Forum: Racing From The Past (go)
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So I haven't been able to put down my High Plains Thunder book. Each page brings memories and questions. One that is bugging me is about Harold Leep. I arrived in Tulsa in 1969 middle of the race season. According to the book, Harold Leep took the 1969 title at Tulsa. I don't remember much about that first season as I was just getting my feet wet in racing. Now in my mind Leep was a larger than life racer that ran Tulsa when they had the big Memorial Day races and that type thing. I sure don't remember him as a Tulsa dominant racer. Those guys were Hahn, Howerton, Cagle and Crawford among others. So did Leep race tracks other than Tulsa after 1969 or is my memory just that faulty?........ And I was stunned to see that Junior Taft lost his life at the Speedway in 1981. I was long gone in the army by then but I do remember him being among the first to run at Tulsa in those "strange" sprint cars. I used to love watching him race. May he be at peace.

Harold Leep!! THE MAN This is a guy who could take a fifth place car & win with it most nights. Hard on the gas! Broke the leg in OKC in June of 70' & won the OKC title in 71'

Yeah he raced a little bit; won 3 NCRA titles in the 70's & I am pretty sure won 4 OKC titles in the same decade. Won the NCRA tiltle in 73' driving Maddens car; the great part is he retired in the middle of the season & still won it!!!

Came out of retirement in 76' to drive Suchy's bi-centinnel car & won 2 more OKC championships. In July of 80' driving the yellow 99 "missle" made history winning his 4th Hutch race, back when Hutch was a HUGE deal. Had a little shower in Hutch that morning, watching Leep hot-lap that day, just knew he was about to make history. Harold was the iron man of racers around here, just glad I got to warch him race in person.

Harold Leep was the man in 1969. He won the Tulsa, OKC and Wichita championship plus several features at Muskogge, Lawton and other area tracks. In his bio tape Raymanod. Cates talks about how he was suspended for fighting for 2 weeks so he took his car and won a big money race at Lawton. Jerrry Wilson maintained the chevy deuce at Wichita and said that they used to take bets on what lap Harold would take the lead in the feature. Harold was the best driver that I ever saw. In 1969 Jr.Taft ws still driving his narrrowed sedan and doing pretty good, that was the year that Benny Taylor turned his headers upside down with the pipe coming out above the rear tire, there was not a niose limit that year and that made his car loud. Jr. did that on his sedan and there are pictures on this site of his sedan with the exhaust that way. If you would like a copy of the Harold Leep Bio I would be happy to make you one.

Ray

Yes, I would love a copy. And thanks for the offer... But that just brought another memory. I had forgotten about the battle with the local neighborhoods about the noise. Did Hahn build his speedway outside of town?

if you live in tulsa I will made you a copy and you can come by and pickit up. If you do not live in Tulsa give me your address and I will mail it to you. will make the copy today or tommorrow, Warren do you have a copy of the Leep Bio?

Ray

David said it best to me last fall when talking about Harold ,he could have 7 cyl. in his motor and the rest have 8 Cyl. and still out run them.

Harold is the man....I would love to have that Bio if possibile.To go on further on what happened that Harold came onto the Tulsa scene is 1968 and took over for Al Lemmons who was in 2nd in the points at the time in the Ray Cates car. In the first race in the car Harold swept the field and everyone took notice is what I heard. In 69 Harold won all 3 track titles with the Ford Cates car at Tulsa and the Chevy car at OKC...Do not know which one he drove at Wichita. In 1970 Cates brought out a new Ford engine and never could get it to work and Ron Fowler took over for him when he broke his leg. Cates came back with Leep in 72 and they still had troubles with the Ford but everywhere else he ran on fire. in 73 he ran Madden's car and retired for his bowling business, and he run the NCRA title that year. As stated he came back out of retirement but first was driving the Madden car at Tulsa and then switched over to the Jelly car to try to avoid Hahn of breaking his record of victories. Then he drove the Suchy car for a while In Tulsa he went back to the Cates machine for one year in Tulsa and did a respectful job . Then Jelly came out with the Missle 99 car and he drove that everywhere except Tulsa because Tulsa said that the framing was to small by a 1/4 of an inch. After he quit racing the 99 car he drove the Slawson car #70 for a year at Tulsa and won his last Hutch natls with it. He finally retired after that year.

Somebody will know this quote from Warren "Jelly" Wilhelm when asked why he paid Harold 50% of the winnings? It might be in High Plains Thunder? I'm at work.

Or the quote from Lincoln, NE about why don't we just send you the winning money, that way you won't have to tow all the way up. This was when they were winning almost every A Feature at Eagle. This was the late 60's

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

I have a new vcr/dvd player that lets me dub from one to the other. I would be more than happy to make a copy for everybody that wants one. I hate to ask this but it cost me about $5 to make a copy and mail with the postage and padded envelope. I would not ask for this but I am on a fixed income.

The Dr visit was not what I had hoped for. I have to have my left hip replaced before they can do the back surgery. I see another ortho Dr Wednesday AM and he will put me on his schedule, hopefully in 2/3 weeks, after that I have to have a major back operation, the Dr has to re-brake the six vertebrae that have been fused and re align them. I will be in a splint from my shoulders to hips for 6 weeks. I am sorry to grip about all this but I am so upset, I have had 4 back fusions and now they have to do them over and replace the hip. At least I do not have a fatal disease.

Ray

Ray you can vent all you want. I know there is at least one out there that complains. I just tell them to surf right on buy if they don't like it. That one person said the Honor Flights don't belong on this form also.

Can I send you $10 by Pay Pal or do you use Pay Pal? Gives us an address by e-mail atleast.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Warren,

Who ever this person that said that about The Honor Flights needs to go visit a Veteran's Center like the one where my Farther is and see for himself what real American Heros look like. I go visit my Father every day and visit lots of the guys who are World War II Veterans like my Father who have become very close to me. I am proud when I walk out that door to go back home after I have visited with those guys.

Mike

Want to thank Bkcr (Ray). I clicked on the email link here and sent you my address. And again, I will happily reimburse and then some any costs you may have incurred. Or you can email me your address and I can mail you an envelope with a blank DVD and cash. Whichever is best for you. Thank you again... Just for moral support I went through a fusion surgery seven years ago. I didn't have to do repeated surgeries and can't imagine how difficult that can be, but there is life after back surgery. I have the T-shirt. Good luck.... I have found that people that complain on forums like this typically have nothing better to do with their life and are best ignored. Let them go join a PETA rally or something..... Warren, it doesn't seem fair to answer this having the book fresh in my mind.... Better to pay Leep 50% to win than to pay another driver 40% to chase Leep.... Or something to that effect..

Leep only won 1 A-Main at Muskoggee in 1969,,he won opening night.The second trip there,,, starting in the rear of the field he didnt fair as well. He only ran there 2 times the whole year. I got every nights results to back it up..

Its funny how wins always add to more than people really have..You never here about the losses or the real good close races some of them had that were great close battles.Facts are facts and sometime you cant believe everything you here on a video. Like when one guy says it was a 289 and the other says it was a 302.Things did go Leeps way in 1969 like it does for most people when they have a good winning season.

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.

That is the quote I was thinking about. Now we know you do read the stories and just don't look at the pictures. Oh wait a minute, that is another magazine joke Ha Ha,

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes