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Warren, They have a non wing sprint class that runs at BMS weekly and also run at the now CLOSED down Creek Co. Speedway in Sapulpa.

Run a Limited type motor, Sport Mod type motor , Hyd. Cam , lift rule etc.

There is talk of starting a series for these next year and travel around to some other tracks with a series that is currently running this year and I suggested talking to C Ray about having a show at 81 , Like I said liking it more and more the non wing deal, just better racing and not so locked down like with the winged deal.

Mr. Keith , We were at the Grove this past Fri. night, 410's and URC 360 show. Was a great show , thought Mark Smith might do a 2 fer and win both of them but 410 deal ended quickly with a head on into turn 3 wall. Williams Grove is wicked fast but when things go wrong ,best be ready to junk a car and pull a new one out, which is what Mark Smith did, checked the car out after the show fri. and front of frame shoved over about a foot to the right. Talked to Mark Sat. night at Selinsgrove and said he was not that sore and the URC win after the 410 crash made things a bit better. I guess that is why most all those teams up there have 5 or more cars at the ready , guess ya never know when you will need another one.

J.D.

Hey Pokieokie and Ray,,i may be off a year,,but if i remember right some of the 6 cylinders made the Amain in the 1971 NCRA Race at Tulsa.

Bill Bookout had to pass several of them in the Bmain to make the AMain..The crowd gave him a standing cheer because he was the only V8 that made the passes on the 6 cylinder to make the Amain.

Does anybody else remember that,, if i am right there were at least 3 or 4of the 6 bangers in the Amain field..The track was realy dry and they hooked up better.Jackie Howerton put a really wide tire on his right rear for Time trials to try to run the bottom .I dont rememeber if he got fast time but he was up front.

Can anybody name any of the cars in this pic that are close to Well in 007

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.

Okay,

Here is the line up for this photo. Starting from the front row:

Jay Woodside Doug Johnson

Emmett Hahn Walt McWhorter

Benny Taylor James Eubanks

Frank Lies Jackie Howerton

Jerry Everhart Pete York

John Skaggs Jack Belk

George Armstrong Buddy Cagle

Jim Lambert Junior Duvall

Pete Resnic Melvin Rogers

Ron Fowler Jack Lane

Jr. Taft Chuck Robinett

Jim Carpenter Ray Crawford

Bill Powell Aaron Madden

Jerome Chumley Ralph Roby

Bill Thornton Chuck Sterling

Charlie Wells Harold Leep

Jack Gary

This is the official lineup printed from Tulsa's Speedway News Program

Mike

I was getting ready to say the last car on the outside resembled the Cates #2 with those racing stripes. Remember the Monogram(?) model of that car. I'll bet somebody out there has one that is still intact and put together?

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Chuck Sterling of Chucks Racing Photos and flagman. I wonder where his collection went or if he still around. Probably that Mike Pogue has it, LOL?

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

It just did not make sence that Leep was in the rear looking at this photo when they quailified he must of had trouble in his heat.i had the Thorton car peged but the rest were tuff.,,i think you had to hold your spot by being top 4 or 5 in your heat.

I do rememeber that several cars droped out with holes in there radiators that is what got Dad in the #88 car.The rocks at this race were bad and big enough to bottom out the Radiator that was not the normal thing for Tulsa, but every now an then the rocks would get you there like it did Benny Taylor,,i know my dad had his hands cut and black and blue several times when racing at Tulsa.It was not bad all the time but it would remind you if you fogot about it..

I know in the stands in the number 1 turn was ruff on the fans at times with rocks...Everytime Leep would go by in 1969 it looked like a Wave when the fans would hold something in front of there heads.

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.

Chuck Sterling is still around he was at Knoxville last Friday night talking to my brother Mike.

Mike ran the Master Nationals at Knoxville last Friday and finished 2nd to Gary Wright.

TJ Giddings set fast time in JD Johnson's car and Gary Wright drove Wayne Johnson's # 38 car that he normally runs at Knoxville.

