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Can anyone tell me about the cars that the each of the following drivers won in on the dates given below at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson? These are all 1960s modifieds, mini-modifieds, super modifieds, sprint 4 cars, sprintcars, or dirt champ cars. Some of the races were run during the Hutchinson Nationals while most of the others were run during the state fair and although there are a few that were on still dates. What I'm trying to learn are the car owners names, the make of the engine (probably most were Chevys), and the car numbers. I would appreciate all of the help I can get even if you can only identify just one of the cars that any of these drivers drove at Hutchinson on that date:

Date - - Driver - - From - - Class

September 20, 1962 - Bill Bookout - Wichita - Modified

September 23, 1964 - Evard Humphrey - Oklahoma City - Modified #53

September 23, 1965 - Bob Reynolds - Edmond - Modified #50

July 4, 1966 - Harold Leep - Wichita - Super Modified

May 19, 1968 - Roy Bryant - Wichita - Super Modified

July 29, 1984 - Bob Ewell - Dallas - Dirt Champ #85

October 21, 1984 - Walt McWhorter - Wichita - Mini-Mdified

July 27, 1986 - Shelby Steenson - Abilene - Mini-Modified #59

July 27, 1986 - Tony Armstrong - Tulsa - (Lloyd?) Stephens Dirt Champ #11

September 6, 1986 - Shelby Steenson - Abilene - Mini-Modified #59

July 26, 1987 - Shelby Steenson - Abilene - Sprint 4

July 26, 1987 - Mike McClelland - Oklahoma City - Super Modified

September 13, 1987 - Allan Unruh - Newton - Sprint 4

September 13, 1987 - Mike Peters - Wichita - Dirt Champ

September 14, 1987 - Shelby Steenson - Abilene - Sprint 4

July 31, 1988 - Jack Lamb - Wichita - Sprint 4

July 31, 1988 - Charles Riney - Oklahoma City - Super Modified

July 31, 1988 - Jim Bell, Jr. - Dewey - Sprint #3BG

October 15, 1989 - Bob Ewell - Forney - Sprint #85

July 29, 1990 - Bob Ewell - Forney - Sprint #85

September 8, 1991 - Roger Thompson - Junction City - Sprint

July 24, 1993 - Scott Brown - Amarillo - Sprint

September 12, 1993 - Jon Johnson - Utica - Sprint #86

July 22, 1994 - Alan Payne - DeSoto - Sprint #2

September 11, 1994 - John Blurton - Dodge City - Sprint

September 10, 1995 - Danny Jennings - Norman - Sprint

July 20 & 21, 1996 - Danny Jennings - Norman - Sprint #21c

September 7, 1996 - Jon Johnson - Utica - Sprint

July 20, 1997 - Mike Peters - Wichita - Sprint

September 17, 1998 - Gary Wright - Hooks - Sprint

May 7, 1999 - C. J. Johnson - Utica - Sprint

August 13, 1999 - Bill Cohee, Jr. - Topeka - Sprint

September 16, 1999 - C. J. Johnson - Utica - Sprint

June 23, 2000 - John Blurton - Dodge City - Sprint

July 29, 2000 - C. J. Johnson - Utica - Sprint

September 14, 2000 - C. J. Johnson - Utica - Sprint

September 17, 2000 - Scott Brown - Meriden - Sprint

July 28, 2001 - Dennis Park - Liberal - Sprint

September 13, 2001 - C. J. Johnson - Utica - Sprint

July 27, 2002 - C. J. Johnson - Utica - Sprint

July 26, 2003 - C. J. Johnson - Quinter - Sprint

September 12, 2003 - Mike Woodruff - Satanta - Sprint

August 6, 2005 - Derek Drown - Amarillo - Sprint

August 24, 2008 - Mike Chadd - Lincoln - Sprint

"Stay between the fences and don't scratch the paint 
above the windows"

A few

The 1966 Harold Leep car would most likely be a Jelly (99?)-Jelly Wilhelm

1984 Bob Ewell car - if it was a red frame it was a Nance (but if it was a black frame it may have been a Stanton with Nance accessories)- #85 Larry Dewitt(?)

1986 T. Armstrong would have been a Stanton/Challenger-Lloyd K Stephens (#21?)

1987 Mike Peters - J&J ( I know that for sure)-Bill Beaman #97

1987 Mike MacClelland - He built his own, but they were a copy of the Stanton-owned by himself (#87?)

1988 Charles Riney was a Nance (loved that car)- #8r owned by himself

1991 Roger Thompson, Nance,4+ chevy.

I believe the Harold Leep car was the #11, one of Laverne Nance's bronze supers.

The car that Roy Bryant drove in 1968 could also have been one of Laverne Nance's 11 cars. In

1968 Roy drove for Red Forshee in his #84 sprinter, so he raced the modifieds only when

he wasn't driving Red's sprinter.

Laverne didn't use the #1 or 1N until he raced sprint cars in the 1970's.

