Forum: Racing From The Past (go)
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If you were from Tulsa you might enjoy the memories. This link and another one is about the Fairgrounds. But it is all Tulsa.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/103736373061312/?notif_t=group_activity#!/groups/103736373061312/?id=105945726173710&notif_t=like

If you can't get to it the title by clicking the link it is You Know You're From Tulsa If:

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

You remember these cars from 1970

George Armstrong and James Eubanks

Brian i love it. James built these cars in the winter of 1969-70 for the 1970 season. The first 2 weeks James blew a right rear tire out. They found that in the corners the shock was rubbing the tire. James won the 1969 modified championship using 2 cars. He started the season in the 45 coupe that he and his father owned and in July he was welding on the car while he was under it on a creeper and when he pushed himself out he hit the gas tank with the welding rod and sat the car on fire. He was fine but the car and garage was a total loss. Jay Davis had bought a car that James had built in 1968 for Jimmy Willey a sedan and James finished the season with it and won several features in it. We all lived in southwest Tulsa in Oakhurst and it was a pretty close community. I used to run around with James younger brother who was my age. He told us that the coupe that James started the season with that his family had $2500 in it, you can't build a championship car with that now. James father was Abner and everybody called his mother Granny. At the time Melvin Jernigan was James brother- in-law and he built and owned Ray Crawford's first super ride, we used to ride to the races in the back of the pickup towing Ray's car with Melvin driving and Abner ridding shot gun. This was a great ride ffor George, I don't no who owned the car but James built it. James did not win the championship in this car in 1970, Frank Ash won it that year.

Ray

That's cool you threw that in Ray! Thanks

Drool alert!

Red McAnelley's green modified next to Buddy Cagle's #52 and the Joe Cox #33

Edmunds top and tail, mated to a CAE cowl, and then a CAE nose and grill out front.

Check out the weight jacker and the fresh Grice wheel!

From the looks of things, my guess is the Ford didn't come on strong until the big track came in?

Some guy told me back in the 80's the Ford 6 cyl cranks were less likely to flex (?) out of line compared to the Chevy sixes, and that was a big reason why he went to them at Tulsa on the 5/8's.

James Eubanks used a Ford 6, I don't know if it was the 250 or the preferred 240 that Norman ran. Hershel Thompson used a Ford 6 to win the las championship at the little track but he was no faster than Don Engle and his Chevy 6, Don blew 8 engines that year at Tulsa or he would have been the champ. I do know that we had trouble with the cams twisting and breaking right behind the timing gear, Norman's ford sixes ran stock cranks and rods, flat top pistons that made for a Pontiac V8. The ford was 240 cubes and the limit was 260. You could take it .060 overbore and have around 258-259 but the walls were so thin that it would over heat and crack so everybody in Tulsa would just take to an .030 overbore. Jerry Wilson was the only builder to be able to make it live with the .060 overbore and we blew a lot of engines but we ran a lot of races with 3 cars and that had never been done before. Mike got protested several times in Tulsa, Norman had a 300 6 cylinder and Mike was so fast that they thought it was in The OCRA man that checked the engines was Hershel Thompsons engine builder and he was our main competition that made Norman mad and they had to get somebody else to check the engine. The engines always puffed out legal but man it was close, 258.8, 259.2 and around that every time. Norman got the same engine from Jerry that everybody else did, we ran low of them and he had to buy a couple used ones from other owners in Wichita and sometimes we had to park the 17 and put the engine from it in the 71.

Ray

Brian,

Cool picture. This was my brother's last year in jr. modified driving for Lonnie Woods and Jack Wickett. These cars were built from a CAE sprint car blueprint and stretched to 100". George and James worked for Ed Wies of Wies Welding Works and he let them build the cars there in the evenings. I was 9 or 10 and my dad would take me there every night and I would go home and draw pics of the progress in a notebook. Still have the drawings to this day and the wildest thing about these cars was the drawings called for a bolt on cage and thats how they built them, go figure. I remember they had a hard time gettin by the safety inspections cause they had to get the specs on the aircraft bolts. The bodies were all store bought as sprint car stuff and they added the length to the hood and side panels. George won the 1st half championship that year and the cool fish scale paint won em best looking car and James won best engineered. Notice how long the cockpit is and the size of the dash. There weren't many sprint bodied cars around back then so these got alot of attention and I think George and those guys built a few cars to sell, Jerry Rea and a few others maybe. Ray I remember that garage fire and that coupe that James had. We got there soon after and they were pulling the car out with a chain. James was famous for running against the fence and probably was as good as anybody I have ever seen on the top.

Tony

i still have the article from the Tulsa World about the fire at James Eubanks garage, my scanner still does not work or I would post it. I will mail a copy to Brian for him to post .

Tony did you know James brother ,Jimmy, James brother was named Jimmy, do you remember Abner and Granny Eubanks?

Ray

I was sure that James ran Ford 6 cylinders and am positive that the coupe that burnt up had a Ford but the engine in the car above is a Chevy, mabee the memory is like everything else and is going away

Ray

Anonymous collection

Sent in for Mr. Tony Armstrong to view

Jack Wickett, George Armstrong, and Lonnie Woods holding court

Thanks Brian,

How about the driving suit? That is what he drove in. Can you believe so many guys didn't have nomex even in 1970. Don't get to see Big Jack much anymore but I do see Lonnie every now and then. Sure do miss my brother.

Ray, I do remember Abner and Jimmy. Margie was a cool lady and I used to talk to Lonnie some but it's been a long time

Tony

Tony did you know that Margie Eubanks passed away several years ago from cancer? I still knw a lot of people in Oakhurst and will try find out where james and Lonnie are.

Ray

Jr Duvall

Brian,

Where you gettin all these cool pics. Same guy painted this car that painted the blue 35 above. I think he went by.... painted by.. katsass. His shop was behind Ramsey winch when Jack Wickett worked there and it was on admiral in Tulsa. This was one cool car with a ford but I remember it always seemed to have engine problems.

Tony

He is not telling but we all know who has all the cool photos in Claremore

Tony this is Warren and put this site together. We just got done have big deal on FaceBook in the last hour with Angie Ewell and OFIXCO drivers. We were hoping you would have joined in.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Warren,

You are one cool dude. You have preserved some the best times in world history. Thanks for all you have done and hope to meet you some day.

Tony

Mike Pogue is sending in the entertainment by sharing pics he has saved from oblivion and a few he took as well.

How bout this one of Georges car from 1969

HEY TONY! MAKE A TRIP OVER THE NEXT TULSA LEGENDS LUNCHEON!

I'll bet you can get some great copies!

Another one from Mike Pogue

cover yer eyes, this car shines!