Gary and Mike were the class of the field in the feature. Gary flew back to Little Rock after he was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon. I think he ran 5th in a National ASCS race on Saturday night.

Mike ran Knoxville on Saturday night qualified 15th at the weekly 360 show had to run the B-main and run 5th. Started 20th in the main and run a respectful 15th.

There were (27) 410's, (30) 360's and (21) 305's.

We also seen Harold Leep and Jelly hanging out together and Shane Carson was there both days.

If you go to the Knoxville Speedway website you can see a 2 minute video of each class from last Friday and Saturday's races.

Tony

The Knoxville site video of Mike and Gary Wright in the Masters is great. Mike has been racing 40 years and is as good as ever. That is Shane Carson and the "KID" standing behind the front wheels

Ray

In the Mike Peters photo. This is a long (I mean really long shot) the Dodge Pick-up behind Mike reminds me of the gold and white Dodge Frankie Lies team used as the toter. Your all LOL but that is the 1st thing that came to mind, LOL.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

I have been going through my old stuff and found the Speed Sport from opening night at Tulsa in 1978. The night That Jan Opperman won the feature in Jerry Wilson's car. It is so dry and brittle that it falls apart when Wyo touch. On the front it says "11,000 see Jan star at Tulsa" The short article says that he started 16thAnd passed Emmit Hahn, Ray Crawford and Jerry Stone.

I also found the April 1983 issue of Open Wheel. it has a good picture of Mike Peters in the Ochs #1 sprint car and Ronnie Shuman in the Ofixco car from the the last WoO race of 1982 at the Devils Bowl.

I Will post the Speed Sport article and the Open Wheel picture when I get a new copier/scannner

Ray

Found this car on Indiana Open Wheel

It was on display at the Hoosier 100 this year

In 1974 there was a team formed here in Tulsa that should have been great but just was above average and everybody on the team was happy that the season was over. It was the Leon Boomershine 77. Jim Morris was the the crew chief and Jay Woodside was the driver. They had a brand new Jelly car and everything else that they needed. They won the 3rd or 4th race of the season but not anymore that i know of, Jay won some races at Okc in a different car. Both of these men have passed and I was a good friend of Jim and knew Jay fairly well and I will not knock ether one of them but they did not make a great team like everybody thought they would. I think part of the problem was too high of expectations on the team, before the season started there was an article in the paper that said they were one of the favourites to win the Tulsa championship.What does everybody else think of teams that should do well but break up instead?

Ray

Ray, Probably teams just wanting to win, has more to do with it than anything and it is even more prevelant in today's racing, jell quickly and have success and win and things will stay good, go the other way and the team has the NFR, what I call , NO FUN RACIN.

Seems building a race team is more than just building/modifying parts back then or buying parts today , their is give and take and vice versa, kind of like a marriage somewhat, seen it on several race teams in the past 20 yrs. , equipment there , motors are fast but for one reason or another , just don't jell real well, be it the ol term "got to many chiefs and not enough indians" on the team, plus ego's get stepped on and all want to turn the wrenches and look important and make all the important decisions and yet no one just wants to pick the mud off the car and keep it clean.

Learned over the years ,let your driver call the majority of the shots ,hell if he is any good then he will know what the car needs and desires to take er to the front and self confidence is a must in today's driver I feel, feeling confidence in knowing what he wants and when he throws it at the car to get what he wants, confindence in his mind is way much better I believe and he'll go out there and drive the wheels off of it and most of the time if he has talent , he'll be up front at the end . Been down that road the other way with several folks trying to call the shots all at the same time and usually does not end real well and causes issues and bad situations and pointing fingers and eventually the breakup of the race marriage.

Still the same yesterday as it is in today's racin that I believe that if you got talent to drive , you'll be there running up front,and in today's racing all the equipment is about the same, most ALL of the cars have good pieces on them, most ALL off'em have good motors, you just really can't get an edge that much in today's racing because all the technology is available to most all , just takes money to get it , anyway feel that is where the Mental stuff comes into play in today's driver, give him the oppurtunity to throw at the car what he wants and again if he is anygood he will go out there in a better confidence/mental state than if he gets whatever the majority want to do on the team. Maybe I am not right, but sure has worked pretty good for me in the past 5 yrs. of doing it this way.

