c08.15.06_015_PAU_FLM_0074_1.jpg (93479 bytes)

Photo ID # c08.15.06_015_PAU_FLM_0074_1
Car #: #15
Driver (s) : Billy Pauch
Location: Flemington
Date: 1974?  1975 (See comments below)
Photographer: Andy Horne
Photo provided by: Andy Horne
Comments: This was the view that I had almost every week...  Billy Pauch, pre-full face helmet (I think he used to have a bandana over the lower part of his face around this time...) in the Mustang bodied #15 sportsman.  Right out of the gate you knew to keep your eye on him... although its hard to believe that  here it is 30+ years later and he's still the one to keep your eye on!

Couple other things to note about this photo... 
1.  Not one enclosed trailer in the pits!
2.  Not sure what's up with the red & white table cloth in the bleachers...
3.  Check out that fence...  If you look close, it looks like a new green board has been installed on the track side along the top to replace the broken piece.  Not sure when that happened but this is about the same place that Stan broke his arm (twice).
4.  You can still see the tires along the inside of the racing surface that was supposed to define a run off lane... Didn't take long for guys to realize that cutting under or through the tires was a pretty fast way to get around.  By next year, I think the tires were totally gone and the racing surface was anything between the wood!
Visitor's Comments To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here
Date: Visitor's  Name:

Comment:

08/16/06 ANDY HORNE LOOKS LIKE WE SAT NEXT TO EACH OTHER 30 YEARS AGO, JOE. THAT FENCE WAS BLOWN OUT MOMENTS BEFORE BY THE #42 SPORTSMAN CAR. I SENT YOU THAT PICTURE TOO. I WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE WHEN STAN BROKE HIS ARM THE FIRST TIME BUT THE SECORD TIME HE HIT THAT SPOT AND BURST INTO FLAMES , WE HAD DESIDED TO THROW A LITTLE MONEY AROUND AND SIT IN THE 'EXPENSIVE' SEATS. WE HAD A BOX NEXT TO THE FLAGMAN STAND AND COULDN'T SEE STAN JUMP OUT THE FAR WINDOW. WE ALL THOUGHT HE WAS GONE. 

OH, THAT TABLECLOTH IS A LADIES COVER FOR HER HEAD SO SHE WOULDN'T GET DIRT IN IT. IMAGINE THAT.
0816/06 3-Wide Andy,  Thanks for the info and please send the picture of the #42 again...  As far as Stan, I don't think in either of the incidents where he broke his arm that there was fire involved.  I'm pretty sure that the fire that you are speaking about happened while driving the Emmett Alfrey #47.  I believe that the cars involved in the accidents where the throttle stuck were the Horton Sr. #43 Gremlin and the yellow #4T7 Gremlin that was sponsored by A Kitchens in Deans, NJ.
08/17/06 ANDY HORNE YOUR RIGHT ABOUT THE FIRE IN TURN 1.   I REMEMBER NOW.  I WISH I HAD YOUR MEMORY WHEN YOUR 13.  THOSE THINGS CAN RUN TOGETHER AT TIMES.
THANKS AGAIN
ANDY HORNE
(Here's the picture that Andy was refering to regarding how the hole got into the fence):
c08.17.06_042_MIT_FLM_0070_1.jpg (72633 bytes)
08/17/06 3-Wide That's Billy MItchell in the #42 breaking through the 1st turn wooden fence directly in front of where I sat from 1970 - the mid 80's.  Bill was a rookie champion at Flemington and then was killed in a non racing related accident.

(Is Mike McNamara Jr. out there???  Hey Mike, how familiar is this view!  I know that this is where you used to sit too.
08/16/06 Paul Garzillo Looking at this photo (with the #15) made me remember that the 1st turn apron was actually a slight hill when the tires were there [you can see the incline in the photo]. How many remember that when a racer went over the apron area at speed the car became airborne?

I completely forgot about that until viewing this photo.  Once the tires were removed the incline was shaved down to the normal pitch.

One side note - The 6x6 [or 8x8] fence posts were capped with painted metal to stop them from rotting. Pretty sure I painted a few leading up to the Flemington Fair one year to help spruce the place up.  Thanks for the photo Andy.
08/16/06 3-Wide I kinda remember that the tires were originally something to be avoided, but after that got run over a few times, and tore apart a little, they ended up being just little tire stubs sticking up!  Hard to tell at what stage the tires were here, but it was definitely a learning experience for all as far as what to do about the tires... (Go outside of them... go inside of them... go throught them!!!)
08/18/06 John Armbruster (refering to comments above about Stan Ploski's accidents)   I might be wrong, but I thought Stan broke his arm one of those times in the #111. We sat in section 6, and I remember flames coming out through the hood around the injector stacks, and Stan not being able to get out of the car. Perhaps I'm combining two different incidents, however.
08/18/06 Paul Garzillo [In reference to the Billy Mitchell photo]
Billy "Mau" Mitchell was a neighbor of mine in Readington, NJ.
Im sure his 1st rookie car was a former Kenn Brenn coupe that he painted orange and reversed the # [from 24 to 42].

