas and also here at the old Lawton Rangers Rodeo Grounds which was known as The midget Bowl and The LO Ranch. Clinton also owned the old coupes when the midgets faded away. He had Kenneth Neely, Garland Newsom, JL Nash.and started Wayne Cox's career in 1958. Clinton also had Merle Bettenhausen drive for him when Merle was stationed here at Ft. Sill in 1966 after he bought Wayne Cox's modified he drove in OKC during 1965. Gilbert Hutson also drove for Clinton at the Duncan "Y" in 1950. Gilbert also drove for him in 1967 which was the same old Wayne Cox car. Gilbert also drove for Clinton in 1968-1969. Clinton almost always had Ford engines in his race cars, except when JL Nash won the 1972 Lawton Championship, which was a Chevrolet. Some of the other driver that have drove for Clinton were: AJ Little, Johnny Suggs, Shady McWhorter, Max Albright, Don Hill and Ken Sweet. Gilbert Hutson teamed with Morse Pierson in 1957, hence forth, Gilbert's number (57). Gilbert also drove for Walt Tyner's #6 in 1965 after he almost got killed while driving his and Pierson's #57 modified here in Lawton. Gilbert also drove for my good friend Donnie Tyner (Walt's Son) in 1964. I could go on and on but I don't want to bore you guys.

Mike

man thats quite a history and good memory on your part. that guy liked to race.. here in kansas duke westerhouse who passed away a few years ago but owned midget cars till his end. duke got aquainted with chet wilson in the early 1940'sright after chet had moved to wichita from lincoln, accoding to chets wife they were driving on 2 n/d st.in wichita and off theside of the road was duke and one of his racecars, that started a life longfriendship and racin buddies .///////therewasn't much action for the two untill after ww2,thenthey got real active...

I knew Mike could shed light on it and it's shining brightly , thanks for the info , some other drivers in recent history that I can remember who have drove for Clinton was Robert Sellers and Koby Barksdale who currently runs for him and some others who ran his car once or so for him.

Mike I was not aware Kenneth Neely raced his car, I thought he only wrenched on it, my dad knew Kenneth I guess after he drove for him, cause when dad knew him through automotive industry he was wrenching and working on the car for Clinton during the week from what dad told me and this was back in the early 70's which was during the JL/AJ Singing 5 days.

Ya know I always kind of wondered why Clinton did not try and get Jerry Bruner to run for him back in the 90's , Clinton struggled then with cars etc. and Clinton usually went out and got a good shoe that was pretty much local,but Jerry may have wanted to do his own deal and was quite successful with his own deal back then.

I almost forgot, Clinton's first drivers were in fact Kenneth Neely and believe it or not Bill Bruner Jerry's Uncle and Junior's Brother! That was 1950. Clinton also drove for himself too. My good friend the late Richard Radke (aka) "Cannonball" or "CB" pitted for Clinton when Gilbert Hutson drove for him. CB always told me the way Clinton thought it was either his way or no way. Anyway you look at it Clinton is a survivor. I always love talking about probably my all time favorite driver Gilbert Hutson. Jerry Douglas gave me a photo of Gilbert driving Clinton's ole #99 coupe and Lloyd Ruby driving Jerry's Dad's coupe at the old Duncan "Y". At one of our Racers Reunions in Wichita Falls I took a photo of both Lloyd and Gilbert together shaking hands. Somebody poked me in the back and whispered to me that I just took a hell of a photo, I said "I know!" Speaking of the Duncan "Y" you still can see the banks on both ends of the track still today when you go by where it used to sit.

Mike

Gilbert was quite a showman, not unusual for him to pick up the trophy girl after he had won a trophy dash and try and carry her off, Richard Gillam and Ken Sweet were known for that too.

Remember Gilbert with the trademark Cigar back in the 70's and the driving hat he wore in the pit area more towards the end of his driving career, cannot think of the name they call them??.

Clinton is still that way from what I have heard on his way or no way, still does some ol school stuff from what I understand from drivers who have driven for him in the past 10 yrs. or so. But like you said Mike he is a survivor and still at it.

Mike , I have seen that banking on both ends of that track at the Duncan Y or just 100 yds. north of the Y on the east side of 81, I have seen an aerial shot of it as well and you can still see the tracks circular path and almost looks as if a straightaway runs in the what is now Hwy. 81 , my dad went out there a couple of times from what he told me , seen some Midget races there. But really went more to the LO Ranch arena/track, was when he seen Garland Newsom get a 2x4 stuck in him from a crash, that had to be something to see, then on to the Lawton Speedway.

That OCRS show at Lawton Sat. should be a good show Mike , expecting 30 + Champ Sprints.

For a short while Clinton ran a chevy when he returned with a 4-bar Walker in 1987. He told me he would be changing it to Ford when he got the chance. He did soon from what I could tell.

I think he has ran Chevy and Ford both off and on since them as expense of building a Ford motor was quite great, I know he blew up a Ford ASCS Injected motor that was a nice piece about 3 or so yrs. ago when Sellers drove for him , he also ran a Ford in his 2 Bar. as well, heard it was a screamer on the top end but had no mid range horsepower and it really made it tough when you were trying to manuever in traffic.

I always wanted to try a Ford, A machine shop in OKC I use to deal with always said they would outrun Chevy's but 2 things always kept me building Chevy's was Cost to build a Ford V8 Race Motor and also making it live for a while. 2 things of which I seen several who built Ford Race Motors locally in OKC had issues with keeping them from blowing up.

Roush/Yates of Nascar fame has a really nice ASCS Injected Sprint Car Motor out now for around $40 G's and I have seen one of them run at Wichita,Ks. last fall at 81 Speedway and it was Rocket Ship fast and I bet it will live a good while as Roush/Yates I am sure have done their homework on the R & D and got a nice motor for a Sprint Car.