02.20.03_039_TAS_FLM_0060

Visitor's Comments		*To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here*
Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
02/21/03	Russ Dodge	The picture taken was probably 1966 when Al drove for Dave Piscopo in the #39. The car never made it into the 70's. It was sold to Dick Cozzie in 1968 and came back out under Tas' old number, #44. Of all the car owners Al drove for, he seamed to have a great relationship with Dave. Having Al as my all time favorite, relating stories about him could be endless. He was ahead of his time in the way he conducted himself with the fans. He exemplified the word "Charisma"
02/21/03	John Fahey	The date of this photo has to be betwen the years 1966 & 1968. (The 1965 car had front fenders.) In my opinion, Tas got the most out of his equipment and drove Flemington like no other driver in his time. He always set the car up so that he could go deeper into the corners than other drivers. This technique was used successfully at tracks like Reading, Harmony, as well as some asphalt tracks. It seemed to me that Tas was always at a disadvantage at "the horsepower" tracks like Middletown and Nazareth. One of the great disappointments to Tas and his fans occurred in 1967 at Langhorne at the Race of Champions. Tas ( in Piscopo's #39) led the event by a large margin. On a late race caution, the pace car picked up Dutch Hoag ( who was a lap behind Tas). When Tas crossed the finish line in first, his crew ran to Victory Lane and jumped up and down on the roof of his car and Tas was declared the winner. The next day the trophy was awarded to Dutch Hoag and Tas was awarded second place.
03/22/03	Jim Brewer	This car is the small block version of the Polecat. It was run by Piscopo in 1965 and 1966. I am not sure if it is an evolved version of the same car that Budd Olsen built for Dave in 1964 (Olsen also built the #83 that Jackie McLaughlin drove). In 1967 the pictured car became the Walt Zong Motors Special #39 Jr. out of Shillington, PA and was driven by Blackie Reider and Larry Voss. For the 1967 season a new Polecat was built and carried a big block Chevy. It was wrecked on the backstretch at Reading during the June 9 feature. I am not sure if the wreck was rebuilt or whether parts were just salvaged for a new car. The big block car pictured on Page 5 may be the one that went to Cozze and became the #44 Cozze Coupe. I don't mean to disagree with Mr. Dodge on this but I know I have at least some of this right. His comments may have been assigned to the wrong photo????? Jim Brewer
03/22/03	3-Wide	I'm not sure, but I am glad that you guys help all of us out with your comments. Hopefully we can all figure it out. (You know me, I'll take care of the Flemington 70's stuff and leave the rest up to you guys!!!) Thanks again for all the participation.
06/08/03	Russ Dodge	I would like to thank Jim Brewer for the chronology of the 39's. When I made refernce to the car in this case I wasn't talking about the particular # 39 shown but the Piscopo line of cars in general. Thanks, Russ Dodge
12/14/03	Fred Voorhees	My first ever favorite driver. Al Tasnady could do no wrong in my mind. He was THE MAN before Stan Ploski was. I still have a "GO AL TAS" button from back in these days. Long live Al Tasnady and The Piscopo Polecat!
11/12/04	Nick DiGiuseppe	I love looking at the photos of Al on your Web site. It brought back many good memories for me. My Father Sam DiGiuseppe did all of the welding on the car that the Piscopo's ran. We lived about two blocks away from the garage. My dad worked 12 hour shifts at 3M in Belle Meade, NJ and would come home around midnight and spend about 2-3 hours welding on the car. Me and dad would go to Windsor on Friday night, Flemington on Saturday night, and Reading sometimes on Sunday. I remember the car being demolished flipping 7 times out of the race track. My dad spent the whole next week everyday after work working until the late hours of the night to get the car ready for the following weekend. The fans in Reading that night couldn't believe they had built a new car it was completely painted but didn't have the number painted on. I was a pretty sad kid when Piscopo's sold the car. I would ride my bike down to the garage and sit in the car out in the junkyard pretending I was Al. Those days were still some of the best of my life. My father just passed away in January of this year. I'll always remember the good times we had going to all those races. I have a picture of my dad welding on the car maybe I can scan it and send it to you. I also have a hand built model of the 39. Thanks, Nick DiGiuseppe
12/23/04	George Perkins	Tas ran Flemington different in that he squared off the corners. Made perfect sense at a place like that. You could really see what he was doing if you sat in the stands down near turn four. He would set ( turn ) his car much earlier than anybody else, appearing to be going sideways down the straightaway. When the car reached the apex of the turn, it was pointed right down the next straightaway. This driving style in essence lengthened the straightaways allowing for more MPH. I'd be willing to be the cars he drove carried a little taller gear than the rest of the field. It was only years later when I started racing cars and go karts did I figure out what he was doing. I've seen a ton of race car drivers in my day and Tas remains the best in my opinion.
10/21/07	James Jankowski	We in Reading used to say that the popular oil additive in the sixties,"STP" really meant "Stop Tasnady Permanently". That's how good he was in at the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway.
01/07/08	Christine	Thank you very much for the wonderful memories. I spent my childhood at the Flemington racetrack until my father passed away in the early eighties. He and Al were very close friends and as such our families were very close and spent a lot of time together. These pictures bring back happy times. I never got to see my him race only hear the stories; however, I can say from a personal perspective that Al was charismatic, fun and always made me smile. Thanks again --Christine

Photo ID #	02.20.03_039_TAS_FLM_0060_1
Car #:	#39
Driver (s) :	Al Tasnady
Location:	Flemington, NJ
Date:	1966 (Thanks Russ and John)
Photographer:	Unknown
Photo provided by:	John McCaughey (form John Lucas)
Comments:	Some say Tas was the best to ever run Flemington... I'm hoping some vault visitors can help out with some Tas stories and more information about the "Polecat".