Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

In approximately the mid 60s a sprint car from Minneapolis rolled into NODAK speedway in Minot,ND while hot laps were being ran. All eyes were on it as it had a partially enclosed trailer, the front 1/2 of the sprint car was covered with fancy sheet metal, nice paint, sort of a neat trailer, best anyone had ever seen at that time in Minot. Very nice, spanking new sprint car, which ended up kicking Azz all night. The car was announced as for sale prior to it doing a couple hot laps by itself. The following week sprint car driver and a very good one, Wyman Wade of Fargo showed up in Minot with it and ran great. Can't remember if he won the feature.

When the sale price made its way around the crowd, everyone was saying if everybody was going to have to spend that kind of money for a sprint car, sprint car racing would come to an end in the U.S. The price was called rediculous, crazy, nutz, stupid, gonna wreck racing, etc. Eventually everyone in Minot had one like it, those pre-built sprint cars with the smallblock Chevy, Hilborn stacks, roller cam, etc. No more home-built cars with a motor with two 4-barrels or 3 duces.

Does anyone know this story, the exact year and what Wyman Wade paid for this car. We had a discussion about it one night and no one can remember what Wade paid for it? Also was Lipinski just a paid hot shoe who drove it for the owner selling it?

Lawlessness + liberalism = HELL -  NYC, Detroit, Chicago, 
Seattle, LA  Who the H runs those cities. 

Haircut drove for my cousin Tom Wilke. They raced out of the east side of St. Paul, the shop was on Atlantic Street of W. 7th.

Stan Meissner

Maybe try posting on the NOSA sprint car forum...lots of Dakota people on there.
http://www.nosasprints.com/

I don't know the story but remember traveling the 70 miles one way every Sunday nite to watch the races in Minot. As kids, we could only think of one thing all week and that was for Sunday to get here, yeah for church too I suppose. 389 Pontiac motors, 283 and 327 Chevy motors, 427 Ford motors, 406 Fords, 394 Oldsmobile (Andy Nikitenko who raced an airplane at the airport in Minot and rolled the Olds many times), 383 Plymouths and Dodges, etc. a variety of everything for motors in these sprints/supers. Don't think anyone had fuel injection.

My favorite story, though a sad one, Bob Lillegard, spelling wrong?, in the 2nd or 3rd time out with the new 396 Chevy big block which must have made that year at least, about 1968 or 69, anyway he rolled badly several times, this at a time when few drivers used those bungy straps to hold their arms in if they went unconscious. He went unconscious, arms flying all over the place, next thing was an amputation and end of a very great career.

 Lawlessness and liberalism equals Hell.  NY City, 
Detroit, Seattle, Chicago, Minnepolis, etc. We saw it. 
Burning hundreds of buildings, a thousand assaults and 
dozens of murders. Getting worser and worser.

I am Wymans son Scott.I wasn't born yet but I will talk with my mother she would know I think lol.

My cousin Tom Wilke owned the cars that Jerry Lepinski drove. Haircut was his driver throughout the time he was a car owner.

What car are we talking about? This one was the former Rose Plumbing #63 roadster style car that they ran with a Speedway Motors body.

Stan Meissner

If that isn't one of the best nicknames ever!

He was a damn good driver. Started his racing career running weekly against Jerry Richert Sr., Scratch Daniels, Russ Laursen and Barry Kettering to name a few. That kind of competition would have made a pretty good driver out of just about anybody.

One of my prized possessions is this jacket from the mid 60's. My uncle hardly wore it and willed it to me before he passed away a couple years ago. Not bad for something that's going on 40 years old. Also have a 1963 Twin City Feature trophy won by Jerry Lepinski. We all have these stories in our background about someone who introduced us to the sport. These are my racing roots and the family has been out of the sport since the mid 70's so they're not mentioned on here very often. I have to take it and run with it when their names come up. These guys are the ones that introduced me to this sport.

Stan Meissner

I remember watching Wyman Wade in Fargo and when he came to Winnipeg. Always had the best looking car on the track and a true gentleman to the fans and us speedway employees. You were respected by Wyman Wade. You can be proud of your father, Scott.

That was not the car for sure, it looked more like sprint cars look today but with the stacks sticking out of the hood. To Wyman's son Scott: your dad was a lot of fun to talk to in the pits. A cool guy. Remember asking him one night when the track had some ruts in it, how he liked the track tonight and he responded by saying to the throng of people standing around him, "loved it, it's the kind of track where the boys fall back and the men take over", and he wasn't meaning any disrespect to anyone.

Lawlessness + liberalism = HELL -  NYC, Detroit, Chicago, 
Seattle, LA  Who the H runs those cities. 

Actually this particular car has a rich history / legacy. It was built by noted car builter Lujie Lesovsky in Indianapolis in 1960 for Elmer George who was Tony George's father. The car was cageless and built to run exclusively with the USAC orgainzation and A.J. Foyt purchased it from George and it was called the 'Traco' special. Foyt later sold the car to Frank Wagner in St. Paul where it became a blue and white either #62 or #63. I think, but I am not exactly sure, that this original car is resting in the basement of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway musem awaiting a complete restoration.

I believe that Frank Wagners #62 was an upright and the 63 was a roadster style car. I remember seeing Johnny Rutherford among others racing the #63 on the IMCA circuit.

You're thinking of the other team car the #62. This was formerly the #63.

Like I said, my cousin bought the car and I used to hang around in the garage a little before going into the Navy. The Rose Plumbing cars were owned by Frank Wagner. Rose plumbing was kitty corner from my father-in-law's auto repair shop at the corner of County Rd. B and Lexington in Roseville, MN.

Jerry Richert Jr. has been looking for the #63 and has never been successful locating it. I think Tom told me that Don Brown, the guy who built the roadster style cars, built the #63. What did they used to call his stuff, mechanical rabbit or something like that? I remember reading an article or two about him. I believe he was out of the west coast.

By the way, it doesn't sound like the ND car they're talking about was one of Tom's.

Stan Meissner

Here's another view of the #63 sporting the #87 with a Speedway Motors body.

Stan Meissner