After Billy passed his later car was given to his neighbor Eric Stettner [who helped with the car]. Eric drove it in the sportsman division.

[In regard to Stan's accident]
My memory is that he broke and then re-broke his arm [he was driving with a cast on?] in two separate 1st turn accidents. One time was in the Horton sr 43 for sure, the other in either the 47 or 4t7. One of the accidents did involve a fire.

Stan did drive the Alfrey #47 for a time while Mike Grbac mended from a work related foot injury, but I am drawing a blank as to which car Stan crashed into turn one.  I don't remember any crash or fire involving Stan in the Don Morris #111.
08/18/06 3-Wide I remember Eric Stettner.  He had a repair shop off a road a few blocks in off of Rt 202 by the power lines. 

Here's my version of the story about Stan's arm.  I think he broke it near the end of a season...  Spent the rest of that season and all of the off season on the mend and then came back a re-broke the same arm, in the same spot, in the same turn, for the same reason - throttle stuck.  I am pretty sure that one time was in a Horton #43 and the other was in the #4T7.  I don't remember there being a fire (in either of those accidents), but then again, all of this was about 30 years ago, so it gets a little fuzzzzzzzzyyyyyy.
08/22/06 barry pursell I remember seeing the 15 at Nazerath.   They had a lay over sportsman feature.   The kid put this car on its roof.  Correct me if I am wrong.  He came back out and won the second one.

A quick comment about the year 1974.  He ran at Nazareth because of his age 16?   17 was the legal age for Flemington so this could be 1975.  Could I be wrong about this one?
08/22/06 3-Wide I used the date info that was provided with the photo, but at first glance I thought this was from 1975.  I think Billy was born in March of 1957 which I think that would make him 18 for the 1975 Racing Season.  (I think you had to be 18 to run Flemington...)
08/22/06 Andy Horne If I told you 1974 I appologize. This is 1975. Sorry. The pics with the 15A is 1974.

Oh , by the way, I got to the bottom of the Stan Ploski debate. He broke his arm in turn 1 at the end of one year. He came back the following year and re-broke the same arm. THEN, with a cast on his arm, he flipped the 4t7 in between 1 & 2 and the car burst into flames. He jumped out the window between the car and the fence. No one could see him and everyone thought he was still in the car. I checked with my father, who remembers those days better then I do, and my 2 uncles. they all remember it that way.
--
THANK YOU
ANDY HORNE
08/23/06 3-Wide Sorry to keep this going.. but I'm pretty sure that the car he flipped and caught fire was the Emmett Alfrey owned #47 that was usually driven by Mike Grbac...   The cars that he broke his arm in first was possibly the #43 and then possibly the #4T7.  (Or maybe it was the #4T7 first and then the #43...)  See what happens when we try to remember this stuff from 30 years ago?   (I can't even remember where I put my keys this morning...)
08/24/06 Jim Storholt O.K. Heres the real story. Stan flipped the Emmit Alfrey 47 while subing for Mike Grbac who broke is ankle in a work accident. I have a picture of Mike on cruches in victory lane when Stan won his first race in this car. I also have an Ace Lane Jr 8x10 of Stan climbing out of the car while on fire. When Grbac came back to the car later in the year, Ploski drove the Horton 43 the next to last race of the season and broke his arm. I have a newspaper article with photo which was headed, firt ride, last ride, at least for the remainder of the season............................. Opening day of next year, Stan rebroke the same arm in the 4t7. His next time on the track that year was the Memorial Day race where he and Fitzcharles when at it lap after lap with Fitzcharles winning and Ploski taking second. Later that year, Stan went back to his own equipment and Hager got in the car for a while. I have pictures of these also.

Can you tell I'm a big Ploski fan? I miss those days..Thanks for a great web site where we can share photos and stories.

Keep up the great work.

Jim
08/24/06 3Wide Jim... You forgot one thing...   "So in conclusion, it appears that 3Wide may actually know what he is talking about on this one occassion..., much the same as that of a broken clock which tells the correct time twice a day... It all depends on what time you look at it!"

Thanks for helping out with this one Jim...  I actually had it right except I couldn't remember whether it was the #43 or the #4T7 that he first broke his arm.   Thanks for all who weighed in on this one.

The story... with the same turn... for the same reason...  in what turned out to be back to back races for Stan.... with the same result is almost unbelievable.  But for those who were there, yup... that's what really happened.
     
     
     

Back