Also one other thing that is probably the MOST IMPORTANT of the whole equation, LUCK,LUCK and more LUCK, take the LUCK EVERYTIME, that ol sayin rather be LUCKY than good anytime , it sure plays a BIG role in racing.

This racing is good stuff though I have learned over the years, can make ya feel like the King of Kings livin in the Penthouse sometimes or like the Rented Pack Mule grazin down the street in the Neighbors Pasture by the Outhouse.

J.D.

I was looking at the NCRA site. Is CJ Johnson Jon'son?

Ray

You would be right CJ is Jon's son.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Heard Hutch Nat. was a less than stellar Sprint Car Race.

The thing that gets me, it was a 15 lap main event. Not 20 not 25 not 30, 15. Remember when it was 50? But I guess that is like reducing the amount of ounces and keeping the price the same. Or more air in the bag of chips and the bag 3x the size needed for the chips you get. So now what the grocery markets have learned as come to the racing and the nationals. Don't most tracks run that or more for a weekly show. And just a shopper did the fans even notice?

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

To All,

I'll have to admit 15 laps was a shocker but with the heat (it's always been hot) lack of rain, racing on Friday night 3 or 4 classes the track was pretty hard. I to was surprised at the sprint car count, figured there would be at least 30, however it wasn't a push over race either, at least 18 of those cars were capable of winning the A-FEA. it mainly depended on where you started the A-FEA. The kid that won drove a good race, would he have made it to 25 or 30 laps probably not his RR was down to about 1/4 of the blocks. DJ had a little more tread but he had some blistering going on to. We cured tires at Devils Bowl in March for this race and would have ran them if it had been 25 or 30 laps. Being 15 laps though we put stickers on instead and we could have made 20 easy 25 might have been a stretch. You could smell rubber at lap 4 (reminded me of the GOOD OLE DAYS) a few were smoking the tires at the green. The 7c car running 2nd really was working on his tires from the start and he blew his RR on lap 13, DJ said he could see it going flat and cords 2 laps before that. I really wish they ran at least 25 but I'll give C.RAY credit he was on top of the track at that point, he told everybody in the pits before the race it would be 15 laps he didn't want it to be like a WOO Pacola race last year. If he had went 25 laps teams might have adjusted for it and we might have had 10 more laps of good racing or we might have had 6/7 yellows or a red for fuel, he had another class to run it was getting late and it was still hot. After the checkered flag I still walked over and shook his hand and told him he did a good job, I didn't get yelled at cussed at MF'd or SOB'd the racing part even though cut short in laps was still a good race. In fact all the racing looked pretty good to me. It is still The Hutchinson Nationals and it has always been a place that you have to be able to adapt to win. Scenerio for 25 laps, DJ passes Boston on lap 19 when Boston blows out a RR and leads to lap 24 when going into turn 3 his RR goes flat turning the win over to CJ, Gary Lee or MP with DJ limping in to 2nd, would have been an awesome finish but just didn't happen this time.

David, I was surprised as well when I seen the car count, thought they would be at least 25 + Sprint Cars at Hutch, I will say this without Lawton ASCS being a Combo Lone Star/Sooner Reg. show , might have been less than 20 at Lawton if it was a Sooner Reg. show by itself. Monte E. actually did a good job with the heat and no rain issues he is dealing with and the track stayed pretty good all night with a cushion and was not one lane on the bottom like it has been in the past several Sprint races there. Was not a good thing to be leading the A main ask Matt Covington or Joe Wood Jr. as both got into lapped cars during the A while leading.

I was really surprised Danny Wood was not at Hutch and showed up at Lawton, guess travel costs etc. made him come to Lawton??? , heard a few more like Wright and others would be there but guess that was just rumors.

J.D.