| Photo ID # | G02.23.10_056_FAR_FLM_0060_1 |
| Car #: | #56 |
| Driver (s) : | Les Farley |
| Location: | Flemington, NJ |
| Date: | 1960's |
| Photographer: | Ted & Bob Lowery |
| Photo provided by: | Bob Lowery |
| Comments: | Comment from Bob: LES FARLEY - DAYTONA CAR - INFIELD |
| Visitor's Comments |
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| Date: | Visitor's Name: | Comment: |
| 02.28.10 | Donald Lawson | The car was owned by Fred Gerhart of Old Wick N.J. If my
memory serves me right, The first year it went down it was a
Studebaker frame and body with a Chevy motor. The next year they took and
put the body on a Lincoln frame with a Chevy motor. I remember as a young boy going up to Fred's with my father, Walt Lawson and helping get the car ready to go. I know one of the two years Les fell sick and they had Ernie Gahan run the car. It was run in the modified race both years. |
| 03.07.10 | Charlie Miller | What a great photo! Look, it still has the door handle , and CHROME strips on the side and around the windows. Even has the wings and the stupid ( only rolls half way down ) back windows. The straps to keep the rear window from blowing out is a nice touch. Wouldn't be surprised to find the original dash complete with speedometer still inside. Takes you back to the days when they really raced stock cars. |
| 03.09.10 | fltlnjok | Lawson is right on the money. The car ran first with a 303 inch Olds engine, then with the Lincoln frame and a 409 Chevy engine. I think that the Lincoln framed car may have used a later Hawk ('56 or '57) with somewhat larger factory fins. Fred even built his own wheels, lathing them off center, then welding the fat halves together. The Chevy powered car was finished in Angelo Corbo's Garage in North Branch, NJ, and was painted by Charlie Epright, Fritz's father. Said "Jersey Joe" on the front roof. |
| 08.06.10 | Arthur E. Hance | This really brings back memories. We lived in East
Whitehouse and I grew up on Lamington Rd. near Fred's. His family had a
grass airfield and a small pond with a log cabin next to it that is now next
to Rt 78 and Fiddler's Elbow. Fred was somewhat of a legend in our area
about his building stock cars in the stables at the farm. He later was a
diesel mechanic in the area, his brown International (I think) service truck
a frequent site on local roads. Les and my Dad worked together for an engineering firm in Oldwick and were infamously know as "Rigo's Renegades". I wonder if the comment about Les getting sick was one of his many attacks of "Gout". Some of my fondest memories are of stopping at the Union Hotel in Whitehouse for pizza (Madylin Poole's) and draft birch beer (Francy and Eddie Brown's) then going to the races and joining Les in the pits. The driving suits were leather dress shoes, chinos and a t-shirt. My parents would get us in the car and on the way home just as the races finished because of the "shenanigans" that would take place in the pits after the races. I have a great picture of Les standing next to the automatic transmission car he ran for the trailer dealer by County line Rd. and Rt. 22. I think Vinnie from Whitehouse Transmission did the transmission work. The car is sitting on the drop tail truck and is parked at the house Les shared with "Cat" in Tewsbury just above the office where he worked. He was forbidden to drive by his boss so he would run under another name. If I remember correctly the assumed name was Joe Farr. I remember driving with Les in his yellow Impala. My father rarely exceeded 45 mph. What a thrill for a young guy to run Dinner Pot with Les after a few drinks that made better drivers of us all! A little known fact was Les's ability to play the piano. He was able to tap out a fine honkey tonk which he did in our living room many nights. At least until the piano bench gave out and dumped him on the floor. God Bless you Les. Tell Dad I said hello. Arthur E. Hance |
| 04.05.18 | Al B |
Fred was working on the Studebaker Golden Hawk that he had picked up. It looked new in pale green and white paint. I think it had been stolen and the hood damaged or gone and the engine (Packard?) stolen. I had a new '59 Silver Hawk and Fred wanted to work on it and "damage" the hood because he couldn't find one anywhere. I wanted to help but was "not so swell" with that plan. Lucky for me he finally found a hood. I'm pretty sure he ran an Olds engine. Les drove the car in the modified race at Daytona in '62. He met Tiny Lund and got a lot of help from him as he hadn't run a track like that. Les called me "East Berlin West Berlin" when he greeted me at the track and said how crazy it was out there on the back straight bouncing around. He didn't enjoy it at first but after a while he got running good. I don't recall where he finished but I'm pretty sure he spent some time with Tiny "reviewing" the race afterwards. Ernie Gahan ran the car later and I think Wes Moody ran it too. Les could play the piano and put on a show. He was a great driver and a fun guy. RIP Fatman. |
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