Ray C

Did Tony Armstrong ever drive a Stephens #21 or were his all Stephens #11

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

I may have gotten the number wrong on his

Shelby Steenson drove for Marvin Freeman car #59 in in the sprint 4 class in 1987 it had a Ford 2300cc 4 cylinder

Shelby Steenson also drove for Marvin Freeman in the mini modified class in 1986 it had a Ford 2300cc 4 cylinder

Allen Unruh he drove his own car #57 in the sprint 4 class it had a Toyota R22 4 cylinder

Jack Lamb drove car #11 in 1988 I'm unsure of the owners but they were from the Hutchinson area in the sprint 4 class and the engine was a Pontiac 151cubic inch iron duke 4 cylinder

Jim Bell Jr drove for Court Grandstaff in the 3BG and had Chevy 410 most likely built by Wesmar Racing Engines

Mike Chadd drove car # 4 I think that was a family owned car with a Chevy 360 engine in 2008

Walt McWhorter drove car #5 for Al Hall in the mini modified class the engine was Volkswagen in 1984

Mike Peters drove car # 66 in 1997 owned by Court Grandstaff and had Chevy 410 built by Wesmar Racing Engines

Hope this helps you out.

Tony Peters

I think it was the last year Tony drove for OFIXCO he was in the 21 car, I built a model of 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

In 84 Ewell's car was a Barney or Barnett chassis, had the Wolfgang style hood then, was one of the last ones built before the chassis company no longer existed, last Stanton Ewell drove was 79 , white body # 18.

What are two things that link these former great drivers together?

Jackie Howerton, Jud Larson, Tony Bettenhausen

Ray C

they all drove for Zink

My version was a Nance, J.D. I think they started in the Barnett (red chassis) and switched to this Nance car (blue chassis).

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

Did they have heart attacks or heart problems and still race??

This needs a thread all by itself. Or maybe a trivia thread is what we need here. I'm just saying, I know some call me the captain. winter is coming on and trivia thread could be good.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

John, I think your thinking of the red chassis was the 1n Nance House Car in 85 when he won the NCRA championship.

The Barney cars he drove for Ryson Oil were black chassis, I believe in 80/81 he had the silver Barnett Chassis with Orange body and black number 18, then he had black chassis and was the first Barnett to have a true 6 pt. design chassis with white body and red/yellow lettering and numbers and then he got hooked up with Ryson,Larry Witt had Andy Rylant from Temple,Okla. back then as his original driver at Lawton but had Bob Ewell run it ,which really was just suppose to be a one time race deal at Lawton with Larry Witt and well it turned out to be a bit more than that and as we all know had a lot of success.

Back in the early 80's Barnett chassis were pretty popular, Andy Rylant, Jim Usleton both from Temple , Okla. and Freddie Street from Wichita Falls,Tx. had one and Danny Shouse from OKC had one and Bob Waller from Tulsa as well and a few others I am forgetting, but Nance still ruled the deal in this area , always wondered what might have happened had Jerry Barnett stuck around Dallas and built cars, that though will never be known.

Side note: Jerry Barnett worked for Gary Stanton (Stanton Chassis) in Phoenix,Ariz. in late 70's back before he came to Dallas and started building cars.

J.D.

Yep, you are the Capitain

Part of the answer, (1) they all drove the 1956 Zink Indy 500 winning car, Jud and Tony as a roadster, Jackie as a super. (2) they all won championship dirt car races, Jud and Jackie both won the Hoosier Hundred, and Tony while never winning that race (finished as high as second) won on almost every other dirt mile on the championship circuit.

Jackie beat Al Unser, and Mario Andretti in 1974 at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds in a wild race to the finish. Howerton rubbed wheels on the last lap with Unser as the Indy veteran tried to over take him, but Jackie held on as he beat Unser, and Andretti, back to the line in one best finishes in Hoosier-Hundred history.

The magnitude of this victory cannot be understated as Unser and Andretti were driving for the Vel-Parnelli Jones race team that dominated the early years of the Dirt Car division by winning back to back titles in 1973 and 1974.

The 1956 Indy 500 winning car was the first roadster that master mechanic AJ Watson built.Watson would build 23 roadsters from 1956-1963, including the Indy winners in, 1956, 1959,1960, 1962, 1963, and 1964. Those six victories made him the winningest builder of the roadster era over Frank Kurtis, whose cars won in 1953-54-55. The 1955 winning car was wrenched by Watson for Zink, and driver Bob Sweikert.

In the 1960's Denny Moore converted this car into a super that first Buddy Cagle, and then later Jackie Howerton raced.

The last race for this Indy winning car may have been in 1973 at the old Tulsa Fairgrounds.On that night Jackie Howerton returned to race as a teammate to Emmitt Hahn,while finishing 5th place behind winner James Eubanks. A couple of decades later, Jackie helped Denny restore the first Watson to how it looked in 1956 when Pat Flaherty won the Indy 500 for Zink. The car now resides at the Zink Ranch outside of Tulsa in the families private racing collection.

Ray C